The LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks are playing Game 2 on the NHL playoffs schedule on Monday night and the matchup comes from the Honda Center starting up at 10:00 pm ET and the matchup is streaming online from the NBC Sports Network Live Extra website for the second game in rounds two and the Kings are continuing their hot play after winning the first matchup.
Jonathan Quick is having a great playoffs and he has been hot for the Kings and they have now won five games in a row since going down 3-0 to the Sharks in the first round. The Kings lead the Ducks 1-0 in the series after getting two goals from Marian Gaborik in the Game 1 matchup and now the freeway series continues and this is the first time the two Southern California teams have played against each other in the playoffs.
Gaborik was clutch for the Kings and he scored the tying goal before going to overtime with less than 10 seconds left and he was the one to score the winner and now the Kings have the chance to pull the quick 2-0 upset heading back to the Staples Center. The Kings have had to travel less than any other team in the playoffs with both their opponents residing in the same state and that could give them a boost against the Kings and they have done a good job of shutting down Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne and if they can continue to do that they could sneak into the western conference finals.
The Kings have the chance to win their sixth game in a row and while LA may have lucked out a bit with Perry's shot and the block from defenseman Alec Martinez, it sometimes is better to be lucky than good in the playoffs. Getzlaf is one of the finalists for the MVP and he needs to play like one for the Ducks, as they could end up going down two games heading into the Game 3 matchup at the Staples Center on Thursday and the Ducks will be looking to keep down Gaborik and Anze Kopitar heading into this game. The next matchup for the Kings and the Ducks comes on Thursday night and that will be big for both teams no matter what happens on Monday and they are both lucking out by getting the extra day off.
The Rangers and Penguins are duking out the series in the eastern conference alongside the Canadiens and the Bruins, while the other series in the west has the Chicago Blackhawks and the Minnesota Wild. The Kings came into the series on a hot streak after going down and making the historic comeback against the Sharks and Quick will need to stay on top of his game and he did that in the last series, allowing 20 goals over the first three games and allowing just five over the next grouping. The Ducks come into the playoffs after ranking first in the league in scoring and they were also in the top 10 in goals against and they will need that to keep things moving.
Check here for the LA Kings and Anaheim Ducks live coverage from NBC.
