Games 42-43: Kings vs Columbus Blue Jackets 3:0; Kings vs Detroit Red Wings 4:2

A win's a win to start the year with a right foot

Tough battle with a positive ending
(photo courtesy of www.yahoo.com)

LA goals from: Michael Cammalleri, Sean Avery, Lubo Visnovski
CLB goals from: none

Pros: Columbus is not as weak a team under Hitchcock as they used to in the first month and a half of the season. The good thing was LA was able to outshoot and outpressure the visitors right from the get-go (limiting Blue Jackets to two shots in the first half of the first period). Even though the game itself wasn't exactly very spectacular, the Kings managed to stay away from trouble and took the two points. Mathieu Garon did not have too many scoring chances against him, but still it's the shutout that counts.

Cons: Not a lot to write home about on the powerplay: 1-for-10 has been uncharacteristic for the recent PP surge.

LA reverses the tables on Detroit, stays unbeaten in 2007

Puck past the opposing goalie. Good.
(photo courtesy of ww.yahoo.com)

LA goals from: Lubo Visnovsky, Rob Blake, Michael Cammalleri, Sean Avery
DET goals from: Draper, Samuellsson

Pros: ...and finally, after twelve straight games (and, was it?, four straight years), the Kings prevail against the Red Wings! Lubo seems to become a shot of adrenaline for this team. At this point there's no way Dean Lombardi might be thinking about trading him at the deadline. Good game for Brian Willsie. A season debut for Konstantin Pushkarev, who replaced IR-ed Scott Thornton (broken hand). Off-hand, it's the first time this season, that the Kings scored four unanswered goals and all of them in bunches (two and two, less than two minutes apart from each other).

Cons: Coming from behind again - even though there is light at the end of the tunnell (and it's not a head-on train :)). The Kings seemed angrier (from what I was able to discern) rather than apathetic once they got to 0-2.