Quick outduels Huet, Kings beat Blackhawks 2-1 (SO)

The Kings returned to action in SoCal tonight to take on the potent Chicago Blackhawks, who were coming off of an uncharacteristic shutout loss at the hands of the Ducks.  The good news:  Jarret Stoll returns, stabilizing that second line center spot and giving the Kings a much needed one-timer option on the PP; the bad news:  Kane-Toews-Hossa is a line.  Earlier this season, the Hawks shut down the Kings 4-1 at the United Center in what was perhaps the worst Kings performance of the current campaign…and now Scuderi and Smyth are out and Hossa’s in, so I’m going to have to keep perspective lest I really lose my mind tonight.

Forty seconds in, Alexander Frolov found Dustin Brown alone at the right faceoff dot and Brown shot wide--unfortunately, the captain has been colder than a bucket of pucks lately when it comes to getting his shots on goal.

At the four-minute mark, Anze Kopitar blocked a shot and chased down the puck for a slow-developing breakaway but was foiled by former King Christobal Huet after attempting to slip a backhand through the five-hole.

John Madden attempted a cheeky shot from a sharp angle a minute later, but Jonathan Quick hadn’t left quite enough of the near post exposed to get into any trouble despite having to deal with Troy Brouwer’s attempt to jam at the rebound after Quick (and thankfully, the ref) had lost sight of the puck.

First TV timeout so I’ll share a couple of notes.  Duncan Keith skated nearly 29 minutes in the game against the Ducks, and Jack Johnson’s ice time for the Kings has skyrocketed of late as well, logging 27 at Edmonton and 29 at Vancouver.  The Oilers’ Ales Hemsky is out for six months after crashing into the boards when the Kings were in town; turns out he had been dealing with a shoulder issue all season and the love tap from Handzus was the last straw.  Earlier tonight, Pittsburgh annihilated the Rangers, capped by the Pens enjoying a seven-minute major power play to finish the game after Sean Avery (who else?) was dismissed for jumping Ruslan Fedotenko from behind.  Hilariously, Avery ended up with a bloody nose and 17 minutes in penalties (including five for fighting with no corresponding opponent, never seen that one before), and Fedotenko is still trying to figure out what the hell happened.  The first rule of Sean Avery is: don’t talk about Sean Avery.  If this is your first Sean Avery, you will Sean Avery tonight.

Right after the restart, Scott Parse started a rush, gained the zone and immediately dropped for Wayne Simmonds to blast a slap shot from just over the line.  Huet kicked the puck wide but Handzus gathered the rebound and fed Parse in the slot, who sent his one-timer just past the right post.  Great work from this third unit, and if Parse can maintain some chemistry with the always-solid Handzus/Simmonds pair, he may find himself on the receiving end of some quality chances.

With 11:40 remaining, Quick made a save but lost sight of it for the second time.  As the puck squirted between his pads and into the crease, the scrum descended on the blue paint and Quick was able to blindly sweep it out of danger for a Kings clear.

Following several minutes of end-to-end action and another pair of quality shifts from the Handzus line, Quick flashed the leather, snagging Kane’s backhand attempt.

The Kopitar line generated a couple of promising chances during a productive shift around the 14-minute mark that saw the two teams’ top lines paired against each other.  After changing on the fly, the second unit of Purcell-Stoll-Brown controlled the flow in the Blackhawks’ zone, with Stoll showing no ill effects from the mysterious either-upper-or-lower-body-injury that had sidelined him last week.

Handzus took a hooking penalty to set up the first special teams segment of the game with 17 minutes gone in the first, and it feels like there have been something only five or six faceoffs in the entire period.

The Chicago PP1 is Shark-Kane-Toews-Hossa-Keith, which, on the danger scale, is somewhere near the global thermonuclear war simulation from War Games:  the only way to win is not to play at all.  How about a nice game of staying out of the damn box?  Mercifully, the Kings killed the man advantage without allowing a quality chance and the period ended scoreless.

My poignant observation for the 1st intermission?  Joel Quenneville has an awesome angry face and it’s good to be back watching the home feed and listening to Bob Miller and Jim Fox.

The second period started with a flurry in front of the Hawks net following a Huet save of a Kopitar wraparound attempt.

The Kings got on the board at 2:41 as Wayne Simmonds received a long breakout pass from Scott Parse, gained the zone on the right wing and dropped for Handzus, trailing all the way.  Handzus saucered a pass between two Chicago defenders to Simmonds in the slot, where he controlled the puck with his back to Huet and slipped a backhander through Huet’s legs.  Brilliant goal off of a rush that had looked totally innocuous to start--Simmonds’ third in as many games.  Highlight reel material, and I’ll expect to see it featured prominently on NHL On The Fly later tonight.

