Essentially, it came down to one period. The final 20 minutes of a long-and-winding journey through the Eastern time zone would determine if it was an outstanding trip or a very good one.
The Kings skated through Door No. 1.
Here are 15 thoughts/observations on the back end of the trip and what is ahead for the Kings in their final 35 games of the regular season.
1. They scored three goals in the third period — two of them empty-netters — and defeated the Red Wings, 5-3, in Detroit on Wednesday night, taking 10 points of a possible 12 on their six-game trip (4- 0-2).
2. The Kings won’t play again until Feb. 15 — against the visiting Edmonton Oilers, which is one of their three rescheduled games. Their last loss in regulation was Jan. 20 against Colorado, so they’ll have plenty of time to reflect on what went right in the franchise’s most successful six-game trip.
“The best type of trip to go into a break,” said Kings coach Todd McLellan, via video conference.
3. It is FAR too early for scoreboard watching but who is kidding who? I was listening to Phillip Danault’s postgame video conference and keeping an eye on the Calgary Flames-Arizona Coyotes game. Calgary scored while Danault was talking. He sounded almost poetic about his almost-hat trick, a shot off the post with an empty net. Danualt: “It wasn’t meant to be.”
Here’s a clip of the near miss, with 1:44 remaining, from colleague Shayna Goldman.
4.
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