The LA Kings are without Ryan Smyth, and Anze Kopitar has had problems finding the back of the net ever since. But that didn;t prevent the Kings from ruling it over the Senators yesterday. Playing without a benched Nick Foligno and Chris Campoli, the Senators had a hard time keeping the Kings out of their defensive zone. Worse, they made horrendous turnovers in their own end, leading to goals, all too reminiscent of the ugly 2008-09 season. I'm not saying that the Kings should have been a walkover, but it should have been much closer.



Mike Fisher was exellent, potting two goals and playing hard and with heart. Chris Phillips made some brilliant plays on the defensive, especially during penalty kills, bottling up the Kings pwer play. Alex Kovalev tried hard and drove hard, and seems to have found some heart with the Senators. Ryan Shannon played with great hockey sense, and speed, and picked up two assists for his trouble. That's about it for the upside. Brian Elliott was pretty good overall, just that he didn't get much help, and at times, what he got helped the Kings more than it did him.

Peter Regin, who laced up to replace Foligno, was nary visible. Chris Kelly had a dismal game, caught off-guad and flat-footed too often, and resorting to penlizable play. Kelly is a big part of the third line, and try as Jonathan Cheecho and Jarkko Ruutu might, without their centre working the forecheck with them, they were outmanned and outfought. The defence had an awful game and gave way to much room and made way too many mistakes. Anton Volchekov was not up to snuff yet, and Matt Carkner was awful.

The team as a whole got penalized way too much, picking up six penalties. But the real kicker were the triple minors at the end of the second period to Chris Kelly, Daniel Alfredsson, and Anton Volchenkov at the end of the second. You things are going badly when... Although they managed to kill the triple minors, the excellent PK didn't put any wind in the Senators' sails.

It's a blessing that coach Cory Clouston brought an extra forward and an extra defenseman on this trip. With Alexandre Picard doubtful for the Coyotes game, Chris Campoli will likely return to the ice. I believe Regin will sit the next one out to see if Foligno is ready to return with his signature hard forechecking.