April 9, 2017

The Ducks outlasted the Kings in overtime 4-3 on Sunday night at the Honda Center.  The victory clinched Anaheim’s 5th straight Pacific Division title.

Nate Thompson scored the game-tying with with almost 8:30 left in the 3rd, and Shea Theodore won the game in overtime.

Theodore’s goal came on a breakaway 53 seconds into overtime to give the Ducks the victory.  Anaheim has earned a point in 14 consecutive games, which is currently the longest streak in the NHL.  The Ducks will open the playoffs against the Calgary Flames.

“We went through a lot of ups and downs this year,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf said.  “We grew as a group as we went along, and that was a good sign. I thought the second half of the year, we did a lot better job with our composure, with our game, and we built toward this.”

The Kings gave a spirited effort despite playing for nothing but pride, and to honor their hall of fame play-by-play announcer, Bob Miller.  Miller was calling the final game of his storied career.  He got to call 7 goals on the night.  Drew Doughty, Kyle Clifford, and Dustin Brown all scored for the Kings.  Patrick Eaves and Antoine Vermette also scored for Anaheim.

Jerome Iginla might have played the final game of his NHL career for the Kings.  The 40-year-old said he will discuss his future with his family before making a decision.

“We hung in there,” Kings’ coach Darryl Sutter said. “I’ve said that lots. We didn’t score enough goals this year. We didn’t have enough goal-scorers in our lineup.”

The Kings season is over, and they’ll have to do some soul searching after missing the playoffs for the 2nd time in the last 3 seasons.

The Ducks will open the playoffs on Thursday against Calgary at the Honda Center.  One concern for Anaheim will be the loss of defenseman Cam Fowler, who is out 2-6 weeks with a knee injury.