Kings vs. Ducks: Battle for the Pacific Division Title

By Emily Redenbach
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Updated: March 6, 2016

A little more than a month ago the Kings were sitting pretty atop of the Pacific Division. Double digit lead. It was inevitable that it would be the Ducks that took that lead away and took it for themselves. The freeway face-off took place in the afternoon which traditionally isn’t great for the Kings; neither is playing the Ducks (regular season edition. Playoffs are another story.) The Ducks got the better of the first period play wise. They were getting some good rebounds while the Kings were seemingly unable to pick up a single one.

For once in my life I didn’t feel the need to scream at Jonathan Quick for playing the puck, because he almost got an assist on a potential Anze Kopitar goal, when he played it straight to him in the neutral zone and Kopitar just missed on the breakaway. (He would get an assist on the same play later in the game.) Then at 6:58 all hell broke loose. Kyle Clifford and Corey Perry started it, getting into a fight that would have just resulted in a coincidental minor; roughing for both. But as they made their way into the box it seemed like everyone else on the ice wanted in on the action. At least three separate fights broke out and penalties reigned down. In no particular order; Luke Schenn and Jamie McGinn both with 10 minute misconducts. Kevin Bieksa and Andy Andreoff with 5 for fighting and game misconducts. Kris Versteeg and Rickard Rakell 5 for fighting. Corey Perry ended up with the extra unsportsmanlike conduct penalty leaving the Kings with a power play (which was basically taken up by Dave Joseph announcing all the penalties.) Kopitar again ended up almost scoring with some spectacular ‘keep away’ play. Both goalies kept the game 0-0 after the first, but it was hardly an uneventful period of hockey!

The Ducks opened the second period by scoring, a snapshot from Ryan Kesler that Quick didn’t even see. Trevor Lewis tried to make up for that by smashing a few more Ducks into the wall; if the Oscars weren’t over some of them deserved nominations for how they took the hits. The Kings also tried to make up for it by creating quality chances for themselves; it took a power play but at 11:14 they got the equalizer they were looking for. It was a gorgeous goal; Quick would pick up an assist for his work on the play. The Ducks thought they had cleared the puck but Quick came pretty far out to play it, found Lecavalier in the neutral zone who in turn found an open Milan Lucic. He found the back of the net and the game was tied! The Kings didn’t quit; they had four or five solid rushes before the Ducks could get a handle on the puck. Despite that, it didn’t take long for the Ducks go get back on top. The goal came on a power play, which came as a surprise to exactly no one. The call on Tanner Pearson that caused the power play was somewhat questionable, but none the less the Kings didn’t have a penalty kill good enough to stop it from making a difference.

The third period was shockingly similar to the second. The Ducks scored on a questionable power play, and mere minutes later the Kings scored on their power play too! This time it was Doughty with a stunning blast that Anderson didn’t even see coming. The Kings continued to play a heavy board game (particularly Lucic), but had a mix of luck. Jeff Carter at one point rebounded the puck off the boards back to himself. Dustin Brown had several good chances that all seemed to bounce awkwardly over his stick before he could get a good shot off. And while the Kings had more looks at goal (goodness Kopitar has incredible control even when he only has one had on his stick, it’s remarkable), nothing they did could get past Anderson. It didn’t help that Versteeg left late in the second period he didn’t come back for the third. Ultimately, even with Quick pulled (and perhaps this would have been a different story had they pulled him 30 seconds earlier when they had complete control of the puck in the Ducks zone for a whole 30 seconds) they couldn’t get the equalizer that would send the game into overtime. Final score: 3-2 Ducks.

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