Kings Outlast the Iron and Their Own Goalie in Overtime Thriller
Los Angeles had the better of this game almost from start to finish, and still needed overtime to beat Ottawa 6-5. The Kings' chances were worth nearly five goals; the Senators' were worth less than three. That should have been a comfortable night. It wasn't.
Part of the reason was the iron. Three posts rang in this game: Adrian Kempe and Erik Gustafsson each hit one for the Kings, and Nikolas Matinpalo clanged one for Ottawa. Those near-misses added up to 1.61 expected goals -- a measure of how likely those shots were to score -- that never crossed the line.
The bigger reason was in the Los Angeles crease. Darcy Kuemper stopped 18 of 23 shots, and finished at minus 2.28 goals saved above expected, meaning he allowed more than two goals beyond what Ottawa's chances deserved. The Kings outshot Ottawa 38-23 and had 72 shot attempts to 45, yet kept having to answer.
For a team that had not won at home all season, the two points count. How they came is another matter.
