Kings 3, Hurricanes 1

The Carolina Hurricanes continue to put more and more distance between themselves and playoff hockey as they lost a 3-1 game to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon at the Staples Center.

The team was looking for a better effort than they got in Dallas the other night and got it, but it still was not good enough for a win.

Suddenly the Hurricanes, who were formerly the least penalized team in the league, cannot stay out of the penalty box.

They were called for seven minors in Dallas and were called for another seven against the Kings in this game.  After six successful kills, the seventh powerplay was the charm for the Kings, as Alec Martinez rifled in the game-winner during their final man advantage.  Jiri Tlusty was called for hooking beforehand.

The first period was a pretty even affair and remained scoreless until Mike Richards wristed in a shot, short side past Anton Khudobin, who might have been off the post a bit more than he wanted. The score came with 56 seconds left.

The Hurricanes wasted no time in tying things up.  Andrej Sekera sent a high shot toward the net which was deflected in past Jonathan Quick with just 15 clicks left in the period.  It was Sekera's 10th goal of the season, extending his career high.

Patrick Dwyer and Drayson Bowman were battling in front of the net and contributed to that goal.

The second period was scoreless as both teams were able to kill off penalties and both goalies made fine saves.

But at 8:15 into the third period, the Canes pushed their luck one time too many on the kill and got burned.  Martinez jumped on a loose puck and put it in the net for the game winner.

Justin Williams, (who else) would make an empty netter with less than a minute left to seal the deal for the Kings.

The Canes will jump right back into action against the Anaheim Ducks tomorrow night with a start time of 8 p.m. Eastern.

Game Notes:

• Khudobin did not play his best but still made 28 saves on 30 shots and was good enough to keep his team close.
• The powerplay was officially 0-3 and has yet to score since before the Olympics.
• The Canes were outshot 31-25 and were led by Nathan Gerbe with five and Jeff Skinner with four.
• Justin Faulk and Andrej Sekera led the way with 24:52 and 24:33 of time on the ice, respectively.
• Post game interviews at Canes PR.com.