The difference in energy level for the Kings tonight compared to the game in Vancouver is striking.  Returning home, a day off, getting Stoll back--all four Kings’ lines look more energetic than their Chicago counterparts.  Accordingly, Dustin Byfuglien took a sloppy delay of game minor at 5:03, and while the Kings’ power play has been hopelessly anemic since the Smyth injury, the movement tonight suggests that they may be more productive.

After a flurry in front of Huet, a Hawks clear found its way to Brouwer’s stick for a mini-shorthanded breakaway, but Jack Johnson did an incredibly job getting back in the play.  Johnson forced Brouwer to cut and attempt a wrister from the slot with Johnson as a screen, but Quick read the play perfectly and booted the shot out of harm’s way.

Brad Richardson found himself on Stoll’s wing in Teddy Purcell’s place after a TV timeout and promptly drew another penalty.  Or maybe this was just a fortunate result of a busted change, tough to tell.  At any rate, Purcell still has a spot on the second power play unit with Frolov, Handzus, Jones, and Johnson.  LA didn’t generate too much on the man advantage except for a couple of point shots trying to just get the puck on net.

The Kings so far have done a great job of being incredibly physical against the Toews line, limiting their chances.  Quick stopped a Hossa drive from the right faceoff circle around the midpoint of the period, but for the most part, Chicago’s top line has been unable to sustain pressure and possession in the Kings’ zone.

At 10:30, Richarson had another great chance after taking a feed from Brown, who had established position behind the Chicago net, but Huet was able to skate out and cut down the angle for the save.  Richarson is definitely up on the second line left wing now.  Weirder, Raitis Ivanans just skated a shift on Handzus’s wing instead of Scott Parse, who must be centering the 4th line or playing shortstop at this point, who the hell knows, I’ll take Potent Potables for the block.

Richardson was still taking his regular shift centering the 4th line as of 14:45 in and Purcell is back on the Stoll line, so either Terry Murray likes what Richardson is bringing to the table and is trying to get him out there in more positions to succeed or I’m just totally confused.  Equally likely alternatives, and the game flow for the last five minutes has been as ragged as this paragraph.

At 14:57, shades of the Vancouver game were apparent as Chicago won consecutive clean draws and got good shots on Quick.  Parse is back on the Zus line and I’m confident that this period’s shift chart looks like an IBM punch card.

Davis Drewiske unleashed a shot from the left point following a Kopitar cycle and the Slovenian mastermind was stationed at the far post but ultimately couldn’t corral the puck before Huet could smother the chance.  Thirty seconds later, Simmonds had a shot saved on a 3v2 and then got mauled by Chicago’s Hjalmarsson for a roughing penalty.  Not a stretch to say Simmonds has been the Kings’ first star so far.  LA will start the 3rd period with 1:26 on the power play, which is great, but I hate to see a quality PP chance chopped in half by an intermission.  In fact, I went on a bit of a rant about this and other potential rules tweaks a while back.

After the break, Chicago killed the remainder of the power play uneventfully and then controlled the flow of play for the next couple minutes as that potent Toews line really forced the Kings’ defense into physical play--the desperate kind, not the fun kind.

Former King Brent Sopel hit the post with a point shot off of an odd-man rush, and the game has opened up immensely.  Quick helped support his iron helpers with a quality glove save on a Toews wrister and a pair of stops on the subsequent shift.  Chicago’s speed and crisp puck movement has really revealed itself in the first third of the third period--it had not been evident in the first two periods of the game.

Appropriately, Toews needed only seconds to score on a power play with Handzus in the box for a dubious offensive zone holding-the-stick penalty:  game tied 1-1 with 13 minutes to go and all the momentum in Chicago’s favor.  How about a nice game of chess?

The Kings take a puzzling center ice interference penalty with Simmonds looking to break into the zone--Scott Parse was whistled for…I’m not sure what.  Mystery call, second straight.  Dangerous situation for the Kings--already losing the momentum game and down a man to Chicago?  Not good.

The Kings restored a little flow with a great shift by the Parse-Handzus-Simmonds line.  Parse was mauled behind the net by Brian Campbell--a hook, a hold, a prostate exam--and there was no call.  I hate being a whiny homer fan but…seriously?

Under seven to go in regulation, and this is as good a 1-1 game as you’ll see.  Dustin Brown continued a fine night with a rush up the left boards that bought him enough time to find Purcell at the top of the right circle with loads of space.  Instead of one-timing, however, the struggling Purcell held onto the puck and had his wrister stopped by Huet.  This kid has some serious talent but is squeezing the stick way too tightly.  It’s not because he’s been bouncing around the lines; he just really looks like he wants to produce some scoring for his teammates and luck is not on his side.

With four to go, the last regulation TV timeout broke up a choppier segment of play.  I don’t want to jinx it, but, this is one of those games that makes the OTL bonus point make sense.  Both of these teams have played well enough to earn something tonight.  Right on cue, Kane set up Sharp on a break and Quick made a save but the Hawks kept possession for a nail-biter of a cycle.

