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 The Ducks trailed the Kings 2-0, 3-1 and 5-3 in the contest.
"We could easily have gave up," Anaheim center Ryan Kesler said.
"But the guys stayed positive on the bench. We kept fighting"
Center Anze Kopitar, defenseman Drew Doughty, center Trevor Lewis,
left winger Marian Gaborik and right winger Justin Williams scored
for Los Angeles. Kesler had two goals and an assist while defenseman
Cam Fowler, right winger Jakob Silfverberg and center Ryan Getzlaf
all scored for Anaheim.
Silfverberg and Kesler scored in the shootout for Anaheim, while
Gaborik scored for Los Angeles.
"That line's been good for us the last three or four games, they
just don't always get rewarded," Getzlaf said of Silfverberg and
Kesler.
Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Quick made 44 of 49 saves while Frederik
Andersen and Jason LaBarbera combined to stop 21 of 26 shots in net
for the Ducks.
"We threw up close to 50 shots tonight, that's a pretty good game
against a pretty good defensive team," Kesler said.
Heading into action, these were two of the top five teams in
goals-against-average and two of the 10 lowest-scoring clubs, which
meant little against a torrent of goals and momentum shifts.
"Whenever we have that two-goal lead we feel secure," Doughty said.
"Tonight we weren't able to (protect) that."
The Kings took the early advantage at 9:21 of the first period when
Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen hooked Kopitar on his way to the net,
resulting in a penalty shot. Kopitar converted on a backhand shot
that was his fourth goal of the season.
With 48 seconds to play in the period, Doughty extended the lead to
2-0 and scored his first goal on a slap shot from the above the
right faceoff circle.
Anaheim halved its deficit 7:07 into the second period. Fowler
hesitated at the right point and then scored his second goal of the
season on a rising wrist shot.
The Kings went up 3-1 as Lewis' soft wrister off the rush beat
Andersen to the far side and chased him from the game.
Anaheim got back to within a goal as Kesler set up a wrist-shot goal
by Silfverberg 11:23 into the second stanza.
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Anaheim knotted the score at 3 just 2:35 into the third period. A
sequence with a pair of deft drop passes culminated in Kesler firing
in his fourth goal of the season.
Los Angeles went back up 4-3 when Gaborik raced down the left wing
and drilled a wrist shot past LaBarbera to the far side.
Williams made it 5-3 off a rebound at 11:08 for his second goal of
the season.
Kesler cut the lead to 5-4 as he scored on a wraparound at 14:20 for
his fifth of the season.
Getzlaf deflected left winger Devante Smith-Pelly's shot in for the
equalizer with 1:39 remaining in regulation.
Kings coach Darryl Sutter said the matchup had the feel of a pond
hockey game and the intensity of a preseason game.
"You can define it by goals having the lead, but we really never had
the lead," Sutter said.
NOTES: Ducks D Cam Fowler (lower body) returned to action, replacing
D Mat Clark in the lineup. ... RW Corey Perry (illness), D Francois
Beauchemin (illness), D Ben Lovejoy (finger), G John Gibson (groin)
and RW Kyle Palmieri missed the game for Anaheim. Palmieri has not
played since spraining his ankle during training camp. He practiced
for the first time this week and could return soon. ... Ducks RW
Rickard Rakell drew in for LW Dany Heatley. ... Kings D Robyn Regehr
(undisclosed) and D Slava Voynov (suspension) were unavailable
Wednesday. ... Los Angeles D Jamie McBain made his season debut
after being signed to a one-year contract Tuesday. McBain had been
with the Kings' AHL affiliate in Manchester, N.H., on a pro tryout
and has 275 games of NHL experience.
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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