Tuesday night’s game between the Kings and Ducks was one of the best-ever in a crosstown rivalry that has already been filled with many memorable moments over the prior 20 years. Coming fresh off of both teams unveiling their specialty jerseys for next month’s game at Dodger Stadium, this marked the first time they had met on the ice this season.
Already fighting for the top spot in the Pacific Division, LA coach Darryl Sutter added extra drama to the event by giving goaltender Martin Jones his first-ever NHL start.
Both netminders ended up being part of the final story though, with Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller stopping 49 shots over 65 minutes by the Kings. Tied 2-2 after regulation – after goals from Jeff Carter, Dustin Brown, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry – it was Jones who stood tall though nine rounds of the shootout and gave the Kings a 3-2 victory after Dwight King scored on Hiller at the other end.
Even with the loss in extra play, the Ducks remain the NHL’s only team without a regulation loss at home, posting a 10-0-2 record. They also sit one point ahead of the Kings in the standings (41 to 40), with LA having played one fewer game.
Southern California’s hockey teams will meet up next in about a month, two nights before January’s outdoor game.
That’s a ways off though. For now, here’s the first batch of post-game quotes from Tuesday night at the Honda Center…
– Nick Bonino on tonight’s game: “You want to put teams behind you. Our division has five teams in the top-nine in the West. It’s a tough division to get out of. It’s a fun division to play in because of that. But games like these, tight games, we need to close out if we have a lead in the third, or if we have chances to win in a shootout.”
– Jonas Hiller on Dwight King’s shootout goal: “It’s tough to lose that way. I don’t know if he missed a shot a little bit, but it kind of caught me right between the pad and my glove. It’s a tough one.”
– Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau on the play of Hiller: “He was tremendous. He was the reason we got a point tonight. When you have the opportunity on your stick whether you deserve to win the game or not, you’ve got to put it away. That killer instinct has been eluding us for a little bit now. We’ve got to find it somewhere.”
– Dwight King on his shootout goal: “Basically, a lot of guys shot glove, some guys hit iron. My look when I was going down was to try to surprise him with a quick shot.”
– King on picking up the shootout win: “It was great. Obviously these guys are close to home and there’s a little bit of a rivalry there so it’s nice to come away with two points.”
– Rookie Martin Jones on the shootout: “I’ve been in that situation before. Obviously the shooters are a little bit of a higher level, but I just wanted to stick with what I’ve been doing and what I’ve been working on…and I was able to make a couple of saves there.”
– Jones on winning his NHL debut: “It was awesome. The first 25 minutes or so of the game I barely had any shots, so they [defense] did a great job. Then in overtime, killing penalties and blocking shots, they did a great job.”
– Jones on what triggered Darryl Sutter’s decision to give him the start: “He told me after the game, so I’m not sure. He just said, ‘Get ready to play tomorrow.’ He didn’t waste any words on me.”
– Jones on what his teammates said to him in throughout the day: “The guys are really good here. It’s such a good group of guys. They were just telling me to play my game, to have fun and enjoy it. I can’t say enough (about) how great these guys played today in front of me, blocking shots and on the penalty kill. It made it a lot easier for me, for sure. “
– Kings coach Darryl Sutter: “We’d like to score more goals, but don’t let that deter us.”
– Sutter on his team’s 51 shots on goal: “Ultimately that didn’t come into play because it went into a shootout. The other team got one point and we got two.”
– Sutter on Martin Jones: “I think he is a pretty poised guy, when you watch him. So hopefully this is something he can build on. The best part was the linesman brought the puck over. Best part. Good for him.”
– Sutter on Jones showing poise throughout the shootout: “Well, generally, goaltenders are poised, if you play in the NHL. It doesn’t make him any different than anybody else. If you win a game in the NHL, generally you show some poise.”
– Sutter on the myriad of penalties called in overtime: “They were both penalties. Justin’s was a slashing penalty. Willie Mitchell’s is a broken penalty. Penner’s is a penalty. What was more confusing in it all was what was three-on-three, and when was it four-on-three, and when was it five-on-three, and then wait until the whistle ‘til it’s five-on-four.”
More Kings-Ducks post-game comments and coverage can be found at the links below.
5 MUST-READ STORIES:
Jarret Stoll on Kings 3-2 win in Anaheim and rookie Martin Jones
Willie Mitchell heard a rumor about Kings goalie Martin Jones
Nick Bonino talks Ducks’ orange jerseys and Kings physical play
Ducks’ Boudreau talks up the Kings, warming up to Penner
PHOTOS: Stadium Series jerseys – Kings and Ducks
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