All In, Again?

     Poker and Hockey are alike in some ways.  Anyone can get lucky on the river and come out a winner, just like the Kings did on Monday night against the Las Vegas Golden Knights, and almost did on Saturday against the Oilers.  The problem is, the more times one has to go all in just to stay alive, the quicker one will be escorted from the table.  Stephens has his team in a precarious positions way more than is healthy.  If that isn't corrected, well, the end of the season might be close at hand.
      The Kings aren't marking in their own zone, in the neutral zone, or in the opponents zone.  They simply aren't marking.   The Kings should have lost by at least four goals on Monday night.  Time after time, the Knights were in a prime scoring position with no defender to even contest the shot.  Only a super human effort by Quicky, again, kept the game close.
     To their credit, the Kings seem to be able to ramp things up in the third period.  The energy, intensity, and level of play rose dramatically as they put the pressure on.  That pressure, led to a superb pass by Phaneuf right into Kopi's wheelhouse.  Fleury never saw the shot.  With eleven seconds left, the score was tied.  The momentum stayed with the Kings as they dominated the overtime, and Browny, showing his still fine hands, finished without any doubt this time.  The former champs had just landed a gritty blow to the face of the up and coming, yet favored challengers.
     After a flight shorter than most players commutes from their home to Staples Center, The Kings landed yet another demoralizing punch in a brutal playoff warm up combination.  While still giving Karlsonn and company way to much space and time in the defensive zone, first Clifford, and then Toffoli jumped on mistakes by Vegas and finished with great shots.  Then, late in the second, Kopi sent a message, not just to the Knights, but to the entire league.  With twenty nine seconds left in the period, he made Sbisa and England look like the keystone cops, and then proceeded to make Legacy look like a beer league rookie.  Vegas went into the locker room shaking their heads and licking their wounds.  The Kings, with a beautiful game in net by the newly called up Campbell, never let them back in the game.
     The pieces are here.  The stage is set for a gritty battle to close out the season.  The last two wins are meaningful, even if Vegas would deny it.  Every point now counts.  However, if we can't take care of our end any better, despite coming up roses recently, the Kings may soon find that they have the short stack facing a string of crappy cards.  The good news is that Hockey ins't about the cards that one is dealt (though I suppose some poker players might quote Mike McDermot here.).  It isn't impossible for the Kings to shape up their play in the defensive zone.  If they do, who knows what dishes four lines of solid play and super human goal-tending might bring home.

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