The Kings entered Tuesday night’s game against the Anaheim Ducks with a chance to clinch a playoff berth in the upcoming 2024 postseason, but were unable to stamp that pass as they fell 3-1 at the Honda Center. The regulation loss also snapped an eight-game winning streak against the Ducks, the longest such winning streak between the two teams since the Ducks joined the NHL in 1993.
The Kings opened the game with an outstanding first 10 minutes and took the early lead while doing so. Scoring the second goal of his career in just his fourth game, Akil Thomas muscled in a loose puck after linemate Trevor Lewis centered the puck to the front of the net. The Kings went up 1-0 5:50 in, but that would be all the offense that the team could muster up. The Ducks eventually responded late in the first period when their leading goalscorer Frank Vatrano found himself alone in front of the Kings net and put in a rebound for his 33rd goal of the season.
A scoreless second period followed and the Kings and Ducks entered the final 20 minutes still tied at 1-1 with the Kings leading in the shot department 24-18. Early into the period, Alex Killorn netted a power-play goal, but it was disallowed due to offsides. Just seconds later after the goal was taken off of the scoreboard, Killorn scored again, burying the eventual game-winning goal with a wrist shot through a screen. Just four minutes later Trevor Zegras doubled the Ducks lead after a defensive Kings turnover in the neutral zone and beat Cam Talbot with a shot high-glove for his fifth goal of the season.
The Kings pressured the Ducks with 13 third period shots but couldn’t solve Lukas Dostal.
Cam Talbot made 24 saves.
