Kings defeat visiting Tampa Bay 1-0 in tough defensive game (11/10)

A tough defensive minded game ended with a Kings 1-0 victory as Jonathon Quick was on his game and Justin Williams scored the lone goal on a great pass from Ryan Smith.  The Tampa Bay Lightning was coming off a hard fought loss the night before to the Ducks but held tight until the 3rd period when LA scored the only goal. Quick improved to 8-1 and recorded his first shutout of the season.

     Coach Andy Murray was complimentary towards his defense including Jack Johnson, Drew Drewiske, new-comer Willie Mitchell, Matt Green, Rob Scuderi and star Drew Doughty (who had been out for quite a few games with an injury).

     The Kings are off to a fantastic start leading the NHL in points while displaying an all around team game.  They are unbeaten at home while everyone is contributing.  The Lighting were completely shut down but showed a great effort and why they are a top caliber team.  Their 3 top players were very quiet (assistant captain-Martin St. Louis, captain-Vincent LeCavalier and superstar bound Steven Stamkos basically getting nothing all night). 

     Captain-Dustin Brown took a scary first-period hit from Mattias Ohlund, but got up, Brown, Anze Kopitar and Smith get most of the attention but Jarret Stoll is having a great season so far playing offense and defense and has been one of the unsung heros.  After breaking through to the playoffs last year for the first time in a long time before losing a tough series to Vancouver, this years team seems destined to go farther.  Many scouts and media have big predictions if they can stay healthy.

More info, schedule and tickets at www.kings.nhl.com