Why Phoenix Coyotes lost Game 1 against Los Angeles Kings –NHL Playoffs Special
Game 1 of the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Eastern Conference Playoff Finals was expected to be highly intense between Phoenix Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings, but surprisingly, it was the exact opposite.
Los Angeles Kings dominated Phoenix Coyotes, 4-2, at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona, and continued to shine on the road, making it tough on the home team as the series progresses.
Having a great streak on the road might be one thing but the way they played against Phoenix certainly earned them the victory.
Kings could have taken Game 1 easy but they have not done that in this postseason so far and continue to play with impressive form. With a 0.947 save percentage and 1.59 goals-against average, Jonathan Quick continues to dominate.
"Every game is important," Kings’ goalie, Jonathan Quick said. "If you look at both us and Phoenix, this postseason, we both won Game 1 in each of the first two rounds. They know how important it is, and so do we. But it means nothing if we don't win Game
2."
Despite the loss, Phoenix Coyotes are still confident of a comeback.
"I'm interested to see how we come back and play better," Phoenix coach, Dave Tippett, said. "We have to play better if we're going to have a chance to win. I recognize that they're a good team, but we're going to have to play better if we'll have a chance
to be successful."
Here are some aspects that gave Los Angeles Kings the win over Phoenix Coyotes in Game 1:
Shots
Phoenix Coyotes were outshot by 48-27, something that should be enough in itself to see why they lost. Los Angeles Kings just kept on coming at them with everything they had to offer and shot the puck at every opportunity instead of finding that perfect
chance.
Mike Smith still put up a good goalie but being outshot by that much is never easy to cope with.
Lack of Power Play Goals
Coyotes had a perfect penalty kill as they blocked Los Angeles from scoring on any of the four chances they gave them but failed on five of their own. Phoenix had five chances with the extra skater on board but could not get a single goal, something they
should work on heading into Game 2.
Face-offs
Taking control of the puck in face-offs is extremely important, especially in the opposition’s defensive end.
Phoenix only won 10 of 40 face-offs with Kings dominated that aspect of the game as well.
Game 1 should be a wakeup call for Phoenix Coyotes and if they fail to learn from that, the series will just get harder on them.
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