NHL: Ducks prevent Kings from clinching playoff bid

Date:

Share post:


Lukas Dostal made 36 saves and Ryan Strome had two assists as the Anaheim Ducks recorded a 3-1 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.

The Ducks ended a two-game winless streak (0-1-1) and won for just the third time in their past 17 games (3-12-2).

Frank Vatrano, Alex Killorn, and Trevor Zegras scored three unanswered goals for the Ducks (26-48-5, 57 points) after Akil Thomas gave the Kings a first-period lead.

Dostal improved his season record to 13-22-3.

Cam Talbot stopped 24 of 27 shots for the Kings, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Los Angeles (41-26-11, 93 points) would have officially clinched a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a win. The Kings are a point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Division, and Vegas is five points up on the St. Louis Blues for the final Western Conference wild-card berth.

Anaheim was 0-7-1 in its previous eight games with Los Angeles, dating back to the 2021-22 season. It was tied for the third-longest winless streak against a single opponent in Ducks franchise history.

Thomas’ tip-in opened the scoring 5:50 into the first period. It was Thomas’ second goal in his fourth career NHL game.

Vatrano equalized for the Ducks at 17:46 of the first period, tallying his team-leading 33rd goal. Radko Gudas’ initial shot found a wide-open Vatrano in front, and the forward’s second chance beat Talbot.

Killorn had a seeming power-play goal erased on video review 1:35 into the third period, after the Kings challenged that the forward was offside earlier in the play. Just 16 seconds after the non-goal, Killorn left no doubt when he buried a shot from the slot for his 18th goal of the season.

At 5:50 of the third period, Zegras took the puck away from Kings defenseman Jordan Spence near center ice. Zegras carried the puck into Anaheim’s zone and converted a wrist shot for the unassisted goal.

–Field Level Media

spot_img

Related articles

NHL: Lightning end busy month with encounter vs. Kings

As the 4-Nations Face-Off tournament and the resulting break loom in February, the Tampa Bay Lightning are seeking...

NHL: After first win without Kirill Kaprizov, Wild take aim at Canadiens

The Minnesota Wild passed their first test without star winger Kirill Kaprizov. They will look to continue that good...

NHL: Islanders aim to continue hot streak in rematch vs. Flyers

The New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers will square off for the third time in two weeks on...

NHL: NHL roundup: Devils score 4 in 2nd, blank Flyers

Brothers Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes each collected a goal and an assist as the New Jersey Devils...

FREE

Get the most important breaking news and analyses for Free.

Thank you for subscribing

Something went wrong.