“It was a big game for both teams, and everyone understands the situation for this game, and it is probably as close as you will get to a playoff game in the regular season, so it was good that we played our game”.
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(AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill). If the Ducks win in regulation, then they could likely win the division with an extra game in hand. Kings fans, being notorious for their proud ignorance, failed to see the obvious flaw in this logic (until it smacked them on one of their double chins last season).
Milan Lucic and Kris Versteeg scored 93 seconds apart in the second period and the Kings closed in on their second division title in franchise history with a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Los Angeles on Thursday night.
The victory gives the Kings a two-point lead in the Pacific Division over Anaheim with just one final game left to play.
Regardless of whether the Sharks face the Kings or Ducks, it will make for a fascinating and fun series, but I’m sure fans of team teal would love the opportunity to send Perry and the Ducks home in round one. “But it’s important to us”.
All this means that the Ducks-Capitals game Sunday at Washington will have significance.
“That’s what you want”, Doughty said “You don’t want to be relying on other teams to beat other teams, and other teams to lose”. “There are so many factors that go into it, and we’re looking to do that. So we were really determined tonight, and it was pretty important game”.
Well, a day after writing about how the San Jose Sharks should welcome a first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose now appears destined to travel further South and take on the Anaheim Ducks to begin their 2016 playoff campaign.
Goalie John Gibson recorded 27 saves for the Ducks (44-25-11).
The Ducks played the game without several of their top position players.
Between the scores, Schenn made up for losing Kesler on Anaheim’s opener by drawing Ryan Getzlaf into a fight. The Ducks would need to stay out of the penalty box, but at the same time use the forecheck and size to control the tempo of the game. We’ve got to keep pushing along. We have a lot of work left to do and one massive game ahead of us.
The Freeway Faceoff has reached a new level of enmity since the clubs’ memorable seven-game meeting in the second round of the 2014 playoffs.
NOTES: D Drew Doughty passed Jay Wells for fourth overall in games played by Kings defensemen with 605…. Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, as he is wont to do, found a positive to focus on and pointed out that his group is 6-2-2 over its last 10 games. Mark Scheifele has an National Hockey League career-high nine-game point streak (six goals, eight assists); he needs one goal to become the first Winnipeg player to reach 30 since Evander Kane in 2011-12.
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Gibson had trouble with his skate midway through the third period, and had to come off the ice for a few minutes. Co-starter Frederik Andersen is sidelined with a concussion, but hopes to be back for the playoffs. Defenseman Sami Vatanen was scratched because of the flu and did not accompany the team on its Friday flight to Denver. His 38 points this season are the most by a Ducks defenseman since the 2010-11 season…. For Los Angeles, C Nick Shore, D Alec Martinez, D Kevin Gravel and C Nic Dowd were unavailable….
