On paper, everything was aligned for the Kings to clinch a playoff spot on Tuesday night. The Ducks, however, had other plans and defeated the Kings by a final score of 3-1.
Tuesday’s game for the Kings started off well. Akil Thomas opened the scoring early on and shots were 8-3 in LA’s favor midway through the first period. Anaheim found their footing from there on out, scoring three unanswered goals and spoiling LA’s aspirations of clinching a playoff spot, at least for now.
The Ducks snapped the Kings eight-game winning streak in the Freeway Faceoff, as well as preventing Adrian Kempe from registering a point in an 11th straight contest against the crosstown rival.
Although the teams combined for an 0-for-5 mark on the power play, special teams played a deceptively large role in Tuesday night’s outcome. The Ducks scored seconds after one of their power plays had expired, and a strong penalty kill late in the third period prevented the Kings from clawing their way back into the game.
Stat Sheet Takeaways: Lukáš Dostál was outstanding on Tuesday, stopping 36 of 37 shots on the way to a victory. Apart from their opening goal, the Kings weren’t able to solve the young netminder from Czechia, who is looking to take the starting spot in Anaheim from veteran John Gibson.
Possible Matchups: With a magic number of two and four games remaining, the Kings are a virtual lock to make the postseason. What carries less certainty, however, is who their opponent will be in the first round. Colorado, Dallas, Edmonton, and Vancouver are all potential teams LA could link up with to start the playoffs. There’s no point in wishing for a certain matchup; the Kings need to take care of their own business and be ready for whoever they face in Game 83.
Revenge Games: LA will face Calgary on Thursday evening, followed by the season finale of the Freeway Faceoff on Saturday. The Flames have given the Kings trouble this season with a pair of victories in their last two matchups. Revenge will certainly be on the mind of LA’s players on Thursday, as well as on Saturday as they look to regroup against Anaheim.
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