Rakell leads Ducks past Kings in return to lineup
LOS ANGELES -- Rickard Rakell scored a goal and recorded two assists in his season debut as the Anaheim Ducks crushed the Los Angeles Kings 4-0 in a testy affair Tuesday night at Staples Center.
Joseph Cramarossa scored his first career NHL goal and Antoine Vermette and Ryan Kesler also tallied for the Ducks (4-4-2), who have beaten the Kings in 12 of their last 16 regular-season meetings.
Goaltender John Gibson extended the scoring woes for the Kings (4-6-0), who haven't found the net in three straight games. Gibson made 30 saves.
Kings goalie Peter Budaj stopped 12 of 16 shots before being replaced by backup Jack Campbell at the start of the third period. Campbell had five saves.
Rakell, who re-signed with the Ducks on Oct. 14, returned after rehabbing from offseason abdominal surgery.
With less than 10 minutes remaining in the third, players from both clubs exchanged punches that resulted in game misconduct penalties for Cramarossa and Anaheim defenseman Clayton Stoner, and Los Angeles defenseman Derek Forbort.
Kings left winger Kyle Clifford squared off twice in the first period, initially with Ducks right winger Jared Boll and later with defenseman Kevin Bieksa.
Rakell got the Ducks off an running on a goal with 31 seconds remaining in the first period. Rakell scored after Kessler kicked the puck to him following a faceoff with Nic Dowd and fired a rocket through the legs of Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin and past Budaj.
In the second period, Anaheim scored twice within 31 seconds. Vermette delivered the first tally, converting a pass by Rakell from behind the net on a power play at 2:49.
Kesler's tap-in on a power play and a pass from Ryan Getzlaf made it 3-0 at 3:20. It was Kesler's second goal this season.
After a Kings' turnover, Cramarossa got into the act by scoring on a wraparound for a 4-0 advantage at 10:46 of the second.
The four goals came on only 13 shots by Anaheim.
NOTES: Ducks G Dustin Tokarski was recalled from the AHL San Diego Gulls. ... The Kings reassigned D Rob Scuderi to AHL Ontario, one day after being recalled. ... Kings D Jake Muzzin played his 300th NHL game. ... Kings D Drew Doughty appeared in his 616th career game, tying Mark Hardy for 10th on the Kings all-time games played list and tying him for third among defensemen. ... D Matt Greene performed in his 442nd game and tied Steve Duchesne for 10th among Kings defensemen all-time. ... Ducks LW Andrew Cogliano played his 714th consecutive game, the longest active streak in the NHL. ... Anaheim scratched D Korbinian Holzer and G Jonathan Bernier. RW Teddy Purcell and C Andy Andreoff were unavailable for Los Angeles. ... The teams meet four more times this season, with the next contest Nov. 20 at Anaheim. ... The Ducks host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. The Penguins visit the Kings on Thursday.