The Kings dominated the first seven minutes of the game allowing exactly one shot on goal. Holmstrom scored on Detroit’s second shot on goal of the period partially attributable to Lidstrom’s transition game, Datsyuk’s ability to win a battle of possession with Preissing and Holstrom’s finishing skills. Los Angeles responded by not taking another shot for another five minutes. Absent Rafalski’s penalty, it is entirely possible that the Kings might have failed to take a shot for far longer than that.
Detroit erred by their mistaken belief that the Kings are in last place due to lack of talent and/or effort. The talent of Los Angeles on paper appears in games – just not consistently. Luongo could no doubt confirm that personally. The Wings are a team that on average only gives up 23.6 shots per game and they gave up nearly half that or twelve shots in the opening 20 minutes... yikes!
No More Excuses (Carla Muller) 
