Kings Shutout Grizzlies, Take 2-1 Series Lead

A pair of JP Villeneuve goals (including one shorthanded), some icing on the cake from Drew Dorantes and a 14-save Jonah Imoo shutout highlighted a 3-0 win over the Grizzlies in game 3 of the Island Division semi-final.

0 goals against, 14 shots against, perfect on the penalty kill, out hit, out worked and out chanced. All that spells Kings Hockey, and it was on full display Monday night.
No surprise given the pace of the game that two goals were created directly from big hits. Henry’s shot against Dante Hahn was the bonus for the Kings defenceman. He’d already lunged to knock the puck loose, then took Hahn out. Hiff chips to Villeneuve who makes no mistake. The other was a great shot from Ripley in his own left corner, Myles Powell undisciplined play really didn’t matter that much as it quickly turned into a 2-on-1 and Drew Dorantes kept and buried.
A 14-save shutout reminds me of Jonah Imoo vs the Grizzlies last year, when there was very little in terms of scoring threats. Jonah would often go 5-10 minutes without action last year against Victoria. Not this year, and not even tonight. The 14 shots were due to a) Grizzlies shooting wide all night, and b) the Kings defence blocking shots and steering chances wide.
There’s nothing to really pick out as a fault. If you wanted to find something negative, it’s the powerplay, but when you’re winning hockey games, it’s not a concern. It’ll come, and looked good in spots. The trouble tonight was setting up, and the Kings were unable to score 5-on-3. A tweak here or there might be all that’s needed, but as long as you’re getting the win, I think the coaches will be ok with it.
Movie line was again the Kings best. Matt Dupont had two great one-time chances to the side of the net but failed to connect. Villeneuve the pair, Dorantes the other. They quietly went about business, as quiet as you can when scoring all the goals.
The Grizzlies showed some poor discipline tonight. Thompson’s head shot on Burns, Powell’s retaliation on Ripley, they came into this series with the baggage of suspensions, and it’ll be added to from tonight’s game. Thompson done for the series I believe with the blow to the head call on Burns. That should be 2 games.
Good crowd too. Was announced some oddly low number, but I’d say 800-900 easy. Very loud too, and they played a big role in the outcome of the game. Was great to hear the horn after big hits, or the crowd lift during a kill. Well done fans.

Three Stars of the Game