Things could not be going much worse for the Carolina Hurricanes right now. The Canes lost 3-0 to the Los Angeles Kings at PNC Arena Thursday night for their fifth-straight loss in the team’s final game before the NHL’s All-Star break.
Following a scoreless first two-and-three quarter periods, the Kings (24-21-4) scored three goals in a span of 2:19 with less than five minutes to play to wrap up the win.
The Canes (21-20-7) could not solve Kings netminder Peter Budaj, who stopped 22 of 22 shots for the shutout, despite a few golden opportunities that did not find the back of the net.
“I thought we did have some good looks there,” Canes head coach Bill Peters said. “Some of our better chances never ended up on net. There was a couple in the first in the blue paint. We needed one of those to go in, and it might have been different.”
The Kings finally broke the scoreless tie with 4:43 to play in the final period. Kings forward Marian Gaborik was left all alone through the middle of the ice; he took a pass from defenseman Drew Doughty and slipped a backhander past Canes goalie Cam Ward to make it 1-0.
Los Angeles made it 2-0 on the next shift; forward Trevor Lewis poked in a rebound to double the lead.
“We were playing alright tonight, not giving up too much,” said defenseman Justin Faulk, who will represent the Canes at the All Star Game. “They get the one [goal] and then two and three. Whenever you’re on a losing streak like this, you become a little fragile. I think it’s showing a little bit where they get one and then we just can’t put an end to it right there. It’s something that we need to learn from.”
The Canes power play continues to look completely inept. The team went 0-4 with the man advantage and could not generate much, passing the puck around the perimeter rather than actually shooting it, and at times having trouble entering the offensive zone.
“If we knew [what it was] we would probably not be three for the last 50 [power plays] or whatever we are,” Faulk said. “We’re just not executing. We’ve had a couple goals the last couple games, but we’ve had opportunities to tie games, to get leads, even get some momentum. It’s just been a little ugly. We had a couple opportunities in the third period tonight to get things going in our favor. We just weren’t able to do it. We need to be better, and it’s not good enough.”
Kings forward Kyle Clifford added an empty-net goal with Ward on the bench for an extra skater to make it 3-0 Kings.
The five-game losing streak comes at the worst possible time for the Canes. A perfect four-game homestand two weeks ago put the the team right on the cusp of the playoff picture, but this disastrous skid has given that ground right back. With the loss tonight, Carolina is seven points out of a wild-card spot, with four teams sitting between them and that coveted position. The first game out of the All-Star break will be a big one, as the Canes host one of those four teams, the Philadelphia Flyers next Tuesday.
“We’re obviously a little frustrated with our game as of late,” forward Jordan Staal said. “There’s no better time than now to hit the reset button and come back ready to work against a divisional team right off the bat when we get back in it. Frustration is definitely seeping in; we have to find ways to stay confident in what we want to do and stay believing in each other if we want to make a push.”
