LOS ANGELESLOS ANGELES— While the Anaheim Ducks lived down to their reputation for foolhardy physical play during a dangerous third period, the Los Angeles Kings emerged with both a skid-stopping victory and their dignity.
Jonathan Quick made 22 saves for his fifth career shutout, captain Dustin Brown scored his 100th goal, and the Kings ended their rambunctious freeway rivals’ five-game winning streak with a 4-0 victory Thursday night.
The third period’s fisticuffs and fireworks ended with U.S. Olympian Bobby Ryan taking a dangerous run at Oscar Moller, but Quick and his teammates dominated Anaheim to end a three-game skid. The clubs combined for 69 penalty minutes in the third, including 47 for the Ducks, long known for their bruising, penalty-box-filling style.
“It’s always intense like that playing Anaheim, and the score probably contributed to the passion,” said Brown, who was hit from behind by Ryan Carter during the third. “You get in the heat of the moment, and stuff happens.”
The Ducks’ frustrating night included a lower-body injury for center Saku Koivu, who left in the second period after apparently getting hurt during a faceoff. He’s the second Finnish Olympian to go down for Anaheim in two days, following Teemu Selanne’s broken jaw on Wednesday night.
Carter paid for his hit on Brown by getting bloodied in a fight with Kings enforcer Raitis Ivanans. After Anaheim scoring leader Corey Perry left with penalties for slashing and misconduct with 2:25 to play, Ryan took several strides before knocking Moller wildly into the boards with 7.1 seconds left, setting off an eight-man scrum.
“I think we’ve said before that our team’s a team that gets frustrated and loses all composure, and I think you saw the result of it in the third period,” said Ryan, who got a charging major and a game misconduct. “I think a little of that had to do with a certain amount of aggravation setting in until finally guys do things that are out of their character.”
Michal Handzus and Scott Parse scored early goals for the Kings before Wayne Simmonds got a goal and won a fight with 2.8 seconds left in the second period. A lengthy review determined his shot slipped underneath Jean-Sebastien Giguere, reversing referee Don Van Massenhoven’s apparent call and agreeing with a linesman’s determination.
The ruling incensed Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, who screamed and gestured at the officials before leaving the ice. He also wasn’t pleased by the ensuing fight between Anaheim star Ryan Getzlaf and Simmonds, who flung Getzlaf to the ice.
“To me, the emotion that we displayed at the end of the game, and the fire and the heart and whatnot that we were upset, should have been displayed at the beginning of the game, not in the last 10 minutes of the game,” Carlyle said.
Jonas Hiller stopped 10 shots before Carlyle pulled him in the second period to shake up the Ducks, who had escaped last place in the Pacific Division with their longest winning streak of the season.
Before dominating the Ducks, Los Angeles had dropped to the fringe of the playoff picture with eight losses in its previous 12 games, including three straight one-goal defeats at Staples Center. The Kings’ scoring woes finally vanished along with their skid, and U.S. Olympian Quick remained unbeaten in four career starts against Anaheim with his first shutout of the season – and the fifth in 12 NHL games Thursday night.
“It feels great, but the most important thing is we had a lot of emotion,” Quick said. “We needed a win like that to bounce back from that losing streak.”
After Handzus scored a first-period goal, Los Angeles doubled its lead when Rob Scuderi’s shot from the point deflected off Parse’s stick and an Anaheim defenseman’s shin before pinballing through Hiller’s skates for Parse’s eighth goal.
Brown then scored his 11th goal of the season late in the second period on a remarkable give-and-go with Alexander Frolov. The Russian forward made a 360-degree spin move to lose Scott Niedermayer before backhanding the puck in front for Brown, who tipped it home while being checked to the ice by Ryan Whitney.
NOTES: Los Angeles D Matt Greene missed his second straight game with lower-body injury. … Brown’s 100 goals came in 396 career games, all with the Kings. … Simmonds fought Anaheim star Ryan Getzlaf right after the whistle that eventually resulted in his goal, wrestling Getzlaf to the ice in the bout. Simmonds then fought Sheldon Brookbank in the third period, getting flung to the ice himself. … Carter left his 100th NHL game with a bloody face with 4:40 left.
