PUCK BOUNCES IN LA'S FAVOR...FOR A CHANGE
KINGS DEFEAT BLACKHAWKS, 5-2
CHICAGO -- Craig Johnson scored what turned out to be the game-winning
goal at 10:32 of the second period, and Jamie Storr made 24 saves to
lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-2 victory over the Chicago
Blackhawks in front of 12,310 fans at the United Center in Chicago on
Sunday evening.
Tony Amonte and Mark Bell scored for Chicago.
The Kings also got goals from Mikko Eloranta and Adam Deadmarsh in the
first period, Andreas Lilja in the second, and an empty-net goal from
Bryan Smolinski late in the third period.
Surprisingly balanced scoring from a team that has a lot of trouble
scoring lately.
"That's a pretty good balance," Kings' head coach Andy Murray said.
"It's nice to see us score some goals. We've had a little bit of
trouble in that area."
The Kings got balanced scoring, to be sure, but this was a game where
they seemed to get all the breaks and bounces.
After spotting the 'Hawks a 1-0 lead when they left Amonte all alone
in front at 5:01 of the first period, Amonte then hit the goal post at
11:36, a break for the Kings, who would have been facing a 2-0 deficit
that most likely would have taken the wind out of their sails.
Break number one.
But the Kings tied the game at 14:20 when a pass by Eloranta hit the
skate of Chicago defenseman Phil Housley in front and deflected into
the net.
Break number two.
And late in the second period, a little snap shot from right point by
Kings' center Eric Belanger was deflected behind the Chicago net, only
to rebound right to Lilja at left crease, leaving him with a wide open
side of the net, and an easy goal.
Break number three.
The 'Hawks also hit the goal post twice in the third period.
Breaks four and five.
The Kings, who have seen most of the breaks and bounces go against
them this season, certainly got plenty of them in this game.
"In order to get goals, sometimes you need bounces," said Deadmarsh.
"We haven't been getting a lot of those this year. I know you have to
make your own bounces, but if we keep crashing the net like we have
been, pucks are bound to squirt our way."
"I don't know if we played so well or they played so bad," Deadmarsh
added. "Like I've been saying all along, you need to get a few bounces
to win."
And with the Kings having only eight wins going into Sunday's game,
the bounces and breaks could not have come at a better time.
"Our team has been struggling," Deadmarsh explained. "It's been
gruesome in our locker room. Sometimes, you need the bounces.
Tonight, we got the bounces."
But give the Kings' credit for making their own luck in this game.
They made a concerted effort to drive hard to the front of the Chicago
net throughout the game, a sharp contrast to their game on Saturday at
St. Louis, a 2-0 loss.
"Anytime you're in a slump, I think you just have to shoot the puck
more," said Kings' right wing Steve Heinze. "The more shots you get,
the more chances you're going to have to find a hole. We kept
shooting, kept crashing the net, we got bodies in front of the net,
and the puck went in for us."
And despite getting only eighteen shots on goal, the Kings pulled out
a win against one of the best teams in the NHL so far this season.
"Sometimes you're not going to get a lot of opportunities to score,
but you have to make the most of the ones you get," Storr explained.
"Tonight, we did that.
"Our game plan was to play well defensively and let the offense take
care of itself," he added. "Instead of looking at it like, 'We've got
to go out there and score goals,' we just looked at it like, 'We're
playing well right now but we're not getting rewarded for it, but we
will be if we keep playing hard."'
With the Kings leading, 2-1 early in the second period, the 'Hawks had
a great chance to tie the game when Kings' winger Ken Belanger took
obstruction tripping and boarding penalties at 6:13, giving the 'Hawks
a four-minute power play.
But the 'Hawks failed to score, and killed off their own power play
when Chicago forward Steve Sullivan took a goalie interference penalty
at 8:57.
And with Sullivan still in the box, the Kings capitalized on their
power play opportunity when Johnson scored at 10:32, giving the Kings
a 3-1 lead and all the momentum.
"That was the key," Sullivan said. "We didn't come close to getting
anything on the power play. We should have gotten one or two."
Then, at the 12:27 mark, Eric Belanger took a high-sticking penalty,
and gave the 'Hawks a power play, only to see Sullivan take slashing
penalty at 13:57, killing yet another man advantage for his team.
"We had two power plays and eliminated them both," Sutter said. "That
could have been the turning point in the hockey game."
"We didn't get good efforts from a lot of people," Sutter added. "The
media has been blowing people's horns and the players have been
reading their press clippings. That's why I don't get too high on
them. We weren't good enough tonight. We didn't win the battles."
"The last couple of games, we've had such bad luck," Thibault said.
"I make one mistake tonight, but we still get more bad luck. Before,
it would hit a post here or leg there."
