Ducks overcome rival Kings’ late rally to win OT thriller
LOS ANGELES — All three Freeway Faceoffs this season have burgeoned with suspense, but none more so than Saturday’s tooth-and-nail affair that saw the Ducks beat the Kings, 2-1, in a shootout at Crypto.com Arena on Saturday night.
The contest was scoreless for nearly 48 minutes before a defensive defenseman and a prolific forward traded goals to get the game to an extra session, where chances abounded before the Ducks won the shootout 2-0.
The Ducks have won six of seven games to climb back to a .500 points percentage for the first time since Dec. 1. It was just the Kings’ second loss in their past 14 home games and their first in four games overall, but they now sit two points ahead of Vancouver for third place in the Pacific Division after the Canucks beat Toronto for their third straight victory.
Brian Dumoulin’s first goal of the season was also the first of the game, breaking a scoreless tie in the third period. Trevor Zegras and Leo Carlsson each converted in the shootout. Lukáš Dostál made 43 stops. Captain Radko Gudas was unavailable due to an illness.
Adrian Kempe scored a late equalizer. David Rittich fought off 24 shots in his second start in 24 hours, as Darcy Kuemper (personal) was unavailable. Trevor Lewis was honored for his 1000th career game, which came back on Jan. 4, in a pregame ceremony.
It was the second straight game that went to a shootout for the Kings, but Kempe and Kevin Fiala each came up empty while Zegras and Carlsson both burst forth with deft moves for goals.
Both goalies were tested in overtime, where Rittich made a lunging glove snare on Cutter Gauthier and Dostál anticipated Fiala’s wraparound expertly. With 18.4 seconds in overtime, Drew Doughty dumped Frank Vatrano to the ice, giving the Ducks a four-on-three power play that proved as unsuccessful as it was ephemeral, sending the game to a shootout.
Only 2:39 was left in regulation when Kempe sent a pass ahead for Phillip Danault before driving the net hard to receive a return pass and bury his team-topping 25th goal of the campaign.
With 7:04 elapsed in the third period, the Ducks finally earned the first marker of the match. Just after Leo Carlsson drew a delayed penalty, Carlsson earned a secondary assist after Dumoulin’s shot from just inside the left circle beat Rittich to the far side. It was Dumoulin’s first goal as a Duck after the two-time Stanley Cup champion was acquired in a trade with the Seattle Kraken.
In the second period, the Kings shook off some of the rust and corrosion sustained from 65 minutes of an exhilarating win over the Dallas Stars on Friday, generating higher quality opportunities than the Ducks. Dostál rose to the occasion, halting all 16 shots he faced in another scoreless frame, while Rittich remained unblemished as well.
Early in the stanza, the Ducks gave a long look to their newfangled five-forward unit on their first power play. The Ducks, who entered the night converting just five of their past 65 man-advantage chances, showed promise but not results. Zegras struck iron with a shot before Mason McTavish’s dangerous one-timer fizzled out when his stick broke.
Twenty minutes came and went without a score in a period where the Kings had the only power play and the Ducks carried every major analytical barometer of Natural Stat Trick.