Los Angeles Kings-Vancouver Canucks: L.A. Pushed to Brink in Game 5

Game 5

Canucks 7, Kings 2

The Kings have now experienced the wide range of emotions that the playoffs bring.

The soaring feeling of winning in overtime from Game 2. The feeling of invincibility of completely dominating Game 3. And now the crushing feeling of being blown out in Game 5.

The Kings played their worst game of the Stanley Cup quarterfinals against Vancouver, and now face elimination Sunday when they skate into Staples Center for Game 6.

Could there be enough time for these young, carefree kids to mount a Hollywood-style comeback?

There wasn't much that went right for the Kings Friday night. They had fewer shots, won less faceoffs, and gave up the puck more, all the while taking more penalties.

Their problems were up and down the lineup.

They got away from their gritty game plan for the second game. Their defense was aggressive, but didn't get much more support from the rest of the squad.

The offense looked stagnant, and struggled playing with the man (and men) advantage, as well as playing 5-on-5.

Things were chippy right out of the gate. After play had been stopped early when Kevin Bieksa cross-checked Richard Clune in the first period, many people on the West Coast went to commercial.

But the people who were watching the Canadian feed were treated to seeing Bieksa shove Kings defenseman Drew Doughty from behind during the team's jawing at one another, causing his helmet to fly off his head.

It was a cowardly play by Bieksa, who should've gotten more than just the two minutes.

That put the top-ranked PP unit of Los Angeles on the ice. For eight seconds. That's when Ryan Smyth got called for "interference."

A questionable call? You could say that, but I'm not one to blame wins and losses on officiating.

The fact was it kept L.A.'s only effective offense off the ice.

Fans who were watching the Canadian feed were also treated to another injustice. When CBC cut to Smyth in the penalty box, the ever-present Green Men were there, mocking Ryan and dry-humping the glass.

And the guy gyrating on the glass was...ahem, excited.

Guess the broadcast standards up north are more lax than here in the States. Put it this way, you could tell the guy was Catholic. I almost threw up a little in my mouth after seeing that.

The Kings kill off the penalty, but Vancouver had all the momentum.

Pavol Demitra skated behind Jonathan Quick, then threw it in front to Kyle Wellwood. His one-timer missed the net, but bounced off the boards to Steve Bernier, who scored his second of the playoffs.

The goal wasn't a power-play goal, but Ryan Smyth barely got into the play, so it might have well been.

The chippy play continued, and the refs had enough.

Sean O'Donnell and Rick Rypian were called for roughing, in the refs' attempt to reel in both teams' enthusiasm. That meant 4-on-4 action, which found the Kings spending a lot of time in the offensive zone.

But they come away with nothing.

Smyth is able to draw a hooking penalty on Alexander Edler, and the Kings finally capitalized. Michal Handzus skates in behind Roberto Luongo, and tries to pass it in front to Anze Kopitar.

But the puck somehow got caught under Luongo's skates, and he put it in for the Kings to tie the game. It was the Kings' 10th power-play goal of the series.

But the Kings' momentum was short-lived, as Edler was able to snap one past Quick stick-side to put Vancouver up by one again.

It was noted on the Canadian broadcast that the goal was the fifth time Stick in a Box had scored stick-side on Quick. They asked Bill Ranford if it was something the Kings should be concerned with, to which he replied no.

Which was true, because the next two Vancouver goals came glove-side. First, Daniel Sedin scored Vancouver's next goal later in the second period, followed by Mikael Samuelsson scored his sixth of the playoffs five minutes later.

Quick was as porous as Spongebob Squarepants, and coach Terry Murray had seen enough.

So out went Quick, and in went Erik Ersberg. The Kings' blogosphere was not amused: The Royal Half's Chris Kontos tweeted Luongo and Quick are now tied in pulls for the playoffs.

Matthew Barry , from HockeyBuzz.com added: "Thanks Jon Quick, we needed you to be great tonight. Guess you weren't channelling Roy or Hasek tonight."

Ersberg looked like Jesse Ventura when Fireball was dispatched by Ben Richards in Running Man .

Could the Swedish goaltender stem the tide of the mounting Vancouver attack?

Uh, no.

He let in two goals on four shots, as the raucous General Motors Place exploded with Nelson Muntz laughs .
 
Demitra tallied one early in the third period, followed by Samuelsson's second of the game less than two minutes later.

Nothing was going L.A.'s way.

And in a bizarre turn of events, Quick replaced his replacement, as Ersberg retired to the dressing room, allegedly to pack his bags.

Now before I stand coming off as putting the whole blame on the goaltending, let me point out the Kings' failure with a two-man advantage earlier in the second period. After play had stopped, Dustin Brown gets deposited into the Kings' bench by Bieksa, right in front of the referee.

The ref has no choice but to call interference on Bieksa, since it happened less than a foot from him. Then Brown is able to draw another penalty, this time on a questionable tripping call.

But the Kings' success on the power play earlier in the series had completely unraveled Friday night. Alexander Burrows even lost his stick, but is still effective, as he cleared the puck with his hand. That play alone sums up the Kings' PP this game.

Fredrik Modin pots his third goal early in the third, but it was too little, too late.

Not much else to point out here.

There were two fights, a spirited fight between Wayne Simmonds and Shane O'Brien, and an awkward scrap between Richard Clune and Rick Rypien.

The attempts to jump-start the Kings all failed, and if there was any positive to be taken away from this blowout, it's this: To win in the playoffs requires a constant intensity.

The team must fight through exhaustion and rely on the game plan, which is effective when they adhere to it.

The Kings need to find their second wind when they return to the friendly confines of Staples Sunday, and force Vancouver to win a Game 7. It may seem that the Kings are in the unenviable position of having to win to stay alive, but really it's on Vancouver to try and keep their foot on the Kings' throats.

If there's one thing these Kings are known for, it's for surprising everyone.

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