The Los Angeles Kings have clinched their first playoff berth in seven seasons. Now they would like nothing better than to eliminate their archrivals, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.
The Kings can knock the Ducks from contention when the teams wrap up their season series at Honda Center on Tuesday night.
Anaheim (38-31-9), meanwhile, can be eliminated with either a loss, a victory by Colorado on Tuesday or both teams losing after regulation. The Ducks have made the playoffs in all four seasons under coach Randy Carlyle.
The teams opened this home-and-home series with Anaheim winning 2-1 in a shootout at Staples Center on Saturday. Curtis McElhinney made 28 saves and Saku Koivu scored the tying goal with 1:32 left in regulation and added the winning tally in the shootout.
“We desperately needed these points,” Koivu said. “We’ve got to win them all and get help from other teams, but we are going to push until the end.”
The Kings have had a tough time getting untracked offensively, scoring two or fewer goals in five of their last six games – the exception being an 8-3 win over Vancouver on Thursday. Leading scorer Anze Kopitar has one point in the five games aside from the two he got against the Canucks.
“We definitely need to have a better start and throw a little emotion and desperation into our game,” Kopitar said about Tuesday’s rematch.
Jonathan Quick made 32 saves Sunday and is 0-3-1 with a 3.22 goals-against average in his last five starts. He went 3-1 with a 2.77 GAA in his first four starts against Anaheim this season.
“They have a bunch of players that are good around the net, like Corey Perry and Bobby Ryan,” Quick said. “They take the puck in and create stuff in front. That’s what they did on the tying goal. They just took it to the net, and it worked for them.”
TODAY’S GAME LIST:
New York Rangers…..@….. Buffalo Sabres//Philadelphia Flyers…..@….. Toronto Maple Leafs//Montreal Canadiens…..@….. New York Islanders//New Jersey Devils…..@….. Atlanta Thrashers//Ottawa Senators…..@….. Florida Panthers//Washington Capitals…..@….. Pittsburgh Penguins//Carolina Hurricanes…..@….. Tampa Bay Lightning//Chicago Blackhawks…..@….. Dallas Stars//San Jose Sharks…..@….. Calgary Flames//Colorado Avalanche…..@….. Vancouver Canucks//Los Angeles Kings…..@….. Anaheim Ducks