Though they stayed strong and continued playing tough, they let down their guard at times and struggled. In fact, the poorest play came from the backend. The defence left Cam Talbot out to dry and was unimpressive in all aspects.
First off, the combination of Darnell Nurse and Matthew Benning failed to impress. Both put up a minus-3, and Benning didn’t get to 10 minutes of ice time. During the second period, they were on the ice for the Kings’ offensive outburst and couldn’t handle it.
The Kings came out for the second period with plenty of physicality and speed, and the defence let them get right past and put shots on goal.