Los Angeles Kings Defeated by Ducks 6-5 in Anaheim Shootout

The Los Angeles Kings took on the Ducks in Anaheim at Honda Center on Wednesday night. The game was featured by NBC Sports as part of NBC’s Rivalry Night. Not only did this game go to the shootout, but it was a shootout. The Ducks came away with 2 points, winning 6-5.

Right out of the gate this game was fast and physical. Both teams were flying around throwing hits and trying to work cycles down low.

The Ducks appeared to have the upper hand in the early going. In the first period, the Kings did not have a shot for 14 straight minutes. After the 1:10 minute mark, until 0:48.5 left in the first (that’s 18:02.5) the Kings did not register a shot, though they got the lead.

Nov 12, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) is defended by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen (45) at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Anze Kopitar received a great pass from Gaborik at center ice that allowed Kopitar to split the defensemen. Ducks defender Sami Vatanen got caught watching, was slow to react, and missed the pass allowing Kopitar to fly by. Vatanen hooked Kopitar on the following breakaway resulting in a penalty shot.

Forehand, backhand, five-hole. Goal. Kopitar made it look easy. 1-0 Kings.

After Kopitar scored the Kings had to kill a penalty of their own. About five minutes later the Kings had to kill a penalty again, as Jake Muzzin took a penalty for tripping Emerson Etem.

Anaheim had a couple of shots and some great opportunities on the Muzzin penalty. Quick was there to stop the Ducks and bail out the Kings.

With under a minute to go in the first period the Kings were pouring it on and making it hard for Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen. The puck bounced off the boards out to Drew Doughty who turned on his edges and wired a powerful slapshot to the short-side top corner beating Andersen glove side. 2-0 Kings.

Two minutes into the second period the Kings went on the power-play with Josh Manson in the box for a delay-of-game penalty, after shooting the puck out of play in the Ducks zone. The only significant play on the power-play was when center Mike Richards got hit in the head on an attempted zone clear by Ducks defensemen Vatanen.

Good news: Richards returned.

With just under 13-minutes left in the second period the Ducks got on a 2-on-1, with new defensemen Jamie McBain as the only man back for the Kings. McBain slid to help block the shot by William Karlsson but the shot still made it on net. Kings goalie Jonathan Quick was able to make the save but the shot’s direction change stunned Quick, knocking him off his feet. Quick fell back; down while the puck was lying a foot in front of the crease, with Karlsson on top of him in the crease. The puck came around the boards and Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano passed it back to defensemen Cam Fowler at the point. Fowler fired a shot that made it past the scrambling Kings and past a recovering Quick, cutting the Kings lead in half.

That goal reignited the Ducks. The speed and flow of play picked up after that. The Ducks were buzzing in the Kings zone for the next three minutes.

Then Trevor Lewis was streaking in to the Ducks zone and put a shot on goal. Andersen miffed the shot, letting it slip under his glove arm, and in between his body and arm.

After that Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau showed he was not missing around. Andersen was pulled and ex-King and Ducks backup Jason LaBarbera was called into the net.

Andersen played less than half the game.

The Ducks came back on all cylinders after the change, pushing play in the Kings zone.

Mike Richards had an opportunity after McBain flipped the puck to him at center ice. Richards was streaking down the ice along the dots, not on a clear-cut breakaway, but close, and fired a slapshot that just missed the upper right corner over LaBarbara’s glove hand.

Kings head coach Darryl Sutter was interviewed by NBC’s Brian Engblom nine minutes into the second period. Sutter said: “I think the First period was a really good pace. Obviously the penalty shot goal is a big goal for us. A lot of their chances in the first period came on the forecheck and scrambles around the net. Second period, scored a little bit of a flukey goal, if it changes the momentum a little bit, they’ve been coming at us pretty hard”

Words that may haunt the coach Sutter and the Kings.

As usual coach Sutter was right. It came in what commentator Brian Engblom called a “two-goal swing”. LaBarbara made a big save on an odd-man rush where Gaborik made a cross-ice pass to Justin Williams who held on, skated in and took a shot. LaBarbara made the save, and the puck was cleared up, setting the Ducks off on their own odd-man rush the other way.

A pass from Ryan Kesler to Jakob Silfverberg at the top of the circle. Silfverberg fired a shot top-shelf past Quick’s glove to make the score 3-2 Kings.

The Ducks continued buzzing and firing shot after shot. Minutes after Silfverberg’s goal, Ducks star Ryan Getzlaf fed Patrick Maroon a brilliant saucer-pass. Maroon hit the left goal post, as the Kings were, again, scrambling.

Nov 12, 2014; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf (15) is defended by Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Greene (2) at Honda Center. The Ducks defeated the Kings 6-5 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

On a leg-pad rebound one-timer, in front Quick made an insane glove save on Rickard Rakell.

To start the third period, Getzlaf came into the Kings zone and fired a shot on the short side of the net, the puck hit the side of the net but the goal light went off. Still 3-2 Kings. But that was a heart-stopper for Kings fans.

A nice keep in at the point and a quick shot on net by Vatanen, got tipped. Quick made the save but a drop pass from Matt Beleskey, put Silfverberg alone in the slot. Silfverberg passed the puck back, teeing up Ryan Kesler who took a Brett-Hull slapshot from the hash-marks and into the net past Quick. 3-3.

Dwight King was stuffed by LaBarbera on a great chance moments later, when he was alone at the top of the crease.

Jamie McBain took a hit down below the Kings goal line to get the puck to Doughty who moved it up to Gaborik along the boards at center ice. Gaborik streaked down the wing and fired a shot far side, sniping the low corner for the go-ahead goal.

Three and a half minutes later Alec Martinez took a shot from the point. The rebound went right to Justin Williams who slapped it home. 5-3 Kings.

Three minutes later, with time winding down, the Ducks pushed back. Ryan Kesler skated into the zone, deked McBain out of his skates, McBain literally fell down, drove around the net and scored on a wrap-around. McNabb trapped Quick’s stick on the side of the net. Quick was caught and slow to come around, unable to block the wrap-around with three Kings defenders on top of him. Kesler streaked in, swung around the net, and tucked it in.

With 1:39 left, Devante Smith-Pelly took a bad angle shot from the half-boards. The shot was tipped by Getzlaf three feet off the crease and past Quick. Tie game.

Getzlaf had another chance with 10 seconds left. Getzlaf came streaking in, wide open as the 4-man in, late trailer, and fired a snap-shot that just missed the top corner of Quick’s glove hand.

No surprise this one would require extra time.

Overtime solved nothing, and the game went into a shootout.

Gaborik went first streaking in and firing a sniper. 1-0 Kings.

Silfverberg mimicked Gaborik, exactly. 1-1.

Jeff Carter went next for the Kings and was stopped by LaBabera with a low deke-shot. LaBarbera taunted Carter after the save with either a wave, or a “talk-talk-talk” motion. There’s something going on between those two.

Next Kesler went and was able to sneak one past Quick for the third time. 2-1 Ducks.

Kopitar shot last for the Kings, and was stopped to end the shootout and the game.