GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Los Angeles Kings arrived in the Valley exactly as advertised.
The surprising sweethearts of the playoffs were physical, they were responsible defensively, and they played at a pace that typically starts to fade by this time of the season.
No line better embodied that style than the Kings' top unit featuring Dustin Brown, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. The trio was, at times, impossible for the Coyotes to slow, and their production on two goals led the Kings to a 4-2 victory in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Sunday night in front of 17,134 at Jobing.com Arena.
But figuring out a method to limit the effectiveness of those three players might be the least of the Coyotes' worries. The deficiencies in their play were just as much a factor in the loss as was the pressure from the Kings.
"I didn't see it as just the Kopitar line," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "I thought their whole team was better than our team."
With both teams advancing after four- and five-game series in Round 2, the early test was which team would rebound better from the lengthy layoff.
Score one for the Kings.
The Coyotes couldn't match the intensity the Kings used to build a 1-0 lead 3:53 into the first period. Kopitar grabbed the puck from a scramble off a Brown shot, skated into the slot and roofed a back-hand attempt past goalie Mike Smith.
"They were effective, big guys that can score," center Antoine Vermette said. "They were using their size, and that allowed them to generate some chances."
With the score tied 2-2 in the third period, a pass by Kings defenseman Slava Voynov in between Rostislav Klesla and Oliver Ekman-Larsson sent Brown in on a partial breakaway, and his wrist shot slipped under Smith's arm for the game-winner at 2:11.
"As the playoffs go on, the bar gets higher and higher," Tippett said. "You have some players that can rise with the bar, and we didn't have enough guys rise with the bar tonight. We had some games like this, but not to the point where we got out-competed as bad as we did."
A look in the mirror now reveals a 1-0 deficit in the best-of-seven series — the Coyotes' first of the playoffs — and also an opportunity to improve. That's where the Coyotes are directing their focus.
"You don't get anything for winning one," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. "We have to find a way to win the next one."
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99
Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html
0 comments:
Post a Comment