LOS ANGELES — Like the Kings’ postseason fate, their 4-2 victory over the Ducks on Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena went down to the wire in a grudge match befitting retiring Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf’s final appearance in the rivalry.
It even ended with a fracas. With six seconds left, Getzlaf was in the middle of a melee that saw a game misconduct penalty meted out for winger Arthur Kaliyev’s crosscheck to the back of defenseman Josh Mahura’s head. Kaliyev had already contributed a goal and an assist.
Defenseman Alex Edler scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and the Kings closed in on their first playoff berth in four years with another victory over their regional rivals.
With five victories in six games, the Kings (96 points) have solidified their hold on third place in the Pacific Division and the automatic playoff berth that comes with it. The Kings have two games left and are seven points ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights, who have four games left. The Kings also are just two points behind Edmonton for second place in the Pacific, though the Oilers have two games in hand.
The Kings could clinch a playoff berth as early as Sunday if Vegas loses to San Jose in regulation. Edmonton, which has already clinched a playoff berth, and fourth-place Vegas were both idle on Saturday. Vancouver lost to Calgary, rendering catching the Kings impossible and leaving the Canucks’ playoff hopes hanging by the thinnest of threads.
On Saturday, there was an almost literal passing-of-the-baton moment when Getzlaf, the Ducks’ all-time leading scorer, set up center Trevor Zegras’ power-play goal. That gave Zegras sole possession of the franchise’s rookie scoring record with 58 points.
Similarly, the Kings’ present, captain Anze Kopitar, and their future, center Quinton Byfield, turned in matching two-assist performances.
“For Kopi and Getzlaf, 15 years ago, they were starting and there were players handing the torch to them,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Fifteen years from now, maybe Quinton Byfield is giving Zegras a hug at center ice.”
Defensive defenseman Matt Roy also scored for the Kings before winger Alex Iafallo added an empty-netter. Jonathan Quick made 19 saves in the Kings’ second victory over the Ducks in five days.
The injured Drew Doughty, who has played just 39 games this season, still leads the Kings in defensive scoring and Sean Durzi ranks second despite playing in only 62 of 80 matches.
“We’ve been trying all year and haven’t been doing a great job at it, but those were two pretty big goals tonight, so we’re pretty happy with it,” Roy said of his game-tying second-period score and Edler’s go-ahead goal.
Winger Gerald Mayhew also scored for the Ducks, who have lost 18 of their past 21 games. Anthony Stolarz made 36 saves. Center Derek Grant left the game with an upper-body injury and did not return.
The Ducks could not claw back a lead as the Kings withstood a late surge to protect their one-goal lead. Though the Kings’ second line was held scoreless for just the ninth time since Jan. 1, center Phillip Danault drew a penalty in the waning moments of the game that abated the Ducks’ intensity with Stolarz pulled.
Instead, it was the Kings scoring as Iafallo lofted the puck off his backhand and into the empty net with 24 seconds showing on the clock.
Earlier in the third period, Byfield and winger Carl Grundstrom generated a spectacular chance off the rush that was negated by a kick save. Seconds later, Grundstrom fought winger Dominik Simon.
A faceoff win by Byfield and a long shot from Edler that changed direction off Ducks center Isac Lundestrom gave the Kings their second edge of the evening with 13:39 left.
The Kings tied the score with 8:27 left in the second period. Some dogged forechecking left Kaliyev with the puck. He turned it back to Roy who let fly with a seeing-eye slapshot that entered the net between Stolarz’s pad and blocker through a Kopitar screen. Kopitar also earned the secondary assist, the 700th assist of his career.
Two-and-a-half minutes earlier, the Ducks had jumped ahead after an uncharacteristic blunder by Quick. An innocuous flip-in by Mayhew somehow eluded Quick as he went to clear the puck ahead, whiffing completely as it slid past him and into the goal.
“Quickie never makes those mistakes and I think we just wanted to rally for him,” Byfield said.
At the 3:34 mark of the middle frame, it was a bridge from past to present on the power play as Getzlaf sent a pass across for Zegras, who ripped a rising shot from the right faceoff dot. Zegras broke Bobby Ryan’s Ducks rookie scoring record from the 2008-09 season, though Zegras was largely unmoved.
“(It doesn’t mean) a whole lot to be completely honest, but I think individual records come from good teams, right? I can’t score out there by myself,” Zegras said.
The first period was essentially a goaltenders’ duel, with Quick and Stolarz each denying strong chances late in the frame, though not during a discombobulated five-on-three power play for the Kings. The Kings had scored the lone goal in 20 minutes at even strength but could not capitalize on their extended two-man advantage or even register a shot on goal. Byfield hit the net twice to no avail during five-on-four action.
Just past the halfway point of the first period, the Kings gained the game’s first lead. Grundstrom’s sharp-angle shot banged off Stolarz’s pad and bounced to Byfield in the slot. There, he dropped a slick pass to Kaliyev, who swept the puck home uncontested.
“I learned a lot, you can’t take anything for granted. You’ve got to play every game like it’s your last one,” said Byfield, who recently found himself a healthy scratch for two games.
Byfield said his goals were “being more assertive, wanting to make plays and kind of doing a lot more than I was before” heading into Saturday’s matchup.
With 11:39 left in the first period, the Kings and their fans honored Getzlaf with a photo montage and ovation. The 17-year veteran, who will finish his career Sunday at Honda Center against the St. Louis Blues, requited with a salute to the crowd.
“We’ve obviously had some good battles over the course of what, 16 years now? Yeah, the amount of respect I have for him is huge, he’s a Stanley Cup champion (with) multiple Olympic golds,” Kopitar said before the game. “The amount of work he’s done for that organization, it’s tremendous, and he deserves all of the praise. When it’s time, I’m sure we’ll catch up and have a little chat about it all.”
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