In Los Angeles Saturday night, the Kings made it four straight with a convincing 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals at Staples Center.
Dwight King, Trevor Lewis and Jarret Stoll scored for LA and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves to push the Kings to the win.
Braden Holtby faced 30 shots saving 27 in the loss.
“They played like the game really, really meant something to them and we weren’t at their level, and that accounts for, for sure, the first half of the game — just the difference in shots and puck possession, all those things,” Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “They wanted it way more than we did tonight.”
Considering how tight the Metropolitan Division race has become, the Caps did not exhibit the urgency their coach felt they should have shown.
“I thought we didn’t have enough urgency in our game,” Barry Trotz said. “I felt that I had too many people that weren’t as urgent as they were … they know how to win, and they got timely saves. We didn’t have enough guys on their “A” games, that’s for sure.”
The Caps suffered breakdowns in coverage it cost them the game and two points in the division and eastern conference race.
“We know we got beat by our own mistakes tonight,” Holtby said. “They played well, but the goals we caused them, whether it was me or our team. You look at it that way. There’s room for improvement to get a win.”
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