Russell Morgan The LA Kings blow a 4-1 lead in the third period and lose 5-4 in overtime to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Goal Breakdown
First period:
CAR: Brent Burns (9), ASST: Andrei Svechnikov (21)
Second period:
LAK: Adrian Kempe (21), ASST: Anze Kopitar (26)
LAK: Kevin Fiala (18), ASST: Blake Lizotte (16)
Fiala with the toe drag to end all toe drags.#GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/OXmtrzn1Hl
— Russell Morgan (@NHLRussell) February 1, 2023
LAK: Adrian Kempe (22), ASST: Drew Doughty (29), Anze Kopitar (27)
LAK: Anze Kopitar PPG (16), ASST: Jarret Anderson-Dolan (4), Drew Doughty (30)
Third period:
CAR: Paul Stastny (5), ASST: Derek Stepan (3), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (11)
CAR: Jordan Staal (14), ASST: Brett Pesce (17), Jesper Fast (13)
CAR: Teuvo Teravainen PPG (5), ASST: Brady Skjei (13), Andrei Svechnikov (22)
Overtime:
Sebastian Aho PPG (22), ASST: Brent Burns (27), Martin Necas (25)
Third period meltdown for the Kings
It’s always frustrating to blow a three goal lead in the third period to eventually lose in overtime. There’s no way to gloss over it. But…it is the Carolina Hurricanes. If not for a perfectly played second period, where LA scored four goals on eight shots, the Kings really had no chance in this game. It’s still a hard pill to swallow.
The Hurricanes are easily one of the top teams when talking about Stanley Cup contenders. They’re a Corsi machine with a majority of their players making up the top of the Corsi share list in the NHL. As a LA Kings’ fan, however, with no answer to combat the onslaught from Carolina in the third frame, only illustrates how far this team is from becoming a true contender.
A January to remember for Kopitar
After a slow start to the season for LA Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar, the 35-year-old has turned it around of late and finished with the second-highest scoring January of his career. With 14 points in 13 games played last month, the Kings’ number-one center is producing at a high level. LA needed to rely on Kopitar with a depth of injuries to the forward position and he’s done just that.
LA Kings’ deadline needs
With only ten games for the LA Kings before the March 3 NHL trade deadline, needs are becoming more apparent with each passing game. If general manager Rob Blake feels comfortable riding Jonathan Quick and Pheonix Copley as his goaltending duo through the end of the season, he must address to long-time lack of an impact defenseman on the left side.
After Doughty, the Kings have no other big-time defenseman to turn to, and that was more than apparent in last night’s game. With Drew in the sin bin late in overtime, the two defensemen on the ice for LA were Matt Roy and Alex Edler. No disrespect to those players but if that’s your only option when Doughty is off the ice in a crucial part of the game, a trade needs to be made.
UP NEXT: The LA Kings head into the all-star break and their bye week before returning to the Crypto.com Arena ice on February 11 to face the Pittsburgh Penguins and enshrine former captain Dustin Brown.
Featured image credit: (Karl B DeBlaker / Associated Press)