Ducks vs. Kings

ANAHEIM -- Ryan Getzlaf sounded like he was channeling "The Incredible Hulk," the 1970s television show in which the main character's famous line is, "Don't make me angry. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

The Anaheim Ducks captain said Monday night he was "ticked off" after a Game 2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings in their Western Conference Second Round series. That frustration hadn't waned much a day later. Ticked?

"I'm not allowed to use other words," Getzlaf said. "Yeah, I'm still mad. I want to win, and when we don't win, I get mad. That's the nature of my well-being, I guess."

Anaheim's frustration was palpable after Los Angeles protected the house area like a security guard in a 3-1 win that gave it a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 3 is Thursday at Staples Center (10 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, RDS).

ANAHEIM -- They hit him. They tripped him. They slashed him. They ran him.

For Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, it was another night of being a marked man, a target for all sorts of confrontational behavior, and the Anaheim Ducks tried to lessen the impact made by one of the most influential players in the world at his position.

It didn't work.

Doughty was sporting a fat lip when he addressed reporters after a 3-1 victory Monday, but the smile was genuine. He and the Kings came to Honda Center twice in the past three days and have left with not only two victories but a firm grip on this Western Conference Second Round series.

"We could only dream of this, really," Doughty said. "We knew it was going to be tough to do. They might say we don't deserve it or whatnot, but it doesn't matter. We're up 2-0 going back to Staples and it's exactly what we planned."

ANAHEIM -- NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman watched the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings put hockey in the California spotlight at the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game at Dodger Stadium in January.

The festive spectacle there could only have been topped by the first-ever Ducks-Kings matchup in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and the teams obliged with the Western Conference Second Round series that has placed hockey back on the forefront in the L.A. market and beyond.

"This is a pretty exciting time for hockey in Southern California, obviously," Commissioner Bettman said Monday night before Game 2 at Honda Center, where the mixed fan base has made for an intense atmosphere. "If you're looking at one of the byproducts of the re-alignment and the change of playoff format, you're seeing it in this series: The first time that these two teams have actually faced off against each other in a playoff series.

Emerson Etem grew up in Long Beach, California, and attended a handful of Los Angeles Kings games at The Forum every season.

Much like his pal Matt Nieto, he grew up a Kings fan and dreamed of being a professional hockey player. Nieto, a rookie for the San Jose Sharks this season, and Etem, who retained rookie status despite debuting with the Anaheim Ducks in 2012-13, are two of the best examples of the meteoric rise of youth hockey in Southern California.

The sport is flourishing at all levels in California, and the three NHL teams were all among the League's elite this season. Etem's Ducks will try to do what Nieto's Sharks could not: Eliminate the favorite team of his youth from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

"I definitely listened to [Kings play-by-play announcer] Nick Nickson a lot on the radio, that sort of stuff. It's a dream come true to play against them in a series," Etem said. "It's huge. Even the last matchup between San Jose and the Kings. Both of them combined, it's huge for the game here.

ANAHEIM -- The Los Angeles Kings were able to land Marian Gaborik from the Columbus Blue Jackets before the NHL Trade Deadline, while the Anaheim Ducks reportedly attempted to acquire Vancouver Canucks center Ryan Kesler but were unsuccessful.

Each team was looking for another impact forward to add to a Stanley Cup-contending roster. Though Gaborik had struggled with injuries and inconsistency, he's been a boon for the Kings and never more so than when he scored the game-tying goal with seven seconds remaining in regulation and the winner 12:07 into overtime Saturday night in a 3-2 victory against the Ducks at Honda Center in Game 1 of this Western Conference Second Round series.

Gaborik has settled in on the top line for Los Angeles, and he now has five goals in eight postseason games for the Kings.

"When you play him and [Anze Kopitar] together, they're like this dynamic duo," Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. "When they're both on their games, it's hard to stop them. [Gaborik] was a huge part to our win tonight, three points, two huge goals. When those two are on their game and when all of lines are on their game, we're a tough team to play against. That's what we need."

ANAHEIM -- Los Angeles Kings defenseman Robyn Regehr left Game 1 of this Western Conference Second Round series against the Anaheim Ducks midway through the first period with an undisclosed injury and did not return.

Regher's last shift ended with 10:05 remaining in the period. He was hit into the boards behind his own net by Ducks forward Teemu Selanne midway through the shift but was able to remain involved in the play and made a pass to help get the puck out of the zone.

He did not return for the second period, and the Kings announced early in the third that he was done for the night.

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Bob Gainey won the Selke Trophy the first four times it was awarded by the NHL, and until recently it often went to a forward who lacked elite offensive numbers.

There were some exceptions, like Bobby Clarke in 1983, Troy Murray in 1986 and a four-year run in the mid-1990s, but until 2006 it was more often than not the case. Teams deployed check-first centers to combat the best offensive players.

That philosophy changed for many teams around the NHL and caused a shift in the Selke Trophy voting. Rod Brind'Amour won twice and Pavel Datsyuk three times, and suddenly a defensive award was going to a great offensive player.

For additional insight into the Stanley Cup Playoff series between the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, NHL.com has enlisted the help of former NHL coach Perry Pearn to break down the action. Pearn will be checking in throughout the series.

Pearn has spent the past 18 seasons as an assistant coach in the NHL with the Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and a second tenure with the Jets in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

LOS ANGELES -- From one California rival to another, the Los Angeles Kings face a stern test in the second round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The third goal Wednesday night at SAP Center for the Los Angeles Kings not only provided separation early in the third period of an eventual 5-1 victory in Game 7 to push the franchise into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it also provided some symbolism of how the team has changed since winning a championship in 2012.

Tyler Toffoli scored after a slick pass from Tanner Pearson, and the second assist was awarded to Jake Muzzin.

"That's just chemistry I think between Tanner and Tyler that they've built up probably playing in the minor leagues for the last couple years together," captain Dustin Brown said. "Tanner makes a really nice play on that, going wide and finding him. And Ty, that's what Ty is. He gets the puck in a scoring area and it's in the back of the net. That was a big, big goal."

It's already taken center stage in front of a national-television audience in a 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series game.

Now, a little over three months after they met outdoors at Dodger Stadium, the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings will put their Southern California rivalry to the test for the first time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

They've been playing each other since the Ducks entered the NHL in 1993, but it's taken 21 years for their historic first postseason matchup to happen in the Western Conference Second Round.

Game 1 is scheduled to take place Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN, RDS).