ANAHEIM—The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks faced off on Sunday, February 28 in another installment of the heated rivalry. Both teams are fighting for the top spot in the Pacific Division, with the Kings leading by four points going into the game.
The Honda Center had an atmosphere of a playoff game and Ducks forward Corey Perry put together a playoff performance amassing three goals and one assist in the Ducks 4-2 victory. It was Perry’s ninth career hat-trick and the Ducks eighth straight win.
“You’re just trying to help the team win,” said Perry. “I had some good bounces tonight. Those are bounces that you need to succeed.”
Two of Perry’s three goals came on the power play as Anaheim went 3 for 5 overall compared to the King’s going just 1 for 4 with the man advantage.
“We had three power-play goals, so our power play was working tonight,” said Perry. “It’s a close-checking game out there when you play those guys. It’s a man’s game. You have to be ready to play.”
The Ducks have scored power-play goals in eight straight games with a total of 13 power-play goals over those eight games, demonstrating that the Ducks are not a team that you want to give a man advantage to.
“We take too many penalties,” said Kings forward Anze Kopitar. “We can definitely be sharper on the penalty kill. Our game overall has to be better if we want to beat this team.”
Jonathan Quick stopped 25 of 29 shots for the Kings and his opposition, John Gibson, had 27 saves for the Ducks.
The Kings will look to rebound against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, March 3 as they cling to a two-point lead over Anaheim, who hosts the Canadians on Wednesday, March 2.
The two teams will face off again on Saturday, March 5 in Los Angeles.
