(Sports Network) - The Anaheim Ducks may not enjoy playing from behind, but
they certainly thrive when doing it.
The Ducks would probably like to get off to a better start on Monday night as
they try to match the longest winning streak in team history in a meeting with
the rival Los Angeles Kings.
Anaheim has won six straight despite giving up the game's first goal in each
of those contests. It has done so 11 times overall this season, but has gone
8-2-1 in those games.
The Ducks gave up the first two goals in Sunday's meeting with the Colorado
Avalanche, but rallied back from two deficits in the game to take a 4-3
victory in overtime. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry each had three-point games,
while Francois Beauchemin assisted on all four goals.
Getzlaf tied the game with a power-play goal at 8:49 of the third, then picked
up his second assist of the game on Corey Perry's overtime winner with 46
seconds on the clock. Perry's tally was his second of the game and Teemu
Selanne also had a goal while on the power play.
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy, but to come back and find a way to win is
a great feeling," said Perry, who has four goals and seven points in his last
four games.
The Ducks improved to 10-1-0 in February and are a victory shy of matching the
club record for wins in a single month, having notched 11 victories in March
of 2006 and 2011. A seventh straight win in this contest would also match the
club record set from Feb. 20-March 7, 1999.
The Ducks' surge has given them an eight-point lead over San Jose, Dallas and
Phoenix for first place in the Pacific Division, while defending Stanley Cup
champion Los Angeles is nine points off the pace.
The Kings, though, are looking to put a slow start behind them as they have
won five of their past six. They picked up their third victory in a row with
Saturday's 4-1 win over Colorado.
Jonathan Quick made 23 saves as Los Angeles improved to 3-1-1 as the host this
season. Saturday's win opened up a span of three straight and eight of nine at
home for the Kings.
"The guys did a great job in front of me. We forced them to turn the puck
over, which helped us offensively," said Quick of his teammates, who have
combined to give up just three goals in the last three games. "When you win
games your confidence gets better as a team."
Jeff Carter scored a goal in his third straight game and has five in his past
six, while Dustin Brown, Trevor Lewis and Anze Kopitar also scored. Kopitar
has seven points in his last seven games.
The Kings won five of six versus the Ducks last season, but dropped a 7-4
decision in Anaheim on Feb. 2 in the first of four meetings in 2013. Nick
Bonino paced the Ducks with his first career hat trick, while Jonas Hiller
made 30 saves.
Hiller stopped 20 shots to beat the Avs on Sunday, his second straight start
after missing four games in a row due to injury.
Viktor Fasth could get the start in this game for the Ducks and the 30-year-
old rookie has gone 8-0-0 with a 1.78 goals against average and .933 save
percentage in nine games (8 starts) this season.
Fasth, who signed a two-year extension on Feb. 20, is just the third
goaltender in NHL history to win his first eight career decisions and is one
off the record held by Ray Emery, who went 9-0-0 with Ottawa from 2003-05.
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