from Rich Hammond of the OC Register,
It’s becoming clear that these aren’t early-season wobbles for the Kings, who are off to an 0-3 start for the first time since the 1969-70 season and have been outscored by a combined margin of 12-1.
The Kings simply can’t score, and Coach Darryl Sutter’s line-combination shifting didn’t generate much Tuesday. The Kings recorded only nine shots on goal in the first two periods, and in one stretch they went more than 18 minutes with only one shot on goal.
Even when the Kings put together enough passes to get offensive-zone time, they couldn’t do much and generated little traffic in front of the net. The Kings recorded 15 shots on goal and had 16 attempts blocked and 22 attempts miss the net.
The Kings, down 2-0 after the second period, had three power plays in the first 11 minutes of the third period but they generated only two shots on goal in six minutes. The Kings fell to 0 for 13 on the power play this season, and Derek Dorsett added a late empty-net goal for the Canucks....
The Kings went through all of training camp with a line of Milan Lucic, Kopitar and Marian Gaborik, and all summer they believed Lucic was the solution to their long-term quest to find Kopitar a left winger on the first line.
The line didn’t click in the first two games. Gaborik generated almost zero offense and Lucic, according to Sutter, struggled to adjust to playing with a left-handed center such as Kopitar.
“Kopi can play with anybody,” Sutter said. “Kopi’s just good. That’s it. But when guys aren’t going with Kopi, then he’s doing all the work.”
Below, watch Darryl Sutter post-game...
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