Head coach Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings (5-2-0) avoided a third-period disaster in their final game of the preseason this fall against the crosstown rival and Pacific Division foe Anaheim Ducks (4-2-1) on Saturday afternoon.
Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings survive a late-third-period four-goal-rally from the Ducks in the preseason finale this weekend
The Kings had a comfortable 4-0 lead on the scoreboard over 45 minutes into the game in the middle of the third period yesterday against the Ducks. But Anaheim rallied to score four goals in a span of under a dozen minutes in clutch time in the third period to close the gap with the Kings and tie the game up on the scoreboard to send it into overtime.
It only took the Ducks under 30 seconds to tie the game up on the scoreboard late in the third period. Leo Carlsson scored two of the Ducks' four goals in clutch time late in the third period to tie things up with the Kings.
Kevin Fiala notched the game-winning goal on a nice shot late in overtime to give the Kings the 5-4 win to cap the preseason finale at home yesterday.
Here are two big overreactions following the Kings' almost-collapse in the third period in a 5-4 overtime win over the Ducks in the preseason finale at Crypto.com Arena in LA on Oct. 4.
Third-period woes are still in full force for Hiller and the Kings
The Kings' two most recent games against the Ducks saw the team cough up at least a one-goal lead in the middle of the third period. It didn't matter that the Kings had over 20 scoring chances and 40 shots on goal against the Ducks in the preseason this fall this past week on Sep. 27. The Ducks rallied to score three straight goals late in the third period to beat the Kings, 5-3.
Hiller didn't have many great answers for the Kings' late-third-period collapse against the Ducks yesterday. He said the Kings played "well for 50 minutes" yesterday afternoon in the overtime win over Anaheim, by a score of 5-4.
"Then we saw, you guys saw it too, then we got tight, and you see what happens really quickly. That’s why it’s a great game. Great League, great game. You don’t do it right, sometimes the coaches complain all the time, do it right, players get tired of hearing it and then every once in a while you get that and that’s why you have to keep it saying it."Jim Hiller
Since the final dozen regular season games and the postseason this past year in the 2024-25 campaign, Hiller and the Kings have four blown third-period leads that resulted in losses, including two blown leads early in the third period in the first round of the playoffs in the postseason.
Phillip Danault will be the Kings' best two-way center
The star of the game for the Kings in the overtime win against the Ducks yesterday was easily Phillip Danault. The Kings' two-way center was the only player on the team with multiple goals and an assist in the preseason finale win vs. Anaheim at Crypto yesterday.
Danault either scored or assisted on two of the Kings' first three goals in the game, including the goal that winger Warren Foegele scored on the backdoor on the crease on the power play on special teams. He also opened up the scoring in the third period for the Kings with a nice goal that put LA ahead on the scoreboard by a margin of 4-0.
"We were aggressive, we’re trying to attack the net right away. Our mentality was shot on that play, just like moving well, good entry as well. Yeah, it was a good PP all around."Phillip Danault
Danault showed the value he brings to the Kings' on both ends of the ice yesterday. He played more minutes with the power play unit on special teams, which paid dividends for the Kings in regulation with multiple scoring chances created and a key assist on Foegele's goal in the middle of the first frame yesterday.
He led the team in high-danger scoring chances, scoring chances created, and total points vs. the Ducks (per Natural Stat Trick).