IRVINE, Calif.--In their last game before the two-week 4 Nations Face-Off break, the Anaheim Ducks will travel up the 5 to take on the rival Los Angeles Kings on Saturday—a team they’ve lost to twice this season.
Anaheim (23-24-6) has won five of its past six games and are a game below .500. The Kings (28-17-6) currently sit third in the Pacific Division and have earned 62 points to the Ducks’ 52.
LA has also won its last two games and scored a combined 10 goals after a lackluster January where the Kings lost six of their final seven games in the month.
Anaheim's win streak comes after a road trip that saw the Ducks lose five of six games and get outscored by their opponents, 24-8, including only three shutouts of the season.
Ducks center Ryan Strome said the Kings game is important, but the “key” for the team is to continue to bounce back after tough stretches.
“Two points on Saturday isn’t the end-all be-all,” Strome said. “I think this year we’ve done a much better job, maybe minus the road trip, of just not letting those one or two game sides turn into five or six.”
The last time the Ducks played the Kings was in November, and they lost 2-1, despite playing well enough to win and outshooting LA, 31-18. Had the Ducks won that Black Friday affair, they would have held a winning record.
Ducks wing Troy Terry said that the Kings are good at clogging things up defensively, so the team needs to continue to find ways to have speed on forechecks and play connected.
With a win on Saturday, the Ducks could go into the break with a .500 record—which would be a milestone for the team, but not the end goal.
The last time the team was above .500 was Oct. 25 with a 3-2-1 record. Anaheim has had multiple chances for a winning record this season, but lost in overtime to Buffalo, to the Kings and to the Vegas Golden Knights in late November and early December to squash each chance. The Ducks were last at .500 on Dec. 3 ahead of that Vegas game and a five-game losing streak.
However, there has been marked improvement in the record compared to previous break records. Last season, Anaheim’s record heading into the All-Star break was 18-30-2, and the season before that, it was 16-29-6.
“Our end goal is not to be .500. But it would be a really good place to be heading into the break,” Terry said. “Just being able to take a little time, realize that we put ourselves in a position to at least, you know, be in a playoff race, and hopefully keep things rolling.”
Strome echoed the sentiment, saying that the games get tougher as the season goes on.
“Our team hasn’t really been in a spot to feel that type of added enthusiasm, or emphasis on those games,” Strome said. “Now, we’re in a position where these games are all gonna be a little bit more impactful, a little more meaningful. And with saying that, we kind of have to take a step together and be ready for that challenge.”
Puck drop against the Kings is Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Crypto.com Arena.