National Hockey League
Anaheim 3, Los Angeles 2
When: 4:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2016
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Referees: Brad Meier, Ian Walsh
Linesmen: Ryan Galloway, Jonny Murray
Attendance: 18230

LOS ANGELES -- As unlikely as it seemed only a few weeks ago, the Anaheim Ducks will end the day as the leaders in the Pacific Division.

In victory that was likely their most rewarding of the season, the Ducks grabbed first place in a record-breaking fashion on the road against their archrival.

Jakob Silfverberg scored a goal and added an assist, and Fredrik Andersen made 32 saves as the Ducks extended their team-record winning streak to 11 games with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Anaheim (37-19-8) is 17-1-1 since Jan. 7 and gained sole possession of first place in the Pacific Division after trailing the Kings by 16 points in mid-January.

Los Angeles (39-22-4) fell into the second place in the Pacific and remains four points ahead of the third place San Jose Sharks. Jonathan Quick stopped 19 shots in the defeat.

As it was in their victory over the Kings in Anaheim six days ago, the Ducks used their red-hot power play to seal the game.

After tallying three man-advantage goals in last Sunday's 5-2 win, Anaheim added two more power play goals that turned out to the difference.

"The games with the Kings this season have been decided by special teams," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "They won them in the first game, we won them the last three times."

David Perron who scored one of the power play goals, is a relative newcomer to the Ducks-Kings rivalry and noted the intensity in a game that is a few months removed from a potential playoff matchup.

"On a scale of 1-to-10 on intensity, I'd put it real close to a 10," Perron said. "It was definitely a playoff-type game and the last two games in particular because the Kings knew we had found our game."

Although the Kings dropped out of the division lead, Kings Coach Darryl Sutter was optimistic about his team.

"I thought that we played a really solid game," Sutter said. "We just couldn't quite finish on some opportunities. There were obviously three or four opportunities missed."

Kings center Anze Kopitar was more critical of his team's performance against the new divisional leaders.

"We played a decent game, but it wasn't enough," Kopitar said. "Majority of the time special teams are the difference and that wasn't any different tonight."

Drew Doughty drew the Kings within 3-2 with his 12th goal of the season on the power play at 3:27 of the third period. Doughty beat Andersen cleanly with a wrist shot from 41 feet, with Kopitar providing a screen in front of Andersen.

Anaheim had extended its lead to 3-1 on Silfverberg's ninth goal of the season at 2:24 of the final period. Rickard Rakell took a feed from Hampus Lindholm and fired a wrist shot just above the right faceoff dot that glanced off Silverberg and into the upper right corner of the net.

The Ducks took a 2-1 lead on Perron's 12th goal during a power play at 15:57 of the second period. With Tanner Pearson of the Kings off for holding, Perron deflected a shot by Cam Fowler past Quick only 10 seconds into the man-advantage, with Sami Vatanen drawing the secondary assist.

Los Angeles tied the score 1-1 on a power-play goal by Milan Lucic at 11:14 of the second period. Lucic scored his 15th goal of the season on a play started by a long lead pass from Quick.

Vincent Lecavalier took the pass, then fed Lucic, whose wrist shot trickled between the pads of Andersen.

Ryan Kesler opened the scoring with his 14th goal of the season at 3:16 of the second period. Kesler gained the puck along the boards in the neutral zone and beat Quick on a wrist shot, with right winger Jakob Silfverberg drawing the lone assist.

The teams battled through a scoreless opening 20 minutes that featured a line brawl at 6:58 of the first period. A skirmish that started between Corey Perry of Anaheim and Kyle Clifford of Los Angeles resulted in 68 penalty minutes being handed out, along with Kevin Bieksa and Andy Andreoff being ejected.

NOTES: The Ducks recalled C Chris Wagner and assigned RW Stefan Noesen to the AHL San Diego affiliate on Friday. ... Anaheim scratched D Clayton Stoner, D Korbinian Holzer and Chris Wagner. Captain Ryan Getzlaf returned to the lineup after missing Thursday's win at Arizona with a lower-body injury. ... Ducks C Ryan Kesler appeared in his 800th NHL game. ... Los Angeles did not dress D Jamie McBain and C Nick Shore. ... Kings RW Jordan Nolan is out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on a herniated disc on Thursday. ... The Kings continue a five-game homestand on Monday against the Vancouver Canucks.
Top Game Performances
 
Anaheim   Los Angeles
Jakob Silfverberg 2 Points Milan Lucic 2
Jakob Silfverberg 1 Goals Milan Lucic 1
Jakob Silfverberg 1 Assists Milan Lucic 1
Jakob Silfverberg 1 Power Play Goals Milan Lucic 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Frederik Andersen .941 Save Percentage Jonathan Quick .864
Frederik Andersen 32 Saves Jonathan Quick 19
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Anaheim 22 3 2-2 4-6 44 30
Los Angeles 34 2 2-6 0-2 36 29
Upcoming Games
  • Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Vancouver. The Kings have a W/L % of .538 after a win and .680 after a loss.
  • Anaheim will play their next game at home against Washington. The Ducks have a W/L % of .595 after a win and .556 after a loss.