[Cali Panthers Fan]

Decided to watch this game in the end since most of the comments were pretty positive and the score was close. Here are some thoughts:

-Flames were excellent to start this game. They held the Kings without a shot during the first 5 minutes of play. Pretty difficult thing to do, but they were the better team in that stretch.

-The Kings absolutely dominated a 20 minute stretch from the 5 minute mark of the first to the 5 minute mark of the 2nd. The Flames did a good job mitigating the damage, but nevertheless they couldn't generate any attack at all for that stretch and it probably hurt their chances to win.

-Sam Bennett looks very sharp on the defensive side of playing center. I was worried it would take him quite a bit of time, but he looks ready to be a full time center as he plays the position effortlessly. Really picked up the attack at the end there too.

-I had no issues with the referees, save for that one awful diving call on Frolik. I don't know how that official thought he was diving there. He had his knee and then the opposite skate taken out from underneath him. Nobody is staying on his feet on that play. Awful call, but the referees didn't do anything to decide the outcome in this one.

-I really liked what Ferland brought tonight. Flew around the ice delivering body checks and played the puck pretty well when called upon. Prototypical 3rd line banger. He's been getting better throughout the year, and he'll likely be a solid 3rd line player going into next year.

-Didn't miss Stajan at all tonight, and I can't remember the last game where he made a noticeable difference. I wonder if they bring him back or try to trade him in the off-season. I have a suspicion that Jooris, Grant, Shore or maybe even Arnold can play 4th line minutes next season and add more to the team.

-Both Wotherspoon and Nakladal continue to impress. Nakladal will probably never be better than a 3rd pairing guy with offensive punch, but he is an upgrade on Engelland or Smid. Wotherspoon looks really composed out there. He reads the play exceptionally well and has even been jumping up in the rush now and then. He would be a guy that I would heavily consider to make the team out of camp next year since he seems to be finally figuring out what he has to do to be an NHL player.

-Ortio was very good at times, and seemed more composed in net than at any other time this year. However, his inconsistencies still concern me. This is why I would like to see what he can do with a long string of games, like 15-20, to see if he can at least be a backup next year. I can't stomach watching Hiller any longer and he won't be back anyway. Give the net to Ortio and let the chips fall where they may.

-Top line really had some magic tonight, which is rare for them on the road. Need to capitalize on their chances more, but other than that they finally showed that they can battle through an unfavorable line match-up when they want to.

-Hamilton looked sloppy tonight. He still has games like this where he makes poor decisions and his compete level is on the low end. I would like to see him bring his A-game more consistently. When Engelland is outperforming you, you're doing something wrong.

-The penalty kill was actually quite good tonight. The Kings have a lethal power play, and the goal they scored was a fluke bounce right to Kopitar at the side of an empty net. Those are the breaks. However, they really limited the chances, made plenty of clears, and made the zone entry incredibly difficult for the Kings. When he needed to make a big save, Ortio was there. Shows you how much goaltending affects the PK numbers. Give me that penalty kill any day of the week.

-Bouma was invisible except for one notable blocked shot. I really hope he comes ready to play next fall, because he's looked utterly replaceable this year.

-Get Bollig off this team. He's a detriment to his line mates, more on the offensive end, but also in terms of taking care of the defensive zone. So much so that McGrattan would probably be an upgrade. I'm ready to move on from him.

-Jones can go now too. I haven't seen a positive game from him in probably a couple of months. I know he's disappeared for long stretches in the past, but he's now holding back guys like Ferland and Bennett from being more productive.

All in all, this is the type of team I expected this year, but we've only seen them sparingly throughout the campaign. I still think with an above average goaltender this team is in the playoff picture. Maybe just on the bubble, but still right in the mix for the post season. If we address that issue in the off-season, and fill another 2-3 holes (top line RWer with size, 2nd line LW, #4 d-man), this team will start to win a lot of games.