"When you sit out, you realize how much you miss it, how much the game means to you and how important it is," Cogliano said after practice yesterday. "And how fun it is to play in this league. It's a privilege."
In the major North American sports leagues with extended schedules, there have been 7,151 players in the NHL (2,421), MLB (3,492) and NBA (1,238) to play at least one game in their respective leagues, but no other player in any of those three leagues have played in every single game since Cogliano's 830-game streak began on Oct. 4, 2007.
With points in six of their last eight games (5-2-1, 11 points) and wins in seven of their last 11 (7-3-1, 15 points), the Ducks are riding a three-game winning streak on home ice with victories over the Calgary Flames (December 29), Arizona Coyotes (December 31) and Pittsburgh Penguins (January 17). Furthermore, Anaheim is 5-1-1 in its last seven at home dating to December 6 vs. Ottawa.
Anaheim's 5-3 triumph over Pittsburgh on Wednesday completed the two-game season series sweep over the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Ryan Getzlaf recorded his 600th assist in the game to become the first player in Ducks history to reach the milestone. He also became just the 41st player in NHL history to record 600 assists with one team. Ondrej Kase earned a goal and two points (third GWG of the season), while Adam Henrique, Chris Wagner (SHG), Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm also scored in the club's eighth comeback win of the season.
The Kings, meanwhile, enter tonight's contest riding a season-high five-game losing streak. They went winless on their four-game homestand, which included a 4-2 loss against Anaheim last Saturday and a 3-1 defeat last night against Pittsburgh. LA has won three of its last 10 games (3-6-1), but is tied with Calgary and St. Louis for the second-most road wins in the NHL (13; Tampa Bay leads with 14). The Kings bring a 13-7-2 road record into tonight's matchup, which includes a 4-3 overtime victory over the Ducks at Honda Center on November 7.
It remains to be seen if further disciplinary action is taken on Kings forward Dustin Brown, who last night received a five-minute major for boarding Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz. The 33-year-old former captain of the Kings will have a hearing today with the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
Tonight's game marks the third contest of a four-game season series between the Ducks and Kings and the second matchup held at Honda Center. The Ducks have gone 15-4-4 in the last 23 regular-season games against the Kings, while 15 of the last 22 have been decided by one goal. Anaheim has a 64-45-26 all-time mark against LA, including a 35-15-16 record on home ice. Getzlaf paces active Ducks in career scoring against the Kings with 55 points (19g/36a) in 66 games. The 2017-18 Freeway Faceoff will conclude at Honda Center on Friday, March 30.
