One day after the Flyers' offense was humming on all cylinders, they couldn't find the back of the net.
Certainly wasn't for a lack of effort, as they finished with 35 shots on goal. Jonathan Quick, though, proved to be unstoppable, and he helped spearhead the LA Kings on Thursday to a 2-0 season-opening win.
It took a while for either team to find the back of the net, until Trevor Lewis struck midway through the second period. Tyler Toffoli added an insurance marker on a one-timer from Jeff Carter with 2:21 left in the third stanza, and the Kings (1-0-0) were able to walk away with the win.
Of the Flyers' 35 (mainly unspectacular) shots, nearly half came in the third period. Seventeen shots were thrown on Quick, but he stayed composed and turned each and every one of them away.
Occupying the bottom pair alongside Radko Gudas, Travis Sanheim also made his NHL debut, logging four penalty minutes and a minus-2 rating in 10:58 of ice time. Those penalty minutes came in the form of a double-minor for high-sticking Lewis late in the 2nd, though the Kings didn't capitalize. Surely not the best debut the young blueliner wanted to make, but there's nowhere to go but up from here.
Keeping up the energy that he and his fourth line had showed for the Flyers (1-1-0) all preseason and last night, Scott Laughton led the team with five shots on goal. Fellow fourth-liner Taylor Leier followed suit with three, while Gudas and Shayne Gostisbehere also recorded three.
In his first start of the season, Michal Neuvirth turned in 25 saves on 25 shots. His best came on an excellent glove save on Anze Kopitar at the tail end of the 1st frame.
With the win, John Stevens is victorious in his (second) Kings coaching debut. He previously won two games of a four-game interim stint in the 2011-12 season, before the organization brought Darryl Sutter aboard.
The game also began on one of the most emotional of notes. In a pregame ceremony, the Kings honored Christina Duarte, a team employee who was among the victims of the shooting in Las Vegas this week.
The Flyers' California swing continues Saturday, when they take on the Ducks in Anaheim.
