LOS ANGELES – The Kings can’t find a way to beat their hometown rivals in the second half of the season. Anaheim won their third straight over Los Angeles with a 2-1 win at the Staples Center Saturday night. The Ducks victory puts them on a two-game winning streak for the first time since March 2. The Kings are traveling the opposite way with their two-game losing streak coming after a successful run cut short.
In their sixth meeting and first since the Stadium Series match on January 25, Los Angeles was looking for some payback after a tough loss on what was considered home ice. After losing to the Maple Leafs who were responsible for snapping their eight-game winning streak, a win over the Ducks would hold them with more wins in the seven game series between the two.
For the Kings playoff hopes are up for grabs, as they currently sit in third place with Dallas seven points behind in the wild card spot with 14 games left to play. The Kings came out in the first to get a grip on the game and take hold of the score. The Ducks gave them a bigger chance two minutes in with Tim Jackman taking an interference call. The Anaheim PK unit knocked off the Kings chance that gave the Ducks time with the puck late in the period On the Kings end there was Martin Jones who has faced the Ducks once in his career hoping to notch another win against them. Jones began to see the Ducks offense come alive with their first chance on the man advantage, but their opportunity went unanswered. The Ducks caught a break in the crease with Mathieu Perreault finding Tim Jackman there for the right winger to shot a short wrister behind the net for a 1-0 lead.
It was Jackman’s fourth on the year and the lead Anaheim was looking for in the heated rivalry between the two franchises. Ducks netminder Frederik Andersen spent the remaining minutes playing tight in net while his defense covered the zone with man to man coverage leaving little room for LA to work with. The Kings took 13 shots to Anaheim’s nine, but with no luck in the first, a stronger second would need to come in Los Angeles’ favor.
There chance came nine minutes into the second while on their third power play of the game, as Tyler Toffoli scored on a short shot near the glove side to gain his 11th and tie the game. The game didn’t stay even for long as the Ducks got ahead once more on a bouncer off the skate of Jake Muzzin; that gave Patrick Maroon his sixth of the year. Maroon’s pass out front was deflected to catch Jones off the mark and take a commanding 2-1 lead. With control of the score, Anaheim returned to a stellar defense against the Kings to send time falling off the clock, which left Los Angeles with minimal opportunities left to use.
The Kings biggest chance came with six minutes left on a shot from Anze Kopitar that looked to make it a game once again. It was later waved off by referees due to incidental contact between Andersen and Kings forward Marian Gaborik. The video showed Gaborik and Ducks right winger Jakob Silfverberg in the crease as the puck travelled over the shoulders of the two going under the crossbar.
The call stood angering the fans and Kings Coach Darryl Sutter who was looking for his 500th career win. Sutter would never see it on the night as the Ducks lucky break helped their defense to hold off pucks in their net to tie the series at three wins apiece. Andersen collected his first win against the Kings with 37 saves on the night in his 16th victory overall. Jones picked up his fifth loss this season stopping 18 shots. The Kings will have one last chance against at home against the Ducks in the second to last game of the season.
