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Players preview Kings at Ducks, plus First Goal Contest

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It’s time for another edition of the Freeway Faceoff. This is the sixth and final game of the regular season between the Kings and Ducks.

After practice today, here’s what a few of the Kings players had to say about tonight’s game…

Dustin Brown on keys to the game – “I think it’s important for us to understand the situation and prepare accordingly. We’re all fighting for playoff spots. They’re a few points behind us, but they’re still trying to get in. We have to be ready for that type of mentality and that type of game. It’s going to be an intense game. So, we have to be ready to do the little things and that comes down to preparation.”

Mike Richards on his strong play vs Anaheim this year (leads LA with 7 points; four goals and three assists) – “I get up for games like this, especially at this time of the year. They’re divisional games and they have a couple of big players that you try to shut down and these are the type of games you get excited for.”

Jarret Stoll on keys to the game – “Probably similar to how we’ve played the last couple, especially at home against Detroit. We have had good starts the last couple of games, in Chicago and at home. We’re going to need that again tonight. But, we understand that they never quit and they’re never out of any games. They have a lot of skill, so we have to do a great job at checking. Our d-zone has to be sharp and fast. And we have to move the puck well because they move the puck well. Staying out of the penalty box at this time of the year is huge too, especially against a team like Anaheim who has a lot of skill and can hurt you on the power play. All of those things go into it.”

Doughty on deriving motivation from previous physical battles with the Ducks – “It’s just them being so close and a lot of times in a division battle you need every single point. Plus, because you play them so often, you develop relationships with guys on the other team – whether they’re good or bad. So, there’s obviously been some turmoil between me and them before, and I don’t think it will stop either.”

First goal picks…

Rob Scuderi – “Mike Richards”

Stoll – “I’d like it to be! It’s been a while, so that would be nice. If not though, I’ll go with Dustin Penner – the dark horse.”

Doughty – “Justin Williams” (note: this might be the first time Doughty has taken another player, as he usually takes himself…the explanation may in the stats down below though)

Brown – “Mike Richards”

If you’d like to enter, simply leave a comment below with the LA player you think will score first vs. the Ducks.  All correct answers will be pooled together and one random winner will be awarded a free pair of tickets to an upcoming Kings home game.

To help you with your selection, here a few stats that may come in handy…

– Dustin Brown has 15 goals in 48 career games vs Anaheim

– Anze Kopitar has 14 goals in 35 games (inlcuding his first NHL goal)

– Justin Williams has 7 goals in 20 games

– Mike Richards has 5 goals in 10 games

– Jeff Carter has 4 goals in 9 games

– Jarret Stoll has 5 goals in 37 games

– Drew Doughty has 0 goals in 23 games

Of course, feel free to take Willie Mitchell, Dwight King, Kyle Clifford or any of the other Kings player. Just stay clear of Kevin Westgarth, Brad Richardson and Davis Drewiske because they’re expected to be healthy scratches from tonight’s game.

If you’re really daring, take Jonathan Quick, he’ll be in net.

Good luck!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  76. I would have picked Carter, but since everyone in the line-up is already picked and I have no chance of winning, I will choose…. QUICK. YES, Quick will score the 1st goal for the Kings.

    • Todd – just a note for the future, it’s OK if other people pick a player you want to go with. The contest winner isn’t the person who picks that player first. All entries who guessed the correct player are pooled together and then one random winner from that group is selected. So, if you and 14 other people picked Carter and he scored first, you’d have a 1-in-15 chance of winning the tickets.

  78. Thanks to all who played. The winner was ‘Blueline’ who correctly went with Alec Martinez for first goal. If you didn’t win, don’t worry – we’ll have another pair of tickets to give away during Saturday’s game between the Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings. Good luck.