VANCOUVER, BC. – The second game in the series between the Kings and Canucks took a cue from the majority of the first and second playoff games across the league: fast, frantic, and featuring an explosive third period that forced overtime. And like every series except Nashville and Chicago who play game two today, the Canucks and Kings have a tied series. Los Angeles’s star was Anze Kopitar, who scored the game winner assisted by Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson.
The Canucks came out strong in the 1st featuring a goal by Steve Bernier. Mikael Samuelsson continued to demonstrate his Stanley Cup-winning experience, and his goal in the period did nothing to dissuade anyone of his playoff abilities.
The 2nd period belonged to the Kings, who saw Fredrik Modin score on the team’s fourth of what would amount to seven man-advantages for Los Angeles. The Kings then tied the game 35 seconds later with Wayne Simmonds assisted by Kopitar on a 3 on 1 rush caused by Sami Salo tripping up at centre ice.
The shots were 30/22 Vancouver after regulation, which is a slightly off-kilter statistic due to the many good scoring chances from Vancouver players which resulted in missed-net shots.
Roberto Luongo made 29 saves, enough to have Vancouver fans feeling a little relief after the panic about his slump, but not enough to win it as Jonathon Quick was consistent on the other end, allowing his offense to get their chances while stopping 24 shots.
Surprisingly, the Canucks defensemen, with the exclusion of Andrew Alberts who took 4 penalties in the game and remains the least popular Canuck in the city, weathered the storm reasonably confidently.
Lead by Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty’s persistent play, Los Angeles wanted it more in OT. Though the play after regulation was controlled in most part by the Canucks with four initial shits on Quick, Roberto Luongo failed to stop Kopitar’s shot as the puck slid past Ryan Kesler’s attempted block.
Underdog goaltender Jonathon Quick has been consistent with an exemplary performance in this second game at GM Place, making it clear that Los Angeles is not going to back down easily to Vancouver.
The Canucks will head to the Staples Centre in LA to play games three and four on Monday and Wednesday respectively, and it will be interesting to see what home ice advantage will bring to the Kings.
Contact the writer at gabrielle.pope@prohockeynews.com
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