Derek Grant scored twice, including an empty-netter, as the Anaheim Ducks defeated the visiting Los Angeles Kings 4-2 Monday night in the first Freeway Faceoff of the season between the NHL’s Southern California rivals.
Carter Rowney added a goal and an assist, Jakob Silfverberg also scored, and Hampus Lindholm had three assists for the Ducks. Goaltender Ryan Miller, 39, who started because John Gibson was sidelined by an illness, made 34 saves to improve to 4-1-0 this season.
Kurtis MacDermid and Nikolai Prokhorkin scored, and Jack Campbell stopped 16 of the 19 shots he faced for the Kings, whose winless streak on the road reached nine games (0-8-1). Los Angeles last won an away game on Oct. 22 at Winnipeg.
The Ducks took a 2-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes, and the Kings never caught up.
Grant opened the scoring 5:14 into the game, powering home the rebound of Nicolas Deslauriers’ shot from the blue line. Rowney got the secondary assist.
Silfverberg scored a rare power-play goal on a one-timer from the left faceoff dot at 9:47 off a pass from Lindholm. Rickard Rakell also assisted for the Ducks, who entered the game next-to-last in the league with the man advantage at just 10%.
MacDermid scored on a wrist shot from the left point through a maze of players at 6:01 of the second to pull the Kings within 2-1. Trevor Lewis and Michael Amadio were credited with assists.
Rowney restored the two-goal edge less than a minute later, taking a cross-crease pass through the legs of two players from Lindholm and firing the puck into the net at 6:57. Michael Del Zotto, who was a healthy scratch the previous four games, also got a helper on what proved to be the winner.
The Kings again pulled within a goal at 11:42 of the second as Prokhorkin took a pass from Sean Walker at the blue line, split two Anaheim defenders and beat Miller with a nifty backhander. Tyler Toffoli got the secondary assist.
Grant’s empty-netter at 19:22 of the third period sealed the victory.
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