Kings at Ducks
THE STORY: Goals just don’t seem to be something the Anaheim Ducks are interested in these days. The Ducks, who feature reigning Hart Trophy winner Corey Perry and 600-goal scorer Teemu Selanne, are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL and have dropped into last place in the Pacific Division. In the opener of a home-and-home set with the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, Anaheim put 24 shots on goal in regulation and overtime and managed to sneak just one past Jonathan Quick in a 2-1 shootout loss. The Ducks are 29th in the league in shots per game, averaging just over 25. The Kings aren’t all that much better at under 30, but at least they can lean on one of the NHL’s best defenses. Los Angeles will be looking for another low-scoring win when it takes the short trip to Anaheim on Thursday.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, FSW (Los Angeles), FSPT (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE KINGS (9-6-3): Quick made five saves in the shootout on Wednesday and has won two straight starts to recover from a 0-4-2 stretch. Los Angeles has won three of its last four and has at least one power-play goal in each of its last five. Mike Richards scored the lone regulation goal on the man-advantage on Wednesday and has scored in three of his last four.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (6-8-4): Anaheim has won one game in the last three weeks, a 4-3 home win over Vancouver last Friday. That also marked one of only two times in that span that the Ducks had scored more than two goals. Jonas Hiller made 36 saves on Wednesday and Selanne scored his sixth goal late in the third period but Anaheim failed to generate enough scoring opportunities to top Quick.
OVERTIME:
1. Selanne’s goal on Wednesday was the 643rd of his career.
2. Ducks forward Niklas Hagman does not yet have an American work visa but was at the game on Wednesday.
3. Los Angeles will likely turn to backup Jonathan Bernier on Thursday. The 23-year old is 2-0-0 in his career against Anaheim.