The 'Hawks penalty-killing, which is ranked last in the NHL, was
certainly costly in this game.
"I don't want to complicate it because it's not complicated," Sutter
said. "Penalty-killing is urgency and fear. It's how hard you battle
for loose pucks along the boards. It's making sure pucks go all the
way down the ice. It's not allowing guys to stand in front of the net.
Those things aren't X's and O's."
"Our penalty-killing kept teams in hockey games and won them games in
our nine-game (0-5-4) winless stretch," Sullivan said. "It's hard to
put a finger on why we're not better at itÜ75 percent of the time
we'll be great and 25 percent just terrible. We've got to smarten up
or it's going to start costing us games."
Sullivan should first consider not taking stupid penalties to take his
team out of power plays and eventually put them into those
penalty-killing situations. His team's penalty-killing rating would
definitely improve.
Scratches
---------
Chicago: Aaron Downey, Bob Probert (both healthy)
Los Angeles: Brad Chartrand, Jere Karalahti (both healthy)
Goalies
-------
Chicago: Jocelyn Thibault (40:00), Steve Passmore (start of the
third period
Los Angeles: Jamie Storr
Referees: Don Koharski, Dean Warren
Linesmen: Andy McElman, Dan Schachte
First Period
------------
Neither team got off to what can be characterized as a quick start,
but the Blackhawks had the edge and then took advantage of a defensive
breakdown by the Kings...
1. CHICAGO. Amonte 11 (Kyle Calder, Alexei Zhamnov), 5:01
Zhamnov carried the puck with speed down left wing. Near the top of
the left circle, he spun back towards the blue line, and passed back
to Calder, who moved to the left face-off dot. He faked a shot,
drawing Kings' defenseman Philippe Boucher towards him. That left
Amonte all alone in the slot, and Calder fed the puck to him. Amonte
one-timed the puck high, beating Storr top shelf, upper right corner
of the net.
Very poor defensive coverage by the Kings. Two forwards and
defenseman Mattias Norstrom got caught up ice, and were way out of
position. Norstrom especially was nowhere near the front of the net
where he should have been.
"Certainly I did not think we started very well," Murray said. "We
gave them the first goal just for coming out a bit passive."
The 'Hawks were winning the territorial battle in the first period, so
much so that the Kings did not get their first shot on goal until the
10:08 mark.
And at the 11:36 mark, Amonte got another glorious scoring chance and
beat Storr with his shot, only to have it clank off the goal post.
Instead of a 2-0 deficit, the Kings were still down just one goal.
"A play like that can change things," Storr said. "But you should
never look at it as luck. It is the reward for all the hard work we've
been doing."
But then the Kings got another lucky bounce...
2. LOS ANGELES. Eloranta 2 (Allison), 14:20
Allison got the puck deep in the Kings' zone and carried the puck up
ice with a bit of speed. He moved through center ice, and to the
Chicago blue line. He then passed to Eloranta on left wing. Eloranta
moved into the left circle, and then passed back to Allison, who had
gone to the front of the net. Chicago defenseman Phil Housley had
Allison covered, but the puck deflected off Housley's skate, and beat
Thibault low, right side of the net.
Good things happen when you drive to the front of the net, and the
Kings got a nice bounce.
After this goal, the 'Hawks started to get a bit careless in their own
zone...
3. LOS ANGELES. Deadmarsh 9 (Lilja), 17:34
Chicago defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev got the puck behind the 'Hawks
net, and fired it hard around the left corner boards. Lilja kept the
puck in at left point, and threw it on net. Thibault made the save,
but the rebound bounced behind him and towards the right side of the
net. Deadmarsh had moved to right crease from the right corner, and
was there to knock the puck into the wide open right side of the net.
"The goalie deflected it toward the corner and that happened to be
where I was coming from," Deadmarsh said. "It landed nicely where I
could just shoot it on net."
For Deadmarsh, it was his first goal since returning to the lineup
after suffering an abdominal injury
The 'Hawks thought they were going to clear the zone, and no one
picked up Deadmarsh in front. Poor defensive coverage by Chicago.
Second Period
-------------
The 'Hawks continued their lackadaisical play in their own end, but
the Kings were not able to capitalize right away. Then, Kings' winger
Ken Belanger took minor penalties for obstruction tripping and
boarding at 6:13 giving the 'Hawks a four-minute power play.
The Kings' penalty-killing was strong, keeping the puck on the
perimeter, and then Sullivan knocked down Storr, and was hit with a
goalie interference penalty at 8:57, allowing the Kings to kill the
penalties.
And then, the Kings took advantage of the 'Hawks inability to convert
on their power play...
