The London United Face The LA Kings In An Exhibition Game

[eagle_3450 278]

"Retoslav, battling in the corner for it, he wins the puck, slides it to Molly, Molly cuts in shoots and scores!" Those were the words heard on TV last night as the VHL's London united faced off against the NHL's LA Kings. The game was played in LA with a sell-out crowd as teams from the two biggest leagues in the world went head to head. London ended up padding their ranks with some relatively average NHL free agents due to Wann Kerr, Thor Odinson, and Sjin not being able to make it to the game since they were all still getting used to life in London. So the four United players there ended up being the first forward line of Triller-Retoslav-Molly, the defense were also unable to make it as they were visiting family elsewhere, so the United picked up (arguably lower rated) NHL free agents instead. Teno also came along for the ride, as the starting goalie for London. Now, onto the game.

 

Shortly following the start of the game, London opened the scoring with a goal from one of the Free Agents, followed by another goal just before the period ended to give them a 2-0 lead heading into the 2nd. LA struck back in the 2nd period, as with 13 minutes left in the period, Kopitar slotted one past Teno to give the Kings some hope. The United managed to get one more into the LA net before the period ended, courtesy of a point shot by one of the Free Agent Defensemen. London ended the period with 31 shots on goal at that point in the game, compared to LA's total of 15. After the puck dropped at the beginning of the 3rd period, Ivan, Molly, and Triller, all began pressuring to extend the United's lead, and that extension would come with 16 minutes left in the period. The commentator's call from the beginning would take place as Retoslav won the puck battle down in the corner, skated up the side wall before passing it directly to Molly, who was cutting to the net in between defenders, and proceeded to score from directly out front of the net after cutting in. Less than 3 minutes later, one of the Free Agents took a bad tripping call, which lead to a powerplay goal for the Kings, shortening London's lead to 2 goals. The game would be rather uneventful for the next few minutes as it went back and forth with London getting more time on attack than the Kings but being unable to score. However, with 6 minutes left in the period, Triller would force a turnover at the Kings' blue line. He would skate down the boards, protecting the puck and cutting around behind the Kings' defenders before faking to his forehand and sliding the puck into the net on his backhand. This goal extended London's lead to 3 goals, and diminished almost all hope for the Kings. LA, desperate for goals, pulled their goalie with 2 minutes left in the 3rd. This opened the door for the United, and Triller threw the puck back to the defender, who then slid it to Molly for the breakout play. Molly then skated into the neutral zone before sending a cross ice pass to Retoslav, who ripped a shot from the blue line with 6 seconds left, giving London a 6-2 lead. The game would end soon after with the same score. Molly would be the 3rd Star with 1 goal and 1 assist in the game, Retoslav would be the 2nd Star, also with 1 goal and 1 assist, and the first star would be one of the Free Agent defenders, who due to their breakout plays would end up with 3 assists. London would end with 43 shots on goal, while the Kings only managed 27. Jesse Teno made 25 saves on 27 shots for a .926 SV%, staying on form with how they have played in the VHL. This game, while with an unexpected result, would hopefully help being the 2 leagues closer together, and with all profits made from the game going to charity, hopefully this will set a precedent for VHL vs. NHL exhibition games in the future.

 

 

For all those wondering about the players:

All VHL players had their build recreated exactly in the game, and were given appropriate X-factors and Superstar Abilities to suit their build.

Molly The Cat - 84 Overall (X-factor was the ability to turn very quickly)

Leonard Triller - 85 Overall (X-factor was increased passing ability)
Ivan Retoslav - 74 Overall (X-factor was increased acceleration)
Jesse Teno - 94 Overall (X-factor was increased ability to make low saves while in the butterfly)

All Free Agents used by London were between 65 overall, and 75 overall.

I attempted to make this as realistic as possible, within the limitations of the NHL 22 game.
 

(813 Words)

Claiming for week ending Sunday November 12th, but I just wanna post it now so I don't forget about it.

Pings:

@jacobcarson877 @JCarson @aimkin @Triller

Edited November 1, 2023 by eagle_3450
Fixing Some Spelling Mistakes