If you had simply watched the pace and play of the LA Kings on Wednesday night, you would have thought they were well on their way to a dominating win over the division rival Anaheim Ducks.
That didn’t happen. The Kings fired 37 shots in regulation, but needed seven rounds of a shootout to grab two points over Jonas Hiller and the Ducks, ending in a 2-1 victory.
The big story of the night, other than the offense that couldn’t find its way into the back of the net, was the two young Russians in the lineup together for the first time this season: Andrei Loktionov and Slava Voynov.
Loktionov was called up due to the injury to Dustin Penner, while Voynov found himself as Alec Martinez‘s replacement, as both are currently on injured reserve.
Much to the dismay of their supporters, neither was incredibly noticeable on Wednesday, not that they had to be. Loktionov set Dustin Brown up on a really nice scoring chance, but they were unable to convert.
Such was the story of the Kings on Wednesday. Their lone goal came courtesy of Mike Richards, who scored just under eight minutes into the second period, giving the Kings a 1-0 lead on the power play.
The Ducks would retaliate with a power play goal of their own, late in the third period. That one came with a bit of controversy, as Cam Fowler drew a tripping call from Justin Williams that may or may not have been the right call. That led to a Teemu Selanne goal with less than four to play in the game.
Overall, the Kings looked strong. Though they were unable to put the puck past Hiller, they allowed just 24 shots and controlled much of the pace. The only real scoring chance for the Ducks that sticks out came when Ryan Getzlaf attempted to redirect a shot past Jonathan Quick, hit it with his hand and scored, but the fact that he was unable to knock it in with the stick resulted in a no goal.
After a scoreless overtime, the two sides played to a shootout, which didn’t lack drama.
It would take seven rounds to decide a winner, with neither side able to put the puck past the two elite goaltenders stationed in each crease. Prior to Round 7, only Round 3 saw action, with Mr. Automatic Jarret Stoll giving the Kings a lead that was quickly erased by Getzlaf.
In the seventh round, Justin Williams sniped one past Hiller, while the Ducks made the questionable decision to send out Kurtis Foster to even things up, which failed, giving the Kings the 2-1 victory.
And so concludes the first of the home-and-home, back-to-back between the division rivals, which continues on Thursday, when the two teams meet back up in Anaheim for Part 2.
Buy Los Angeles Kings Tickets | Buy Los Angeles Kings Apparel
