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 The center, acquired from the Vancouver Canucks last summer, scored
the winner 45 seconds into overtime as the Ducks defeated the Kings
3-2 at Honda Center on Wednesday.
Kesler has five goals, seven points and a plus-6 rating in five
games against Los Angeles, four of which were victories.
"You want to make them happy that they brought you here and succeed
at why they brought you here," said Kesler, who was matched up
against the Kings' top line all night. "But it's not just me against
the Kings, it's the whole team."
The Ducks (45-20-7) overcame a deficit after two periods for the
NHL-leading 12th time, including all four wins over Los Angeles. In
the process, they moved their winning percentage in one-goal games
to a staggering .800.
"In the last two games in this building, we've had third-period
leads," Kings right winger Justin Williams said. "Come playoff time,
that's asking for elimination."
With one point, Los Angeles moved ahead of the Calgary Flames for
third place in the Pacific Division and into a tie with the Winnipeg
Jets, who hold the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Left winger Patrick Maroon and right winger Jakob Silfverberg also
tallied for the Ducks. Center Jeff Carter and Williams scored for
the Kings.
Anaheim rookie goalie John Gibson fended off 29 of 31 shots, while
Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick made 23 stops.
Overtime didn't last long before Kesler swerved above the faceoff
dot and let flay a wrist shot that beat Quick to the wide-open far
side of the net. The dramatic tally was Kesler's 18th goal of the
season and the 200th of his career.
"He was clutch," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He played
against (Kings center Anze) Kopitar all night. He did his job, and I
was very happy that he got rewarded for it."
Los Angeles trailed 2-1 before Williams scored the equalizer with
4:14 left in regulation. Right winger Trevor Lewis won a battle in
the corner and rimmed the puck around the net for Jake Muzzin. The
defenseman centered the puck for Williams, who quickly transitioned
from his backhand to his forehand to slip the puck past Gibson for
his 18th goal of the season.
The Kings opened the scoring at 10:12 of the first period with a
power-play goal following a center-ice scuffle. Sixteen seconds into
the man advantage, Kopitar left a pass for Carter, whose wrist shot
to the far side hit an Anaheim stick and resulted in his 25th goal
of the season over Gibson's shoulder.
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The Ducks drew even 45 seconds into the third period. They won the
period's opening draw and sustained heavy pressure. Maroon did a
masterful job recovering pucks and battling along the boards,
ultimately being compensated with a cross-crease pass from Getzlaf.
The tap-in was the eighth goal of Maroon's campaign.
At 7:35 of the final period, the Ducks took their first lead of the
game. Silfverberg gained the offensive zone and left a drop pass for
left winger Andrew Cogliano, who fired a shot off Quick's pad and
onto the waiting stick of Silfverberg. It was Silfverberg's 12th
goal of the season.
Silfverberg has nine points in his past 10 games, including four
points during his current three-game point streak.
"The last couple of games I have been getting a lot of confidence
from the coaches, and at the same time, the bounces have been kind
of coming," he said.
In defeat, Kings coach Darryl Sutter offered rare praise of an
opposing player.
"Kesler has been, I can't say other than against us, but he's been a
dominant player for sure," Sutter said.
NOTES: Anaheim was without RW Tim Jackman (lower body) and D Sami
Vatanen (lower body). Vatanen said Tuesday that he felt ready to
play but was ultimately held out of Wednesday's game. ... Los
Angeles C Jarret Stoll (upper body) missed his third straight game.
He played in 128 consecutive games before being injured against
Vancouver on March 12. ... Kings D Alec Martinez (concussion), LW
Tanner Pearson (broken leg) and D Slava Voynov (indefinite
suspension) remain unavailable. Martinez and Pearson are practicing
with the team on a limited basis. ... Ducks LW Tomas Fleischmann was
inserted into the lineup in place of scratched LW Jiri Sekac.
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