HOW TO WATCH: The Most Important Freeway Face-Off Ever | KCOP-13

Since the Anaheim Ducks joined the league in 1993, the LA Kings and Ducks have faced-off against each other 136 times.
It's hard to imagine that any other regular season matchup has ever been as crucial to both teams as tonight's game at Honda Center is.
With one week remaining in the 2017-18 season, the Kings and Ducks are fighting for the third spot in the Pacific Division. One team will get that guaranteed playoff spot, the other will hope to grab a Wild Card playoff berth against the St. Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche.
All four teams play Friday, but the Kings and Ducks go head-to-head in a game that could decide their playoff fate.
No Kings fan will want to miss this game, so here's how to watch it (IT'S NOT ON FOX SPORTS WEST, YOU GUYS) and what to watch for!

HOW TO WATCH

• When:Friday, March 30th at 7:00pm PST
• Where:Honda Center
• TV:KCOP-TV Channel 13 (Check local listings)
• Radio :KABC 790
• Livestream:FOX Sports Go

PUSH FOR THE PLAYOFFS

The most recent matchup between the Kings and Ducks took place during the Kings six-game losing streak at the beginning of January. The 2-1 loss in Anaheim was the final game of the losing streak and was a closely contested battle.

The Kings' (2-2-0) earlier victories over the Ducks came in overtime and a shootout, giving the Ducks (2-0-2) six points against the Kings and the edge in the season series.
However, Friday night's matchup will be the first time this season that Jeff Carter will be in the lineup against the Ducks. Last season, Carter scored five points in five games against the Kings division rivals.

Despite following each win in March with a loss (or OTL), the Kings' 7-4-2 record (16 points) is on pace with the rest of their season. Excluding their particularly disastrous record in January, the Kings have been a top ten team in the NHL. As usual, they have the lowest goals against and the best penalty kill, but this season their power play is the best it's been since before the 2004-05 lockout, and their goals per game is the highest since 2005-06.
Meanwhile, the Ducks will fail to finish first in the Division for the first time since 2011-12.
If every Kings game played at Honda Center feels like a playoff game, this one should feel like a Game 7.
Watch: Youtube Video

HUNT FOR THE HART

Kings fans have known for years that Anze Kopitar is one of the best hockey players in the world and
he has rewarded them with a year to remember
.
In his 12th NHL season, Kopitar is Top 10 in the NHL for points, he's been an elite defensive forward, reliable in the faceoff circle, played the most minutes among all forwards in the league, and he's doing it against the top players on opposing teams and starting over half of his shifts in the defensive zone.

The only thing Kopitar wasn't able to do this season was
get Gustl past Howard Stoll in Bark Madness
.
In one of the most complete seasons in recent memory, it still took a superhuman statement game against (at the time) a media darling and consensus Hart Finalist for people to start seriously discussing his chances at even being nominated.

While Kopitar is having the best offensive season of his career, it's his commitment to defense that really sets him apart from the other Hart Trophy candidates.
Kopitar has already won the Selke Trophy (2015-16) and followed it up with another solid defensive effort despite an injury that limited his offense last season.
After a dominant defensive season, he should be a lock to win both the Selke Trophy and the Lady Byng Trophy for a second time.
A strong finish to the season should cement his chances to add his first Hart Trophy to his collection. He has been, arguably, the most complete hockey player in the NHL this season and, after 70+ games, people are finally starting to notice.

Tweet from @MikeKellyNHL: Combining metrics like stick checks, blocked shots & blocked passes - Anze Kopitar has made more successful defensive plays than any forward this season, averaging over 9 per game. He's 6th in scoring with 88 points. Last season, he averaged 8 per game and had 52 points.

FAMILIAR FACES

On February 13th, the Kings acquired Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson from the Ottawa Senators in
exchange for Marian Gaborik and Nick Shore
. While rumors of Phaneuf heading to LA had swirled for years, it was a return to Southern California for Thompson who spent the past three seasons as a member of the Ducks organization.
Watch: Youtube Video
Thompson scored 26 points and racked up 100 penalty minutes in 159 regular season games in a Ducks' uniform.
Sidelined by surgery to repair his Achilles tendon for 51 games during the 2016-17 season, Thompson scored his first goal of the season against the Kings in the final game of the year.
Thompson added 14 points and was a +11 for the Ducks in 36 playoff games.
Since Friday's game against the Ducks will have the intensity of a playoff game, let's hope Thompson responds in kind.