LOS ANGELES – Canada invaded Staples Center on Martin Luther King Jr. day and it was a thrilling “photo finish” in overtime as Calgary defenseman Dennis Wideman’s goal ricocheted off the camera underneath the cross bar to give the Flames the 2-1 victory.
After two scoreless periods of play, “Mean” Matt Greene scored with 9:37 left in the third period to give the Kings a 1-0 lead. Greene fired his shot from just in front of the blue line, and the defenseman who has never scored more than four goals in a season, now has three goals on the year.
Sean Monahan answered when he stole the puck from Alec Martinez with 6:05 to go in the period and broke away for a wide-open, unassisted goal.
The Kings went to overtime for the 14th time on the season looking to snap an seven-game losing streak in extra time, but Wideman’s goal took the wind out of the defending Stanley Cup Champions sails.
“We’re not doing a really good job in overtime, when things really count,” said Kings defenseman, Robyn Regehr, who returned to the Kings lineup after a month-long injury. “Whether it’s 4 on 4, giving up chances, or having too many turnovers and having them go the other way, we’re just not doing a good enough job in the overtime. I don’t know what our record was last year, but it was better than this.”
Wideman’s goal initially looked like it hit the cross bar and so play continued for almost a full minute after the shot. Wideman himself told Calgary coach Bob Hartley that he did not think it was a goal. After a stoppage in play, a video review confirmed that the shot ricocheted off the camera inside of the net and the goal was upheld.
“Usually, the shooter always has the best view,” said coach Hartley. “I always look at the one who shoots the puck. First, he’s got his hands up and he pointed he’s got a goal and then he comes to the bench and changes his mind.”
The Kings are now an NHL-worst 2-12 in extra time this season and have now lost six out of their last seven games at home and nine of their last 12 games overall.
“We need two points right now,” said Kings captain Dustin Brown after the game. “The fact of the matter is we need points, especially against teams like that. It doesn’t matter how good we’re playing or how bad we’re playing, we need to find ways to win games.”
Coming into the game, the Kings were tied with the Flames for 8th place in the NHL’s Western Conference, but with the loss, now find themselves on the outside looking in of the post season picture.
“You have to make improvements and we have to find those and execute those especially against a team that is in our own division and we are fighting for a playoff spot with,” said Regehr.
The shot differential was staggering as the Kings dominated the Flames in shots 34-23. At one point in the game, the shots on goal were an eye-popping 27-5 differential.
Jonathan Quick made 22 saves in what would normally be a strong performance.
Joni Ortio who played in net in place of Jonas Hiller was fantastic for the Flames making 33 saves in his fourth consecutive win in goal for Calgary.
“It felt comfortable,” said Ortio about his performance. “I’ve played a couple of good games, but that felt good throughout the 60, or 65 minutes. I don’t think they had that many quality chances.”
The game marked the much-anticipated return of Johnny Gaudreau, a.k.a. “Johnny Hockey,” to Hollywood. Gaudreau is without a doubt, the next star of the NHL, and scored a hat trick against Los Angeles on December 22nd. He announced last week that he has applied to trademark the name “Johnny Hockey.”
Game Notes:
Brazilian born defenseman, Robyn Regehr, was taken off injured reserve after a month-long injury before the game. Raphael Diaz was out for Calgary with a nagging injury. Tonight was the 668th game for President/General Manager Dean Lombardi making him the longest tenured GM in franchise history.
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