The Anaheim Ducks won 6-5 in a shootout against their division rivals, Los Angeles, on Wednesday night. This game was billed as being a rivalry game and lived up to the hype. Hard checking and end-to-end rushes made it one of the more enjoyable games to watch this season. Anaheim played the game without Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin, who both have infections.
Los Angeles took a 3-2 lead to the third period. And that’s when Ryan Kesler came up big for the Ducks. He scored the tying goal a couple minutes into the third after a nice set up pass from Jakob Silfverberg.
The Kings then scored two more goals to take a 5-3 lead. The game seemed over at that point. But Kesler was not finished. He beat Jonathan Quick on a wraparound goal with 5:40 left to cut the Kings lead to one.
Ryan Getzlaf tied the game with 1:39 remaining in regulation.
The game went into OT with both teams trading some decent chances but no one could get the game winner. After both teams scored on their first attempt in the shootout, it was Kesler again who beat Quick to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead. Jason LaBarbera made one more save to clinch the win for the Ducks to complete their stunning comeback.
The Ducks made the trade for Kesler this offseason for a game like this. He gives the Ducks the ability to match up better with a team like the Kings. The Kings are strong down the middle with Kopitar, Carter, Stoll, and Richards. Kesler’s presence allows Ryan Getzlaf to get a more favorable matchup at times and also allows him to play more of an offensive role. Getzlaf can also share taking defensive zone faceoffs with Kesler. It’s a big advantage to have depth at center.
Anaheim didn’t get great goaltending last night but they dominated most of the game. They outshot the Kings 31-12 after two periods. Los Angeles went long stretches without even getting a shot but they did get some timely scoring from Kopitar’s line.
These teams still have 4 more games against each other and seem destined to meet in the playoffs. We got to see last night how Ryan Kesler might factor into this rivalry, and the Ducks should be optimistic about their chances against the Kings.
