Kings down Ducks, 4-1

In Anaheim, the Ducks’ sinking fortunes took a hit on Friday night when the Los Angeles Kings handed them a 4-1 loss.

Adrian Kempe hit for a double and added three points to the scoresheet in the LA win.

“For the rest of the season now, every game is going to be huge and every point we can get is going to be big,” Kempe said. “We can’t relax now. We’re in a good spot right now and we need to keep that. We can’t fall off like we’ve done previously.”

Kings head coach Todd McLellan was placed on NHL COVID19 protocol prior to the game.

“It’s a little crazy how Todd went down and nobody saw it coming,” the Kings’ Anze Kopitar (goal) said. “But Trent and Marco [Sturm] did a good job preparing us and being behind the bench for us.”

Jonathan Quick made 24 saves in the LA win.

“I don’t think I have to say too much, we’re used to what ‘Quicky’ does,” Kopitar said. “Sometimes we get complacent with it because he’s so good back there.”

The Kings improved to 28-17-7.

Carl Grundstrom  gave the Kings a 1-0 lead in the first period.

Troy Terry was the lone scorer for the Ducks.

“I think he’s been greatly fatigued coming out of [the All-Star break],” Ducks head coach Dallas Eakins said. “We’re extremely excited that he goes and represents our team, and it’s a spotlight on him because he’s certainly earned it. The other side of it is you come out of that, you’re right back at practice, right back to playing and there’s no rest.”

The Ducks dropped to 25-20-9,

“Everything was going fine in the second period until we had a turnover, tough exchange behind the net, and bang, it’s in your net,” Eakins said.

John Gibson got the start for Anaheim and surrendered all four LA goals, he made 16 saves before getting the hook in the middle frame.

“We just didn’t have the compete level and the intensity that we needed,” Anaheim’s Kevin Shattenkirk said. “It’s embarrassing.”

Anthony Stolarz made 12 saves in a mop up role.