Kings at Ducks
Two Pacific Division rivals who were unable to solve a first-year goaltender hope to have better success against each other when the Los Angeles Kings visit the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Los Angeles fell victim to Andrew Hammond - and an early whistle - as it dropped a 1-0 decision to Ottawa on Thursday to halt its eight-game winning streak. Hammond made 35 saves but wasn't able to stop Justin Williams, who buried a loose puck in the crease early in the second period but had the goal waved off as the referee lost sight of the puck and blew the play dead.
Hammond helped prevent the Kings from matching the franchise record for consecutive victories one night after earning his first career shutout by blanking Anaheim 3-0. The Ducks registered 25 shots on Wednesday but couldn't get one past the 27-year-old netminder as they had their three-game winning streak come to an end. All three of the previous meetings between division-leading Anaheim and Los Angeles went beyond regulation, with the Ducks winning a pair of shootouts and the Kings emerging victorious in an overtime contest.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, KCOP-13 (Los Angeles), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE KINGS (29-19-12): Jonathan Quick has been a rock in net for Los Angeles of late, allowing fewer than two goals in five of his last six starts and only a pair in the other outing. Thursday's contest marked the 29-year-old's career-high 16th straight start, meaning he could be rested against the Ducks in favor of Martin Jones now that the Kings' winning streak is over. Defenseman Andrej Sekera, who was acquired from Carolina on Wednesday, was in attendance at Staples Center for the game against Ottawa but did not play.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (38-17-7): Two days after being assigned to Norfolk, veteran goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has elected not to report to the American Hockey League team and will sit out the remainder of the season. "Given the way things have worked out, I have decided to return home to be with my wife and children," the 34-year-old Russian said in a statement. Bryzgalov had a rough time in the second stint of his career with Anaheim, going 1-4-1 with a 4.19 goals-against average and .847 save percentage in eight games.
OVERTIME
1. LW Jiri Sekac made his debut for the Ducks on Wednesday after being acquired from Montreal, recording one shot on goal and a minus-1 rating in 14:35 of ice time.
2. Quick had his shutout streak halted at 142 minutes, 44 seconds on Thursday.
3. Anaheim recalled RW Chris Wagner from Norfolk on Thursday and assigned C William Karlsson to the AHL club. The 23-year-old made his NHL debut earlier this season, notching two penalty minutes in two games.