3 takeaways from LA Kings rookie faceoff win vs. the Ducks

The Los Angeles Kings and head coach Andrew Lord played a much more complete game in the finale matchup in the Golden State Rookie Faceoff against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday afternoon (Sep. 14).

Top-notch goaltending performance and consistent offensive zone presence gives the Los Angeles Kings a win in the rookie faceoff over Anaheim

Led by a hat trick from forward Kenny Connors, the Kings defeated the Ducks by a score of 4-1. That leaves the Kings with a record of 1-1 coming out of the rookie faceoff this fall. The Ducks were winless as the hosts of the event this weekend in the rookie faceoff, and the Sharks were undefeated with a record of 2-0.

Koehn Ziemmer kicked off the scoring for the Kings, with another odd-man break goal in the first half of the game to put LA ahead on the scoreboard with a score of 1-0. Connors scored the next three goals for the Kings, including an empty netter and the eventual game winner in the second period around the halfway point from that frame.

For the second matchup in a row in the rookie faceoff, the Kings built a 3-0 lead in the first half of the contest. The Kings went on a run of scoring three goals in a span of under five minutes in the early-to-middle stages of the second period vs. Anaheim.

This came partially thanks to a rarity in hockey, an own goal by the Ducks and goaltender Tomas Suchanek. Unlike yesterday against the Sharks, the Kings kept the energy up in all three periods this afternoon for Lord and Co. today.

The Kings didn't waiver in the third period, eventually netting the insurance goal that was also what gave Connors the hat trick late in the game.

The goaltender provided a tremendous backstop for the Kings between the pipes. Despite Anaheim putting up over 35 shots on goal in this game, including double-digit shots in each of the game's first two periods, the Kings got the defense and goaltending performance they needed to get the comfortable three-goal win over the Ducks this afternoon.

Carter George shines in net

Kings' top goalie prospect Carter George made his first start of the rookie faceoff for LA this afternoon on Sunday. George stood on his head for the Kings, keeping LA knotted at zero on the scoreboard in the first period and early in the second vs. the Ducks.

Unlike yesterday when the Kings split time in net between Mattias Sholl and starter Isaiah Saville, the LA top netminder prospect George played the entire game against Anaheim today. The Ducks had an egg on the board offensively against George and the Kings after the first two periods. He stopped over two dozen pucks in the game's first two periods.

George did a great job of shutting down the Ducks in the portion of this game in the rookie faceoff he played for the Kings. He came up big at crucial times for the Kings, including making some nice stops when LA needed their best penalty killer to show up with the special teams unit against the Ducks.

Anaheim has one of the deeper forward prospect pools in the NHL for this upcoming season in the league.

Koehn Ziemmer shows off the speed for the Kings offense

This was the second straight game that Ziemmer scored the game's first goal to set the tone for the Kings offensively and on the scoreboard. Ziemmer caught the Ducks on a two-on-one odd-man rush early in the second period and found the back of the net past Suchanek in net for Anaheim.

Ziemmer had real spark and energy for the Kings' top-six forward core with the top two lines in the offensive zone and the neutral zone in the rookie faceoff this weekend. He was rewarded for his efforts with two nice goals in the offensive zone for the Kings in as many days against the Sharks and Ducks.

Kenny Connors lights up the scoreboard for the Kings

The first star of the game this afternoon for the Kings either has to go to George in between the pipes for LA, or Connors with the game-winning and empty-net goals vs. Anaheim. Connors not only helped the Kings get separation in this game, but he was constantly around the puck and helped keep the energy up for the team when it mattered for these young prospects late in the third period.

Connors bounced back from a bad turnover that ended up allowing the Ducks to get back in the game late in clutch time in the third period. He scored the empty-net goal for a hat trick, which put the game away for the Kings. Connors' first goal in the second period against the Ducks also was the game-winning goal for LA this afternoon.