The Kings responded to their Game One overtime loss to the Canucks by showing they have a flair for the dramatic. After being down two goals in a lackluster first period, the Kings battled back to tie the game, then push it to overtime, where Anze Kopitar scored to send the teams back to L.A. with the series all knotted up.
After Game One, Terry Murray decided he needed a change at the top of the lineup. So he made Justin Williams a healthy scratch. He moved Wayne Simmonds up to the top line which, in turn, allowed Fredrik Modin to skate on the line with Michal Handzus and Brad Richardson. Scott Parse filled in at the bottom of the lineup, skating with Jim Halpren. Murray also replaced Raitis Ivanans and Randy Jones with Richard Clune and Peter Harrold.
It was suggested by the Hammer that adding a gritty player like Simmonds to the top line and mixing the lines a bit would open up the game. It did and then some.
At first, the Kings came out and exceeded their intensity from the previous game. You could tell by their body language that they felt they should have won Game One. They outshot the Canucks, 8-4, and showed a lot of hustle. The only problem was the Canucks scored twice on Jonathan Quick. Twice, out of four shots. Things didn't look good for L.A.
After the second goal to Vancouver's Mikael Samuelsson (his third of the playoffs), you could tell the Kings lost some steam. The game, which was played at a fevered pitch for half the period, slowed considerably. It was almost as if the club reassessed how they should attack the deep and dangerous Canucks. They could run and gun with Vancouver for a while, but Vancouver has too many experienced weapons to sustain such an attack. So the Kings decided to sit back and wait for Stick In a Box to make a mistake.
They got that mistake when Shane O'Brien was called for roughing Richard Clune. Drew Doughty held in a Canuck c...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Kings
