Ducks blow late three-goal lead, beat Kings 5-4 in shootout
Kevin Shattenkirk and Trevor Zegras scored in the shootout, and the Ducks blew a three-goal lead in the third period before rallying for a 5-4 win over the L.A. Kings on Tuesday night in the first Freeway Faceoff of the season.
Troy Terry and Shattenkirk scored unassisted goals in the second period and John Gibson made 30 saves before stopping two of Los Angeles’ three tries in the shootout. The Ducks got their 10th win in 14 games despite wasting a 4-1 lead with 13 minutes left in regulation after Cam Fowler and Isac Lundestrom scored 29 seconds apart early in the third period.
Jonathan Quick stopped 32 shots and Dustin Brown scored the tying goal with 4:26 left in regulation for the Kings, who have lost six of seven after a seven-game winning streak.
Alex Iafallo scored two goals, and Adrian Kempe started Los Angeles’ third-period comeback with his eighth goal of the season.
Lias Andersson scored in the first round of the shootout for Los Angeles, but Zegras tied it for Anaheim in the second. Gibson stopped Anze Kopitar before Shattenkirk beat Quick for the winner.
Kings forward Brendan Lemieux has drawn a five-game suspension without pay for biting the hand of Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk during a fight on Saturday.
A lively Staples Center crowd was rewarded with a barn-burner of a game when these revitalized Southern California rivals met for the 153rd time. Both clubs are showing significant progress this season after bottoming out with concurrent three-year playoff droughts.
Anaheim has been competitive near the top of the Pacific Division this season despite the departure of general manager Bob Murray, while Los Angeles has taken clear strides with new talent around its Stanley Cup-winning cornerstones.
Drew Doughty had an assist while playing almost 28 minutes in a quick return from seriously bruising his knee on Oct. 22. The Kings initially projected Doughty would be out for two months, but the 2016 Norris Trophy winner (and famously quick healer) missed five weeks and 16 games with the most significant injury of his 14-year career.
Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf left the ice in the first period with an apparent left ankle injury. The 36-year-old center is in the midst of an impressive rebound season with 20 points — including the 1,000th of his career — in 23 games.
After a scoreless first period, Terry put the Ducks ahead by moving through most of the Kings’ defense and unleashing a snap shot into the top far corner of Quick’s net for the 14th goal of his breakout season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs tied a franchise record with their seventh straight road victory, beating the Anaheim Ducks 5-1.
Anaheim went up 4-1 with two goals early in the third. Shortly after Fowler got a power play goal that deflected off Trevor Moore, Lundestrom drove the net and left the puck in the crease, but Los Angeles’ Matt Roy accidentally backhanded it off teammate Alex Edler and into Quick’s net.
Kempe scored on a deflection to make it 4-2, and the Kings nearly appeared to get another 21 seconds later before the officials ruled out Carl Grundstrom’s goal for a high stick. Los Angeles kept up its pressure, and Brown followed Iafallo’s second goal by tying it with his third goal of the season.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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