GDT: Ducks @ Kings; 01/17/2015

Ducks Go For Fourth Straight Win as They Take on Rival Kings at Staples Center


DUCKS (29-10-6) at KINGS (20-14-10)


TV: NHLN-US, SN, KCOP-13, FS-W


The Latest: Co-leading the NHL in standings points with Nashville, the Anaheim Ducks (29-10-6, 64 pts.) continue the 2014-15 Freeway Faceoff against the Los Angeles Kings tonight at Staples Center (8 p.m. PST, KCOP-13/AM 830). The Ducks have won three straight games (3-0-0), five of their last six (5-1-0) and have points in eight of the last 10 (7-2-1, 15 pts.). The club is also 15-4-1 in its last 20 games and 18-6-1 in its last 25. At Honda Center, the Ducks have won 10 of their last 12 games (10-2-0). Over the last four contests, Anaheim is 5-for-13 (38.5%) on the power play and 11-for-12 in penalty kills (91.7%). The club is in the midst of 36-of-37 days within Southern California (beginning Dec. 20 through Jan. 25).


Tonight's game wraps up Anaheim's eighth set of back-to-back games this season. The Ducks are 8-5-2 in back-to-backs, including 4-3-2 in the second game. Dating to the start of the 2013-14 season, Anaheim is 28-10-5 in back-to-back situations and 15-4-2 in the second game, an NHL best by points percentage (.762). Following tonight's contest, the Ducks will play their final game prior to the All-Star break on Wednesday, Jan. 21 vs. Calgary at Honda Center.


Ducks-Kings: Anaheim and Los Angeles reach the halfway point of the five-game Freeway Faceoff tonight at Staples Center. Both teams are 1-0-1 this season, including a 6-5 Ducks shootout win on Nov. 12 and a 3-2 Kings overtime victory on Nov. 15. The Ducks have won five of the last six regular-season games vs. the Kings dating to a 4-0-1 season series win in 2013-14. Five of the last six Ducks-Kings games have been decided by one goal. The lone exception was the Stadium Series game at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 25, 2014, a 3-0 Anaheim win. All-time, the Ducks are 54-41-24 vs. the Kings, including a 23-28-8 mark in Los Angeles. Ryan Getzlaf leads current Ducks with 42 points (17g/25a) in 52 career games vs. the Kings. The Freeway Faceoff will conclude at Honda Center with a pair of games on Friday, Feb. 27 (7 p.m. PST) and Wednesday, March 18 (7:30 p.m. PDT).


Ducks team scope: Anaheim defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-1 on Friday for its third consecutive win. Forward Jakob Silfverberg his third career multi-goal game to end a 12-game scoring drought. "It's been a long time, and it felt good to get a couple tonight," he said. "Hopefully I can build off this and keep scoring more goals more frequently." Ilya Bryzgalovrecorded his first win as a Duck since Oct. 15, 2007 vs. Detroit (stopped 32-of-35 shots in a 6-3 win). Bryzgalov turned aside 14-of-15 shots faced in the victory. "The team played tremendously in front of me," he said. "They battled hard and made my job really easy tonight. I really appreciated it." Corey Perry collected his team-leading 19th goal of the season - his fourth in two games - to open scoring in the first period. Perry has six points (5g/1a) in his last five games and 28 points (19g/9a) in 30 games this season, pacing the league in goals-per-game (.63). Getzlaf picked up his team-leading 35th assist of the season on Patrick Maroon’s third-period goal, tied for second among league leaders. Anaheim outshot New Jersey 40-15. With 64 points, the Ducks are tied with the Nashville Predators for the most points in the NHL, though the Predators have two games in hand.


Kings team scope: Forward Nick Shore is expected to make his NHL debut after he skated on a line with Dwight King and Jeff Carter at practice Friday. His 41 points (20 goals) were second in the American Hockey League when he was recalled by Los Angeles on Monday. He was plus-22 in 37 games. "I think as a whole, we've gotten off to a great start there in Manchester," Shore said. "This year, I think I've taken a little more responsibility on both ends of the ice. I'm kind of known more offensively to score goals and things like that. But I think as a whole down there, we've done a great job so far." The Kings have lost four of their past five, including a 5-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday. They have allowed 20 non-shootout goals in those losses. Coach Darryl Sutter intended to give No. 1 goalie Jonathan Quick a night off against the Devils on Wednesday, but he pulled Martin Jones midway through the second period after Jones allowed three goals, only to go back to Jones at the start of the third.

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