Ducks Slow Start Proves Costly, Lose to Kings 2-1

Final Score: Ducks 1, Kings 2

First Period Recap: If you thought the Ducks were going to come out to compete against the Kings, you wouldn't have seen it during the first period. The Ducks were credited with only one shot on goal IN THE ENTIRE FIRST PERIOD, meanwhile, the Kings scored on a goal from Drew "crybaby" Doughty from high between the circles. The Ducks top line of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan got caught pressing the issue down around the crease when Doughty sent the puck towards the net. A few deflections and the puck bounced past Viktor Fasth to put the Kings up 1-0.

The first period wasn't without controversy as the Ducks were called for a questionable interference call on Radek Dvorak and knee on knee contact between Dustin Brown and Andrew Cogliano. Apparently, the shoulder to shoulder contact negating the fact that Cogliano's knee was completely hyperextended (a highlight they insisted on showing over and over again to my stomach's great discomfort) and thus no penalty was called on the play.

Second Period Recap: A much better second period saw the Ducks come out and get some strong chances. However, they wouldn't really shine until the final 20 seconds of the Daniel Winnik slashing penalty when Getzlaf blocked a shot and raced to the puck. Just as he beat two Kings defenders to the puck, Jonathan Quick thought he could win the race to the rolling puck but missed as Getzlaf tapped the puck ahead, took control and shot the puck into a wide open net with both defenders sprawled out on the ice.

The momentum was definitely in Anaheim's favor as they picked up the tempo and started to control the puck more in their own zone. Even after Ben Lovejoy was sent to the box with a high sticking double minor on Jeff Carter, the Ducks completely dominated the penalty kill. Cogliano got tied up with Quick behind the net at one point and was soon after the recipient of the puck in the Kings zone. He went one-on-one with Quick, but to no ones surprise, he didn't score. The Kings weren't credited with any shots on goal during the power play, and only had three total in the second period.

However, the real downer of the second period for Anaheim was an Emerson Etem shot that hit the cross bar, bounced to Bobby Ryan and went into the net. The replay showed Ryan using a kicking motion and the goal was overturned. It really seemed as though any momentum gained by the Getzlaf shorthanded goal was now completely lost.

To make matters worse, late in the second period Francois Beauchemin took a delay of game penalty just after a time-out to cool the Ducks off from a lengthy Kings possession that ended in an icing call. When they came back to the face-off the puck came to Beauchemin who flipped it down the length of the ice and right over the glass. The Ducks would not see the same fate as their earlier penalty kill as Doughty sent a nice pass to Mike Richards and the Kings went up 2-1. [Ed. Note: I'm usually the last guy to complain about refs, but Koivu was CLEARLY tripped by Carter leading up to this goal. At that point the Ducks hadn't had a power play and had killed four penalties, just couldn't catch a break with the officials tonight. It wasn't the only reason they lost, but it did end up being the game winner. -CK]

Third Period Recap: The third period finally saw both teams playing with some desperation. The Kings looking to keep the momentum and the Ducks finally playing like they wanted to win...or at least catch up. But, as they say in hockey, it really is a game of inches. Fasth was saved by a puck that crept through his legs and slid just past the outside of the post. The Ducks had their chances, most notably a great shot by Matt Beleskey, in which he had a second opportunity on a rebound that Quick grabbed while diving back into position.

Despite the Ducks FINALLY drawing a penalty and with Doughty headed to the box with 2:55 left in the game, Anaheim couldn't convert on the power play and all was lost.

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The Good: The second period would have made for a GREAT game...if the first and the third didn't mean anything.

The Bad: Getting control. I don't know what has happened, but this team has gone to the extreme opposite of "cycling too much". Lately it seems they can't pass or control the puck at all, whereas before it seemed that was all they were capable of doing. Forget taking any shots if you can't control the puck.

The Ugly: The first period was ugly. If the second period was GREAT, the first period was DISGUSTING. One shot on goal in an entire period is going to make it really hard to win games.

The Badass: That Ryan Getzlaf goal was badass.

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3rd Icehole: Dustin Brown - if you need an explanation, see previous posts on who Ducks fans hate - and throw a knee in there while you're at it.

2nd Icehole: Francois Beauchemin - delay of game penalties are the worst. Unfortunately his led to the Kings game winning goal, and that just sucks.

1st Icehole: The Crossbar - that damn bar! Talk about a momentum killer for Anaheim.

Next Game: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 @ 7pm vs. Columbus @ Honda Center