Kings’ best game wasn’t good enough for win over Ducks
They came out of the first two games — both road wins — bemoaning their level of play, saying it needed to get a lot better.
Then the Los Angeles Kings lost 3- 2 Thursday at home to the Anaheim Ducks, and emerged from it thinking they’d played their best game of the series.
“There is a wealth of knowledge that we receive, that tells us how well we played,” coach Darryl Sutter said Friday. “Puck possession, faceoffs, hits, things like that . I don’t know how we didn’t win.” STARS ON FIRE: Anze Kopitar’s assist on the Kings’ first goal, by Jeff Carter, was his playoff- leading 15th. He has scored in all 10 of the Kings’ postseason games, and 17 in a row counting the regular season.
A big reason has been the chemistry he’s found with trade deadline acquisition Marian Gaborik, who has a team- high six playoff goals.
“It was something that we were missing for a long time here — he’s a left- winger, a left shot,” said Kopitar.
“I think he’s a constant threat with his shooting ability and scoring ability. Every time he comes into the offensive zone, everybody’s paying attention to him. Maybe that gives me a few more inches to work with. And at the end of the game, giving the puck to him somewhere in the slot is always a good option.”
BE COOL: Ducks’ defenceman Ben Lovejoy tried to restrain himself after ripping a perfect shot past Jonathan Quick’s glove hand for the eventual game- winner Thursday, but couldn’t manage it.
“I told you guys last night, it was my first ( fist) pump, so I was hoping that I didn’t mess it up, that it would look natural, like I’d been there before … which I had not,” he said. “I was actually looking to pass it back to ( Cogliano) him, but the defenceman took that pass away, so I shot it as hard as I could, and it went in.”
TIGHT FIT: Ducks’ coach Bruce Boudreau doesn’t think his team has consciously improved its defence against the Kings; it’s just that the series against Dallas was more offensively inviting.
“Dallas was more of a speed team. These guys ( Kings) can skate, don’t get me wrong, but they’re a grinding, physical, relentless come- at- you type of team,” Boudreau said.
“( Thursday) was a 2- 1 game like every other game was, basically — we were more surprised at Lovejoy’s goal than anything else. I mean, you just don’t expect it. You play against Quick so many times, you just don’t expect a shot to beat him.”
FINNISH FLASH: Boudreau has used the term “fountain of youth” a couple of times to describe his 43- year- old legend, Teemu Selanne. He knows the old winger hasn’t really got better — indeed, he made him a healthy scratch in Game 4 of the first- round series against Dallas — but there’s something else at play.
“He’s engaged. This is the time of year that a guy like Teemu would want to be the best,” Boudreau said. “It’s like the Olympics, get onto that stage, he raised his game. Sometimes, you play 20- plus years, the regular season is just ho- hum, because your goal is to get to where you are right now. The last four games, since he sat out, he’s been really good.”