ONTARIO –– The Kings and Ducks took their rivalry to the Inland Empire’s Toyota Arena, but even in a different venue, it was the usual suspects getting it done for the Kings in a 3-2 win on Saturday afternoon.
Team captain Anze Kopitar and last season’s team-leading scorer Adrian Kempe factored into all three Kings goals. They each recorded a point shorthanded, at even strength and on the power play, with Kopitar producing a goal and two assists while Kempe dished out three helpers. Their linemate du jour, Alex Laferriere, scored two goals. David Rittich got the nod in net, stopping 18 shots.
For the Ducks, Sam Colangelo netted a man-advantage marker and Frank Vatrano added a late goal. Lukáš Dostál played all 60 minutes and came up with 26 saves.
A mere 35 seconds into the third period, the Kings cushioned their advantage with a third goal from their top line. Kempe won the puck in the corner, tipping it to Kopitar, whose pass from the goal line to the netfront found Laferriere for a far-side shot and his second goal of the game.
Though that stood as the winner, the Ducks added intrigue to the finale, with Vatrano redirecting the puck home off his skate with under five minutes to play before they drew a penalty with 3:41 remaining. Their five-on-four, six-on-four and six-on-five pushes all led to nowhere, however.
The Kings had regained the lead as the big duo came through again, this time shorthanded, with 5:48 elapsed in the second stanza. An errant centering pass careened along the half-wall, acting as a de facto outlet pass that Kempe skated down to ignite a two-on-one rush. He drew Olen Zellweger toward him and deftly slid the puck across for Kopitar, who lofted the puck over Dostál’s glove and into the top corner of the net.
Much of the first period was marked by chippiness, with each whistle bringing potential for a scrum. Two near fights, including a brief skirmish between Kempe and Dillon Heatherington, gave way to a bout that went the distance. Heatherington fought Kings enforcer Andreas Englund and took the rugged Swede down to the ice.
That fight was sandwiched between two power-play goals, one for each side. Just after the dustup between Kempe and Heatherington, the Kings opened the scoring during a four-on-three sequence during which the Ducks’ iron three only had two sticks. Kopitar set up Kempe for a one-timer from the right circle, which generated a push-in rebound for Laferriere, 6:07 into the contest.
The Ducks drew even when their anemic five-on-five attack was enlivened with their first power play of the afternoon. Even then, it took something of a magic bullet to get them on the board, as a sharp-angle heave by Colangelo caromed off Englund’s stick and the side of Rittich’s head before entering the net at the 13:43 mark.
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