It was a frustrating night in the battle of the Freeway Face-off.
The Los Angeles Kings battled hard to control most of the game. Going into the third with a 2-0 lead the Kings were looking solid. Four un-answered goals later and the Anaheim Ducks took over the game, cruising to the win.
Trevor Lewis opened the scoring after absorbing a hip-check along the boards. Fighting through the play Lewis cut along the bottom of the circle to the front of the net and slide a shot through the legs of John Gibson.
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Brayden McNabb increased the Kings led halfway through the second period with a wrist shot from the point. McNabb’s shot made it through traffic in front and trickled into the net.
It was McNabb’s first goal of the season.
4:37 into the third period the onslaught started.
Worst of all it was started by a Duck who has been a Kings killer all season: Ryan Kesler.
The Kings were hemmed in their zone when the puck was tipped back around behind the goal. Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano threw a no-look backhand pass out to the front of the net that made it through skates to Ryan Kesler’s stick. Kesler was able to wrist a difficult-poor angle shot to the top-far corner of the goal.
A minute-and-a-half later Ducks forward Emerson Etem dove to poke the puck deep into the Kings zone. Etem cut to the front of the goal and a pass from Rickard Raskell hit Etem and found its way past Martin Jones and into the Kings net.
Star Duck Corey Perry was able to give the Ducks the lead by cutting through the slot, picking up a goofy bounce and firing a shot past the unexpecting Jones. Ryan Getzlaf flipped a backhand pass toward the slot. Drew Doughty attempted to catch the puck out of the air. Instead the puck rolled off Doughty’s fingers and onto the stick of Perry.
Puck Prose
Perry lobbed a shot from his own zone and into the Kings empty net for his second goal of the game and 26th of the season.
In the end the Ducks outshot the Kings 32-22.
It was a relatively clean game for such a fierce rivalry. Only two penalties were called, one on each team. Both teams were 0-for-1 on the power-play. A bit of nastiness occurred in the second period when Jordan Nolan slashed one of the Ducks forwards between the legs. A small scrum ensued but nothing major came out of it.
Martin Jones played well in place of the Jonathan Quick who had the night off after playing last night. Jones stood on his head in the second period, when the Kings were outshot 12-5. Jones save percentage was .903 on the night.
This season Jones record is now 4-4-2, with a goals against average 2.28 and a save percentage of .907.
It was Andrej Sekera’s first game in a Los Angeles Kings uniform. Sekera had no points, was a -1, and had 1 blocked shot and 2 giveaways.
The Kings are now 1-1-2 against the Ducks this season. The next and final chapter of this season’s Freeway Face-off is March 18th, when the Kings return to Honda Center for a shot at redemption.
L.A.’s record is now 29-20-12, with a record of 9-13-6 on the road. The Kings remain in 3rd place in the Pacific Division, and 8th in the Western Conference.
The Kings next game is Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. PST in Winnipeg. The Kings will be at MTS Centre to take on the Jets.
Next: Kings Re-sign Kyle Clifford to 5-Year Deal
February 27, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry (10) celebrates his goal scored against the Los Angeles Kings during the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports