Kings and Ducks ready to play the games that count

The Kings and Ducks wrapped up a too-long exhibition season Sunday when Teemu Selanne’s one-timer from the left circle eluded Jonathan Bernier during an overtime power play to give the Ducks a 3-2 victory over the Kings at the Honda Center.

As soon as it ended, each team began a journey of discovery.

Are the Kings, who did the expected by choosing Jonathan Bernier their backup goaltender, good enough to challenge for the Stanley Cup?

Are the Ducks, who turned the page on the Scott Niedermayer era by choosing Ryan Getzlaf as his successor at captain, capable of figuring out who they are — and of figuring out how to keep the puck out of their own net?

It all begins for the Ducks on Friday at Detroit and for the Kings on Saturday at Vancouver.

“I think everyone’s a lot more comfortable with each other and I think we had flashes of brilliance in all the games,” said Kings defenseman Jack Johnson, whose long shot was deflected by Brad Richardson late in the third period to tie the score at 2-2.

“We’re all excited about the year and confident going into the year. Last year was kind of a question mark going in, and this year going in I think we feel really confident.”

The Kings, 3-1-2 in exhibition play, can be confident with Jonathan Quick as their starter and Bernier pushing him after winning the supposed competition with Erik Ersberg for the No. 2 job. Ersberg is likely to be placed on waivers Monday.

“I know I won’t play much at first, so it’s going to be a little bit of an adjustment for me,” Bernier said, “but if I work hard in practice I can keep my game at a high level.”

The Kings, who didn’t play their top line Sunday, got a short-handed goal from Justin Williams at 15:50 of the third and Richardson’s goal 87 seconds later. They gave up Corey Perry’s five-on-three goal at 3:16 of the opening period and a four-on-four goal early in the third on slick pass from Brendan Mikkelson to Getzlaf near the right post.

The Kings’ remaining moves are fine-tuning, not desperation: whether Andrei Loktionov and Brayden Schenn will center the fourth line and whether to put left wing Scott Parse, hampered the past week by a sore groin, on injured reserve. Loktionov is big, but Schenn has an appealing nasty edge; Loktionov can go to the minor leagues, but Schenn, 19, can only return to his junior team. There’s not much for him to learn there.

“It’s pretty nice to have those guys in the organization with the potential that they have,” Kings Coach Terry Murray said.

Getzlaf, 25, has been a leader in the Ducks’ locker room for a while. Coach Randy Carlyle said he usually chose the captain and alternates but recognized that in a season of transition from veteran leadership to the next generation it made sense for players to choose the eighth captain in team history.

Getzlaf won a close vote. Saku Koivu, for nine seasons the captain of the Montreal Canadiens, and Selanne were appointed alternates.

“I honestly think it’s Getzy’s time,” Selanne said.

After the Ducks finished 3-4 in exhibition play Getzlaf offered an honest assessment of where they stand.

“We’ve got a little work to do,” he said. “We’ve done a good job progressing throughout the preseason and I think we’re well aware that we’re not going to be a team that’s going to blow teams out every night. We’re going to go out and work.

“We’re going to have to win those one-goal games, those overtime games. That’s the way it’s going to be all year and we’ve got to accept that right off the hop and get ready to go.”

The Ducks, with 25 healthy players, will cut two forwards. They’re all but sure to keep 18-year-old Cam Fowler, their first-round pick in June, and 20-year-old Luca Sbisa in their defense corps. Both present risks and rewards, but that’s a necessary step for a team rebuilding after a non-playoff finish last spring.

“We think we have the pieces to put together that we can be a very competitive team in the NHL,” Carlyle said, “but we still haven’t created our own identity and that, to me, is very, very important for our group.”

That should happen soon enough for both teams.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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