Los Angeles Kings burnout the Calgary Flames in a 2-1 shootout – NHL update
Calgary went further into turmoil as they lost against the Kings in a daring and hard fought 2-1 shootout Monday night at the Staples Centre, in Los Angeles. LA extended the Flames losing streak to two in a row while snapping their own two straight losses.
The Flames went in sizzling and looking for a win to finally get their hard earned playoff spot back, but they eventually burned themselves out after Olli Jokinen tied up the match out of the blue during the final moments of the third period. The scoreless
first and second periods were filled with struggling moments and clashes to take control of the puck. Miikka Kiprusoff played exceptionally well making 26 saves only letting one in during regulation, as Jonathan Quick lived up to his name as well, deflecting
27 with the slip of one.
There were numerous power play opportunities, but both teams defence was on lockdown mode, killing over 22 minutes of penalty time combined.
Kings centre, Jarret Stoll, fired what seemed at the moment to be a game winner during the final period. However, Jokinen retained his status as a life saver for the Flames by replying 65 seconds later and tying it with less than five minutes remaining against
his former team. The match was eventually forced into a shootout because either team was unable to break down the other’s goalies during overtime.
Alex Tanguay brightened Calgary’s hope of winning it after making their first SO attempt successful after LA missed their initial chance. In the end Jarret Stoll showed that the match was his night to perform, firing back from 10 feet and through Kipper
to tie it up again.
Anze Kopitar had the last LA attempt and made it count, winning the game as Calgary missed on their next and final shot when Curtis Glencross fired the puck wide off the net.
Jonathan Quick extended his shootout record to eight wins, not losing even a single time this season. He lifted the Kings ahead of Chicago into fifth place with 87 points.
Losing in a SO is better than facing defeat in regulation, especially in Calgary’s situation when they need all the points they can get. They tied it up with Anaheim and Dallas for eighth place, with the least amount of games remaining in the NHL. They face
the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday as the Kings take on the Sharks the next day on Thursday.
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