Ducks Fold Up in Stretch, Kings Win in Overtime

Playoff style hockey returned to the Great Western Forum Monday night and the Kings can thank Ray Ferraro for making sure that they went home with a victory.

Before a sellout crowd of 16,005, Ferraro helped the Kings tie the score in regulation with a third-period goal and then ended the game with a goal 2:04 into overtime to give the Kings a 3-2 victory over the Mighty Ducks.

“I don’t remember when the last [time] was but scoring an overtime goal is always fun,” said Ferraro, who has played in only 15 games this season because of an early-season knee injury. “We were dead in the water after two periods. We started out fine, but we were horrible in the second period.”

The Kings spotted the Ducks two second-period goals and then scored twice in the final 10 1/2 minutes of regulation on goals by Ferraro and Yanic Perreault.

In overtime, Ferraro skated in from the left side, fired a first shot that was blocked by Duck goaltender Guy Hebert but was able to knock in the rebound for his fourth goal of the season.

“I made the save but he kept coming at me,” said Hebert, who finished with 26 saves. “The puck must have bounced off him and into the net.”

The Ducks appeared to have the game in hand after a strong second period that included goals by Mark Janssens and Paul Kariya. But after defeating Dallas, 2-1, in overtime on Sunday, the Ducks ran out of gas.

“It was a really frustrating night, we don’t deserve to win any games if we don’t play any smarter than this,” Duck right wing Teemu Selanne said. “When it’s overtime, you have to put the puck in [the opponent’s zone]. You can’t give the other team two-on-ones.”

For the Kings, who ended a three-game winless streak, the victory was huge as it kept them in sixth place in the Western Conference ahead of Chicago, which defeated Vancouver on Monday. They hold a six-point lead over the Ducks, who dropped out of a playoff position because of an Edmonton victory over St. Louis.

“You pay attention [to the standings], but you don’t worry about them,” King Coach Larry Robinson said. “You can only worry about things you have control over and you only have control over what you do. Certainly, you watch the standings [because] you can get motivation from them.

“When other teams are playing well, you have to realize that it makes the game you are playing [twice] as important.”

In the first of five matchups between the two Southern California teams this season, the quality of play may not have been too high but the intensity was there from the opening face off.

The Kings launched four shots on goal in the first three minutes of the game as they aggressively attacked every chance they had. The Ducks, however, was able to withstand the early rush as the teams finished the first period tied at 0-0.

Janssens scored his fifth goal of the season on a shot from inside the blue line that was partially blocked by King goaltender Stephane Fiset, but the puck slid between his legs to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 4:07.

Some poor decisions in the Kings’ zone led to the Ducks’ second goal.

After overplaying the puck at mid ice, the Kings were caught out of position when Selanne beat King defenseman Sean O’Donnell to the puck by the left circle and passed to Kariya, who scored from the right circle at 7:14.

It was Kariya’s ninth goal in 15 games since his return to the lineup and Selanne’s 500th NHL point.

Over the final 12:14 of the period, the Kings were on the power play for 10 minutes thanks to double-minor high-sticking penalties on Scott Young and Kariya, and a slashing minor on David Karpa.

The Kings managed only six shots during the stretch and had an apparent goal scored by Aki Berg disallowed because Ferraro was ruled in the crease at 8:24.

In the third period, Ferraro brought the Kings to life with a goal at 9:36, which was his 700th career point.

The Kings then tied the score with a goal by Perreault--his 10th third period goal of the season--at 17:53, setting up Ferraro’s dramatic finish.

“[Ferraro]’s been known throughout his career to score big goals,” Robinson said. “I guess you can say that [overtime score] was a pretty good goal.”

“We weren’t able to do what we wanted,” Duck Coach Pierre Page said. “Guys were trying to gamble at the blue line. We started going back to playing like the third-worst defensive team in the league. But things are starting to get better. These games hurt because we worked so hard, and then we give up goals so late in the game.”

Not even a teenage fan, who ran onto the ice in the final seconds of regulation could detract from the Kings’ victory.