Los Angeles, CA – Mike Richards' power-play goal late in the second period lifted the Los Angeles Kings to a 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks.
Drew Doughty netted the other goal for the Kings, who hold a three-point lead over the San Jose Sharks for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
"We had a really good first period and they got some momentum back in the second with a short-handed goal, and then it was a track meet in the third," Kings head coach Darryl Sutter said.
Jonathan Quick stopped 19-of-20 shots in the win.
Ryan Getzlaf registered the lone tally for the Ducks, who still lead Los Angeles by seven points atop the Pacific Division.
Viktor Fasth made 16 saves in defeat.
Anaheim, which was 5-of-11 against Los Angeles on the power play this season, had its first one of the game in the final three minutes, but the Kings killed off the man advantage.
"We had one opportunity on the power play at the end and we didn't take advantage of it. They took advantage of theirs," Getzlaf said.
Doughty's one-timed slap shot from the high point got the Kings on the board midway through the opening period, but Getzlaf tied the score early in the second.
While shorthanded, Getzlaf went after a loose puck at center ice and moved in alone on Quick, who stepped out and tried to poke check the puck away. But Getzlaf went around him and wristed the disc home into the empty net to knot the tilt.
Dustin Brown provided a screen in front of Fasth when Richards' slap shot from the top of the left circle with 57.2 ticks remaining in the second snuck underneath the crossbar to make it 2-1.
Quick made 11 saves in the third to seal the win.
Game Notes
Fasth stopped all nine shots he saw in the final stanza ... Richards extended his point streak to six games ... Los Angeles improved to 18-2-2 when scoring first.
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