Teemu Selanne leads Anaheim Ducks past Los Angeles Kings, 2-1: NHL Recap
Teemu Selanne lit the lamp twice and Dan Ellis turned away 23 shots as the Anaheim Ducks clinched a play-off berth with a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings at the Honda Centre on Friday night.
Jason Blake dished out two assists for the Ducks, who are 14-5-0 since a season-worst five-game skid.
With the win, the Ducks pulled to within two points of fourth-place Phoenix Coyotes and Nashville Predators in the Western Conference. Currently, Anaheim has 97 points and sits in a tie for seventh-place in the Western Conference with
Chicago Blackhawks. Both the Ducks and Blackhawks have one game remaining.
"It has been a grind for the last three months," said Selanne. "I really believed that this team deserved to be in the play-offs. This was a big step forward. Now we can breathe a little bit. Tomorrow is another game where we can improve
our standing a little bit and maybe get a better seed."
Ryan Smyth notched the lone goal for Los Angeles, which earned its second consecutive play-off berth Wednesday night with a 3-2 shootout victory over Phoenix Coyotes.
The Kings' Goalie Jonathan Quick gave up all two goals on 26 shots in the loss.
This defeat leaves Kings in sixth-place in the Western Conference with 98 points.
"I hope we're a little better in the play-offs than we were out there tonight," said Kings Head Coach Terry Murray. "They have a lot of skilled players on that hockey club, and you have to manage the puck the right way. We had plays that
we just did not make that you have to make against their top two lines. When it comes to breakouts, to managing the puck through the middle or through the ice."
The Kings got the scoring started in the 12th minute of the first period when Smyth whacked in a rebound off a shot from Dustin Brown for his 22nd goal of the season.
The Ducks pulled even in the 10th minute of the middle period when Selanne unleashed a wrist shot from the right circle for his 30th goal of the season.
Anaheim took a 2-1 advantage in the sixth minute of the final period. The goal came when Saku Koivu controlled the puck along the left-wing, and made a feed to Selanne, who fired a shot from the right side that beat Kings' net-minder.
Quick was benched for an extra-attacker with less than two minutes to play in the third, and Kings were largely occupied for the rest of the way with blocking multiple Ducks' chances near the empty net.
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