4. LOS ANGELES. Johnson 7 (Jaroslav Modry), 10:32 POWER PLAY
With Sullivan still in the box, Modry got the puck in the Kings' zone
and moved it up ice. Just as he crossed the Kings' blue line, he threw
a lead pass to Johnson at the Chicago blue line. He split two Chicago
defenders and got a step on them. Johnson carried the puck to the
front of the net and as he was being knocked down by Chicago
defenseman Chris McAlpine, he flicked the puck over Thibault and into
the net, a beautiful shot by Johnson.
Johnson made a great play to score this goal. He got a lot of his shot
despite being yanked off his feet by McAlpine. In fact, Johnson's
feet were off the ice completely when he got off his shot.
"That was a great play," Deadmarsh said. "That's what we need."
"It doesn't matter if your name is Ziggy Palffy or Craig Johnson, if a
guy is playing on the first line he's going to get opportunities to
score," Storr said. "He's just making the most of it."
"That was the turning point of the hockey game, plain and simple,"
Sutter said.
Then the Kings got another nice bounce...
5. LOS ANGELES. Lilja 1 (Eric Belanger, Boucher), 18:01 POWER PLAY
With Chicago defenseman Boris Mironov in the box for cross-checking at
16:04, Eric Belanger got the puck in the right corner. He skated to
the top of the right circle, where he passed to Boucher at right
point. He moved to the top of the slot, and then passed back to
Belanger at right point. He held the puck for a split second before
getting off a snap shot. The puck never reached Thibault. Instead, it
deflected behind the net, but the rebound bounced right to Lilja at
left crease, and he had an easy backhand into the open left side of
the net.
"I just went for the net and tried to make something happen," Lilja
said. "All of a sudden it bounced out and I took a whack at it."
The goal was Lilja's first in the NHL.
Third Period
------------
Passmore replaced Thibault in goal to start the third period for
Chicago.
The Kings went into a defensive shell in the third period, and the
'Hawks really took the game to the Kings. They were all over the
Kings in the Kings' zone and got numerous chances that were stopped by
Storr.
But Storr could not stop them all...
6. CHICAGO. Mark Bell 6 (Eric Daze, Igor Korolev), 9:25
The 'Hawks had their forecheck going and Daze wound up with the puck
in front. He got off a shot from the low slot, and Storr made the
save. He then knocked the rebound away, but right to Bell, who was at
the bottom of the left circle. He tried to pass back to Daze in
front, but the puck deflected off of Allison's stick and beat Storr
low, just inside the right goal post.
The 'Hawks pulled Passmore at the 19:16 mark, but...
7. LOS ANGELES. Smolinski 6 (Boucher), 19:27 EMPTY NET
Smolinski picked up the loose puck in the right circle of the Kings'
zone after the 'Hawks had all crashed the front of the net. Smolinski
had Boucher on right wing, on a two-on-one break. At center ice, the
'Hawks were cheating towards the passing lane to Boucher, so Smolinski
fired the puck from center ice, right into the middle of the empty
net.
Shots on Goal
-------------
Chicago: 9 7 10 -- 26
Los Angeles: 7 5 6 -- 18
Power Play Conversions
----------------------
Chicago: 0/3; Los Angeles: 2/5
Zone Time
---------
Chicago: 6:33 8:15 7:24 -- 22:12
Los Angeles: 9:10 7:22 8:00 -- 24:32
Neutral: 4:17 4:23 4:36 -- 13:16
Three Stars (official)
----------------------
#3 - Zhamnov; #2 - Lilja; #1 - Storr
Gann's Three Stars
------------------
#3 - Johnson; #2 - Lilja; #1 - Storr
The Kings played a strong game for a team in playing their second game
in as many nights. They did not look fatigued, at least not until the
third period, when they sat back and stopped attacking, letting the
Blackhawks back into the game.
The Kings got solid performances from a number of players, but
Johnson, Lilja and Storr stood out.
I thought Johnson had more of an impact on the game than Zhamnov did.
He scored the game-winner and it came on a near-spectacular play. As
such, Johnson got my number three star.
Herb Brooks, head coach of the US hockey team in the upcoming 2002 WInter
Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, was in attendance, scouting the game, and
was looking at Deadmarsh.
"That's nice," said Deadmarsh about Brooks being there to watch him play.
"But the most important thing was to win a hockey game. Our team has really
been struggling. Everyone feels better about himself when you win."
Next Game: On Tuesday, the Kings head into the Gaylord Entertainment
Center to face Cliff Ronning and the Nashville Predators. Game time:
5:00 PM PST. RADIO ONLY coverage begins at 4:30 PM with the "Inside
Hockey" pre-game show on KSPN-AM 1110 (ESPN Radio) in the Los Angeles
area.
*NOTE: Unless I can find a local Nashville telecast, I will not be
able to write a report on this game.
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