Sean O’Donnell had a breakout pass intercepted by Toews, who skated into the zone on the left side and went behind the net before dishing to Hossa in the slot.  It didn’t look like Hossa got good wood on it but it wouldn’t be a huge shocker if the Staples Center ice were particularly choppy after 58 minutes of a game.

Justin Williams was forced to ice the puck with 37 seconds to go after a diligent Chicago forecheck.  I expected Terry Murray to ask for a timeout but he apparently decided the top line was fresh enough in their shift to leave them out there, and that’s why he gets the big bucks and I…uh…have DirecTV?  Regulation expired in the Chicago zone as the Kings won a draw but didn’t have time for the set piece--a one-timer from Doughty.

Justice--we’re going to OT.

One thing Chicago does extremely well is recognize very early in a defensive situation when they are about to gain possession, and the highest man takes off like a rocket to center ice.  Obviously this isn’t some unique tactical move, but the Hawks seem to do it so early and so quickly that they turn ordinary clears into potential threats at a prolific rate.  Drew Doughty had to make one of his patented diving checks to poke the puck away on one of these Chicago breaks, made even more perilous by the extra space available during 4v4 hockey.

Man of the night Wayne Simmonds had a wrister ticketed for the upper right corner following a Hawks turnover about two minutes into the extra session, but Huet got just enough glove on it to force the puck to trickle wide.  A minute later, the Kings were again looking for a call as Drewiske was abused on the breakout but still managed to force the puck ahead to Richardson, who took on all four Chicago skaters and threaded a pass to Williams on the left side.  Williams calmly waited for the trailing Randy Jones and fed him the puck in the slot, but Jones attempted an ill-advised dish to Richardson at the left post instead of challenging Huet himself.  Classic one-too-many-passes play, and not really what you want from a blueliner who’s supposed to be more offensively minded.  Seconds later, Quick stopped Hossa on consecutive rushes--once with a poke-check and another squeezing the puck to his chest after a wrister.

At this point, the entertainment factor for this game is approaching ridiculous, and I’m pausing to finish this post and then fast-forwarding through commercials to catch up (thank you DVR, sorry FSW sponsors).

Drew Doughty got called for a hold or hook or whatever after Kane made a nifty move, taking a wide sweeping arc right-to-left in the Kings’ zone, and the Kings will have to kill a 3v4 for a minute to push this thing to a shootout.  Handzus, O’Donnell, and Matt I-will-block-this-shot-with-my-face Greene are out to try to shut down Toews-Hossa-Sharp-Kane.  Timeout Kings following a net off the moorings, and THIS IS A GREAT F$@%ING MATCHUP.  Jack Johnson on for Greener after the break and Handzus wins the draw and clears.  Seventeen seconds to go, Chicago gains the zone easily and sets up Hossa for a pair of blasts, neither of which finds net.  Time runs out.  Awesome game.  Five years ago we’d have to all go home now with a tie, now at least the fans get an extra chance at seeing their team win.

Whatever happens in this shootout, the three stars have to be Simmonds, Toews, and the winning goalie--Huet has had to stop more clear-cut scoring chances but Quick has been just as solid against a deeper offensive team.

Kopitar opens up the exhibition with a goal, recapitulating the move that didn’t work on the first period breakaway, setting himself up with a shoulder fake to slip the backhander five-hole.

Toews blew his attempt wide after trying to go between the blocker and pad of Quick.  1-0 Kings after one round.

Jack Johnson repeated Kopitar’s move but added flair, roofing the backhander above Huet’s left pod into the water bottle.  2-0 Kings.

Patrick Kane tried Johnson’s move but Quick’s glove was directly over his pad for the save and Kane didn’t control his speed well enough to lift the puck high.

Kings win the shootout 2-0 and claim a MASSIVELY IMPORTANT TWO POINTS against a Chicago team that is so incredibly potent and entertaining to watch that I would expect them to reach at least the conference finals barring critical injuries.  It’s good to hear that the Blackhawks are getting their due in Chicago and selling out their arena every night, because that’s a great team to watch and an even better one to beat.

Third star: Wayne Simmonds, 8th goal of the year
Second star: Jonathan Toews, 5th goal of the year
First star: Jonathan Quick, 32 saves on 33 shots

I gotta give credit to the Staples Center media for nailing the three stars.  For a while, the first star of the game would be interviewed by Fox Sports West’s Patrick O’Neal, but I think word filtered through from the dressing room to the press box that perhaps a better instant reward was a couple minutes of quality time with Heidi Androl.

Next up, Tuesday night at Anaheim!  Always a good time when the Ducks are involved, though the absence of Chris Pronger makes them much less intrinsically despicable.  Ryan Getzlaf is doing his best to pick up the slack though.  Should be a great contest, as the Kings will hope to build on tonight’s huge win.