In a high-scoring affair, the Los Angeles Kings took down the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena tonight. Jonathan Quick saved 32 shots to lead the Kings to the inter-conference victory.
With the loss, the Columbus Blue Jackets’ record now stands at 5-3-0. The Kings kept their streak of not losing in regulation as well.
1st Period – Hot Start
Both teams came out of the gate with some punch as Nick Foligno scored the first goal, but two LA goals within two minutes of Foligno’s put the Kings in the lead.
Fortunately, Oliver Bjorkstrand existed. The young forward took a rebound off Jonathan Quick‘s pad and put it home for the first goal of his season and to tie the game back up.
Scoring was not over in the first period, though. Matt Calvert added his first goal of the 2017-18 campaign later in the period to put the Blue Jackets up 3-2 heading into the first intermission.
2nd Period – Kings Apply Pressure
Whatever LA coach John Stevens said to his guys in the dressing room worked. The Kings came out fast and put up a goal just 40 seconds into the period to knot the game at 3-3, thanks to Jake Muzzin.
Former Norris Trophy winner Drew Doughty then put the Kings ahead for the second time in the game about three and a half minutes later on a very nice deflected Dustin Brown shot.
But remember! It’s always Sonny in Columbus. The rookie Sonny Milano got his first goal in several games and his fifth on the season (team leader) on a sharp backhand shot 15:15 into the period. The puck went right over Quick’s shoulder and into the net to make it a 4-4 game.
3rd Period – Hello Darkness, My Old Friend
The period went back and forth, with both teams desperately trying to push ahead of the other to take the lead. But neither were able to do that for 17:46 of the period.
And then Anze Kopitar reared his face again. Off a great Dustin Brown pass, Kopitar nonchalantly tipped the puck in as he was racing toward the front of the net. Poor defense allowed one of the NHL’s fiercest goal-scorers that close to the net, and they paid for it.
With about a minute and a half left, Brown added an empty net goal to seal the Los Angeles Kings victory.
First Thoughts
This sucked. The defense is just allowing too many good looks this season and we’re paying the price for it. Yeah, I know we’ve only lost three games, but it’s pretty bad that the reigning Vezina winner is looking like an amateur at times because his blue liners can’t stop attacking forwards.
The Kings are very good. And they showed it. Even without Jeff Carter, who had 3 assists before going out with an injury, they were still able to create chances for one another and capitalize on them.
Sergei Bobrovsky has to be kind of shaken after tonight. In his last three starts (the previous two coming against the Wild and Lightning), Bob has allowed 11 goals on 73 shots for a .849 save percentage. The next chance to redeem himself will be Wednesday when the Columbus hosts the Buffalo Sabres. If John Tortorella keeps up his rhythm with Bob’s starts, Bobrovsky most likely will start against Buffalo and then rest on Friday’s matchup against the Jets before playing on the road against the Blues in St. Louis.
All bad things aside, it was awesome to see the team get a power play goal. It was long overdue, but it still needs a ton of work. Matt Calvert and Oliver Bjorkstrand getting their first goals of the year is a promising sign. It will be important for both of them to contribute offensively this year. Sonny Milano scoring is always great to see, especially after a rough few outings recently. And last, but certainly not least, Boone Jenner was awesome. He didn’t look like he had missed all of preseason and training camp. If this is him with some rust, I can’t wait to see what he’s like in his mid-season form.
Next: Trades that could push CBJ to Stanley Cup
This was a very winnable game, in my opinion. The Blue Jackets should’ve gotten at least one point out of this game considering how close the game was, but that mistake by not covering Kopitar late was too much to overcome.