The Anaheim Ducks have been one of the most impressive teams in the NHL this season despite allowing the opening goal in each of its past four games and the team will put their solid play on the line in the Battle of California as the Ducks visit the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center on Monday night.
The Ducks are trying to tie their franchise-best winning streak of seven games and will have to do it against a Kings team that is coming into the game hot themselves after a 4-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Anaheim has the second best record in the league to the Blackhawks and despite allowing the opening goal in 11 games, the team has gone 8-2-1 in those games and have won each of the last four while allowing those goals. The Ducks have momentum after a 4-3 overtime win against Colorado in which they had to overcome a two-goal deficit.
The Ducks were saved by a winning goal from Corey Perry and now are dealing with playing five games in seven days.
"A good sign is that we have been finding a way to win the games and come from behind that makes this team really strong," right wing Teemu Selanne said. "It's a good feeling when you have that confidence, but we can make these games a little easier by having better starts and playing 60 minutes."
Anaheim has won six straight games and is one win away from tying a franchise record set in March of 1999. The Kings will be a hard opponent to set the record against, as the Kings have won three games in a row, including five of the past six.
"To me, that's the ultimate test," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "They're playing like they did in the playoffs last year. I watch every one of their games, and they're just flat-out good. They're as good a test as you're going to find."
The Ducks have been excellent on the road this season, but they haven't had much over the past three games at Staples Center, including losing their last game 4-2, another game when they gave up the first goal. The Kings are starting off a 16 game stratech where 13 games come at home and the team started off well with a 4-1 win over the Avalanche that saw 10 players earn at least a point.
"We've got a lot of home games coming up, so we've got to try and bank these points and win games," center Jarret Stoll said. "Everybody on the team has their roles, and there are certain guys on the team that need goals and points to get their confidence going. Confidence is a funny thing. It comes and goes. And when you have it, you've got to try to keep it."
The Ducks are ranked third in the NHL with 3.3 goals per game and are fourth in power play percentage at 26.9. The team has been solid in net behind Viktor Fasth and has allowed just 2.6 goals per game. The team could improve in the penalty kill, as they are ranked 28th with 74.6 percent.
The Kings started off the season slow, but have come on lately and are scoring 2.4 goals per game. The team is ranked eighth in goals against and is 26th and 18th in power play and penalty kill percentage respectfully.
Anaheim has gone a solid 7-1-1 on the road, while the Kings have gone 3-1-1 at home. The Ducks are extremely hot in their past 10 games, going 9-1-0, while the Kings are 6-4-0.
CLICK here for the official NHL stream from the NHL.com Game Center.
