ANAHEIM –– For a second straight game, the Ducks were out-shot handily while leaning heavily on their goaltender while the Kings once again pulled away late for a 4-1 victory at Honda Center on Sunday.
The Ducks managed to come away with a point in Colorado on Friday but created less intrigue on Sunday. The Kings, whose two late tallies made Thursday’s 4-1 win in Montreal look comfortable, put in 43 scoreless minutes before breaking through Sunday.
Goalie Lukáš Dostál turned in another valiant effort after his 45-save performance on Friday for the Ducks, but a breakaway goal and turnover into the most prime scoring area imaginable turned into Kings goals, with Dostál stopping 33 other shots. Forward Ryan Strome scored a goal. Defenseman Pavel Mintyukov, who had two goals in the Ducks’ home opener, was out with an illness.
Wingers Adrian Kempe, Alex Laferriere and Kevin Fiala each scored a goal for the Kings, as did defenseman Mikey Anderson. David Rittich denied 14 of 15 bids.
With 1:07 to play, the Kings finally nailed down a regulation victory when Fiala, who had been thwarted on several solid opportunities, deposited the puck into the vacated cage. Thirty-one seconds later, Anderson tacked on another empty-netter.
Just as Dostál was skating to the bench for a sixth attacker, the Ducks halved their deficit when Frank Vatrano and Troy Terry, who very nearly connected on a backdoor play earlier in the third period, set up Strome’s tip-in tally with 1:44 showing on the clock.
The Kings had picked up a vital second goal with 11:02 to play. Defenseman Jackson LaCombe, who made his season debut after recovering from an illness, made an ill-advised pass that ended up right between the hash marks and became a de facto first assist on Laferriere’s goal.
With another early barrage spearheaded by defensive defenseman Joel Edmundson, the Kings opened up a 22-10 shot advantage and then finally scored the game’s first goal on shot No. 23, 3:06 into the closing stanza.
Anze Kopitar banked a stretch pass off the right-wing boards, which Kempe skated down as he left LaCombe in the dust en route to a five-hole goal off a partial breakaway. The goal was Kempe’s third of the season and the secondary assist was Vladislav Gavrikov’s third helper in two games.
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The Kings emerged with a purpose for the second period, carrying play analytically early in the frame. Dostál was sharp, stopping Tanner Jeannot’s clever chance off the rush as well as Laferriere’s redirection, Trevor Moore’s one-timer and three more threatening shots during a pair of Kings power plays.
In the opposite net, Rittich handled his workload through 40 minutes with the same aplomb, most notably stoning Mason McTavish’s wraparound bid during a stretch where the Ducks had generated some offensive momentum.
A low-event first period sent the game to intermission with no score. The Ducks drew a pair of penalties but hit the net just once on two power plays, with the Kings generating a shorthanded bid as well.