Ducks at Kings
After sidestepping an 0-3 hole, the Anaheim Ducks attempt to even their Western Conference second-round series when they visit the Los Angeles Kings for Game 4 on Saturday. Anaheim dropped the first two games of the matchup at home, scoring a total of three goals in the process, before taking advantage of its power-play chances en route to a 3-2 triumph in Game 3 on Thursday. Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne each tallied with the man advantage and defenseman Ben Lovejoy added a much-needed goal late in the third period as the Pacific Division-champion Ducks continued the trend of road victories in the series.
Coach Bruce Boudreau switched from Jonas Hiller to Frederik Andersen in goal, citing the former's 0-5-2 career record at Staples Center as the reason. The move worked as the Danish rookie - who was 2-0-0 at Los Angeles during the regular season - limited the Kings to one goal on 23 shots. The 24-year-old Andersen suffered an apparent right leg injury midway through the third period, but Hiller came on and turned aside seven of the eight shots he faced - allowing only Mike Richards' first tally of the postseason with 31 seconds remaining.
TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN, RDS
ABOUT THE DUCKS: With Andersen's status in question, Anaheim recalled John Gibson from Norfolk of the American Hockey League on Friday. The 20-year-old native of Pittsburgh was superb during his brief stint during the regular season, going 3-0-0 with a shutout while allowing only four goals on 87 shots. Defenseman Sami Vatanen made his NHL playoff debut in Game 3 and drew rave reviews from Boudreau. "I thought he was the best player on the ice for both teams," the coach said.
ABOUT THE KINGS: While Anaheim went 2-for-2 on the power play Thursday, Los Angeles converted its only opportunity as Jeff Carter cashed in for his third goal of the postseason. The Kings are 8-for-28 with the man advantage over their last eight games after going 0-for-4 in their first two contests. Anze Kopitar extended his point streak to 10 games with his league-leading 11th assist, which also raised his postseason-best point total to 15.
OVERTIME
1. Anaheim LW Patrick Maroon's assist on Thursday gave him a point in six consecutive contests.
2. Kopitar is two games away from matching the longest single-playoff point streak in franchise history set in 1993 by Wayne Gretzky.
3. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf has notched an assist on four of his team's six goals in the series.