Ducks vs Kings RECAP: Royalty, No More!

1st Period

Drew Doughty was able to open the scoring for the Kings six minutes into the first. He received a pass at the point. Ryan Kesler and Andrew Cogliano both pressed and ended up colliding with one another, giving Doughty a clear lane to the net. He took a shot just inside the right circle and beat Gibson glove side.

The Ducks responded strong with the second line of Silf-Kes-Cogs getting some good chances as they got pucks on net low causing rebounds while having traffic in front to get second attempts. About the half way point, the Ducks led scoring chances 4-2.

Both goalies went toe-to-toe and made some great saves. One of the biggest highlights was John Gibson making a big save on a partial breakaway for the Kings. The net ended up being knocked off, but Gibson still made an epic save on a second shot even though it wouldn’t have counted.

2nd Period

Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf started the period off by generating a 2-on-1 opportunity. Perry fed Getzlaf a pass, and Getzlaf gave it right back catching Quick out of position. The pass however was just off the mark, and Perry couldn’t receive it cleanly enough to get a shot off.

Ondrej Kase had a nice toe-drag down the middle. He fumbled it,ended up keeping it ,and got a backhand shot on net. Quick made an uncomfortable save.

The Kings got some chances on the other end with a couple wrap around attempts, as they started to push back. Adrian Kempe followed it up with an attempt on a 2-on-1 break. Gibson made the initial save though and controlled the rebound.

The Kesler line got a great chance again with five minutes left. A loose puck landed on Kesler’s stick. From the left circle he put a shot on net. Quick made the save, but the rebound is was left in front. Silf got a couple whacks at it, but Quick was able to recover and reel the puck in for a whistle.

Nick Ritchie was able to tie it up! Can you beleive it?! Me neither! It helps that Kase did all the initial work. After dangling around about 4 guys and undressing Dion Phaneuf, Kase put a shot on net that results in a rebound. Ritchie in front was able to get it first and backhand it in.

The period ended with the Ducks just beginning a powerplay and the game tied 1-1. The final period guaranteed to be intense, heart-stopping, and some other words I can’t think to describe because I was too nervous.

3rd Period

The Ducks were unable to convert on the power play, but Getzlaf showed a little of his wizardry by setting up several attempts for his linemates. First, getting in deep, Getzlaf found Hampus Lindholm sliding in above the the left dot. Lindholm got a ripper of a one-timer off but Quick made the save. Shortly after, Getzlaf along the side boards hit Perry entering the slot for a great chance but again Quick made the save.

The Ducks began putting heavy pressure on the Kings as Perry got another chance in front. He tried to go high with a backhand but sent it just over the net.

Doughty jumped in on a rush and found Dustin “the worst human being” Brown for a wide open slap shot. Gibson made a big first save. The second attempt was disrupted before it could be put on net.

Gibson made a huge stop on Kempe with 40 seconds remaining. And he made another sensational save 10 seconds later as Tyler Toffoli got an open shot from the slot. It’s almost like he has a worse defense in front of him compared to Pekke Rinne, but he still made just as many big saves, and should probably win the Vezina.

The tie can’t be broken which means we’re headed for overtime, and you know what that means when you consider the Ducks and the Kings track record in 3v3 overtime.

Overtime

There were two halves to this overtime. The first half was the overtime you’d expect. Both teams tried to be possession hogs, entering and exiting the zone multiple times without actually generating any real scoring chances.

The second half though, oh wow. It was complete and utter chaos with both teams trading odd man chances back and forth. Even Ryan Getzlaf put some fancy moves on and toe dragged around a defender for a nice scoring chance. Every 10 seconds there was a shot that looked to be the game ender with both goalies sprawling left and right to make saves. Players diving all over the place to disrupt passes. It was madness!

That is, until a certain beautiful, wonderful, skillful man by the name of Rickard Rakell had enough of it. As he entered the zone, he cut right to separate from a defender. As he did that he loaded up and whipped a wrist shot far left side with Quick moving right. It beat Quick clean and rang the top corner. The Kings were devastated by the realization. The Ducks were overjoyed! All is right with the world!

With the point the Kings earned going to overtime, they remain in the 3rd Pacific position. The Ducks jumped into the first Wild Card spot and still have a game in had on the Kings. Their next game comes on Sunday when they take on the Colorado Avalanche in yet another, extremely crucial playoff-race game. Puck drops at 6pm PST.