Ducks at Kings
It took more than half the season for the Anaheim Ducks - considered by many to be a Stanley Cup contender - to climb into playoff position as they visit the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Anaheim has won four straight and is tied with Arizona for third in the Pacific Division with two games in hand following a 3-2 victory over San Jose on Tuesday that improved the Ducks to 11-3-1 in their last 15 games as their 1-7-2 start becomes a distant memory.
Anaheim returns home for a crucial meeting with the Coyotes on Friday before embarking on a season-long seven-game road trip that begins in Pittsburgh on Monday and ends Feb. 18 in Vancouver. "Four days could really change the outcome of what you are doing for the next month, so every game is really important and we are taking them that way," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters. First-place Los Angeles continues to sail along with a nine-point lead in the Pacific after recording a season high for goals in a 6-2 victory over Arizona on Tuesday. Former Rocket Richard Trophy winner Vincent Lecavalier has rediscovered his scoring touch with five goals in 11 games since the Kings acquired him from Philadelphia last month, adding another weapon to a club which has six players with 10 or more goals.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
ABOUT THE DUCKS (23-18-7): Anaheim is still the lowest-scoring team in the NHL at 2.13 goals per game, but a stingy defense led by a deep blue line, the goaltending of rookie John Gibson and Frederik Andersen and the league's top penalty-killing unit (89.8 percent) has the club's confidence soaring. Rickard Rakell continues to produce since moving to a line with Corey Perry (team-high 20 goals) as he has three tallies and two assists in his last five games, and is tied for second on the team in goals (11) and third in points (24). The Ducks, who are 12 points behind Los Angeles, regained the services of Cam Fowler on Tuesday as the defenseman played 20 minutes, 16 seconds in his first game since missing 13 because of a knee injury.
ABOUT THE KINGS (31-16-3): Center Anze Kopitar (team bests of 31 assists and 44 points) was rewarded with an eight-year, $80 million contract extension last month and has compiled three goals and 11 assists in the 10 games after recording two helpers Tuesday. Tyler Toffoli (team-high 22 goals, plus-23 rating) hasn't scored in six games since tallying in three consecutive contests. Los Angeles' power play erupted for three goals in seven opportunities Tuesday after going 1-for-12 in its previous four games (1-3-0) and boasts the NHL's No. 4 unit with the man advantage at 21.4 percent.
OVERTIME
1. The Kings, who are 2-3-0 in their last five contests, embark on a season-long seven-game road trip after the Anaheim game.
2. Perry has scored six of the Ducks' 24 power-play goals and has a team-high three game-winning tallies.
3. This is the second of five meetings this season after Los Angeles won the first encounter 3-2 in Anaheim on Jan. 17 behind second-period goals by Lecavalier, Toffoli and Kopitar.