LOS ANGELES—Playing a good game of hockey against either team fromPennsylvania was a failure. Philadelphia netminder Steve Mason held off 35 shots from the Los Angeles Kings, while Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds scored the 2-0 victory at the Staples Center on Saturday. The loss became the third in a row for the Kings.
After receiving a walloping from Pittsburgh on Thursday, facing the Flyers could have been a chance to get on the right track. The Kings shot eight times in the Flyers’ end with the first two lines racking up the scoring chances, but not the points needed to lead in the first period. Outshooting the Flyers 8-4 was a good stance on offense, but Philadelphia’s defense and blocked shots rang out a clear denial of scoring.
Play in the second period again went to Los Angeles as they took to the Flyers’ zone, hellbent on breaking a shot through Mason to take their first lead since beating San Jose on the road. Unfortunately, the netminder who shut out Detroit on Tuesday was looking good at making it a second straight feat. His handling of Los Angeles eased the lines that went right to work on Jonathan Quick with former King Wayne Simmonds, scoring his 18th on a wrist shot that was set up by Giroux and Vincent Lecavalier. The 1-0 lead finished the second with just five shots from the Flyers in 20 minutes.
Defense went back into the strategy of Philadelphia as they spent less time on offense, shooting four times leading to the game’s close. The Flyers captain, along with Scott Hartnell, set up a short shot play while on the power play for Giroux who shot behind a diving Quick in the crease to gain his 17th of the season and a 2-0 lead. The Kings were left with no choice but to go big or go home, pulling Quick out of the net and going for the sixth man. Los Angeles took 13 shots with the majority coming in the final minutes only to falter once more.
Mason gained his third shutout this season and second in four days with 68 shots in the two games total. Philadelphia moves north to face the Sharks, while Quick is close to matching his number of losses with his wins. The blame couldn’t be put entirely on his shoulders as the Kings stopped eight shots, with the Flyers gaining lucky shots that were clearly unavoidable. Los Angeles hopes to make up for the back-to-back losses against powerhouse teams from the Eastern Conference by facing the Blackhawks Monday night.
