"The Kings have waited more than six months to hear the sound of 18,118 cheering fans at Staples Center, the announced sellout crowd at Tuesday's home opener against the Atlanta Thrashers. One sound they'll be happy never to hear again is the clink of vulcanized rubber against iron, the unmistakable sound of a hockey puck hitting an opponent's goal frame. With each clink, each missed scoring chance seemed to ring a bit louder, the sense of imperative growing before an anxious home crowd. On a night fans have been waiting for, patience may have been the Kings' greatest virtue. After going nearly 44 minutes without a goal against Atlanta netminder Chris Mason, Ryan Smyth and Jarret Stoll scored 2 minutes, 17 seconds apart in the third period, the decisive goals in a 3-1 win over the Thrashers. "It's tough to score in this league. You can ask anybody - it's a challenge," Smyth said. "You've got to make sure that you're bringing your assets to the table. You've got to stick to the system the coaches set up for us. By and large it's a huge win for us - at home, the first game." Much like in the Kings' first two games of the season in Vancouver and Calgary, the first two periods of this game were more memorable for misses. Ten minutes in, Wayne Simmonds danced through the defense in pursuit of his first goal of the season, only to clink a shot off the goal frame. Rookie Brayden Schenn collected the rebound on the doorstep, only to miss again. Dustin Brown continued the trend 2:05 into the second period, blindly shooting and hitting the goal post behind Mason, who finished with 32 saves. A mere 21 seconds later, Chris Thorburn didn't miss after the Thrashers' fourth-line right wing won a race for a puck headed into the Kings' zone off a neutral-ice faceoff. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick made the initial save on Thorburn's shot, but neither of the pursuing defensemen - Jake Muzzin or Davis Drewiske - could seal off the rebound. Thorburn followed his shot and slid in behind Quick to score the game's first goal." http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_16320923
