Post-Game: Ducks beat Kings 4-2 in Honda Center, but paid a prize to do so.

Boxscore

Recap

Well, the good news is that Ducks finally found a way to win the Kings for the first time this season (Matter of fact, first win against a California team, as the Ducks have not yet beat the Sharks either this season). The bad news is that Ryan Getzlaf was injured on the 2nd period, when he got tangled up with the Kings captain, Dustin Brown and then fell down awkwardly, suffering a left angle sprain and he did not return to the game. Getzlaf went through x-rays, but they came back negative. He reportedly is going to go through some test's in Tuesday and it remains to be seen, how serious the injury actually is. Tough loss for the Ducks, and we obviously wish Getzlaf a quick recovery, so he can come back to help the Ducks race towards the playoffs, and also, help Team Canada to win gold in the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Besides Ryan Getzlaf injury, there is not a whole lot to complain about the Ducks win here. Anaheim played well from the drop of the puck to until the final whistle, even though in the 3rd period, Ducks play seemed a bit shaky, but that was probably mainly because of the new forward lines, that Ducks Head Coach Randy Carlyle had to put in order after Getzlaf went down with an injury. Otherwise, Ducks looked sharp. They were outshot 37 to 33, but still it was quite obvious, expecially on the 1st & 2nd period, that the Ducks controlled the play and from the result of that, they were able to capitalize most of their chances. Corey Perry put the puck back in the net in 2nd period on the Ducks powerplay, but the referee Kelly Sutherland ruled that it was a goalie interference, and therefore the no-goal ruling. Few seconds later, Ducks scored on the same powerplay, when Saku Koivu found the back of the net, potting his 11th goal of the season.

Hiller played also well, and made some important key saves on the 3rd period. Although he left couple of juicy rebounds on the crease at times, but the Ducks defence was able to bail Hiller out a couple of times. Ryan Whitney expecially played particular well on the game and it seems like Whitney has started to get himself going lately, although it may be because he was named to the USA Olympic team as Paul Martin's replacement a while ago. It would be good for the Ducks, if Whitney could keep this kind of play up even after the Olympics. Don't get me wrong, in my opinion he still is, and always will be as soft as a butter, who's defensive play probably isn't going get whole lot better as his career advances. Hope he proves me wrong though, and that he could be an integral part of the Ducks's blueline down the road, seeing as his current contract ends in 2013.

Corey Perry played great and we all hope he is finally going to break that slump of his, which came after his 19-game point streak halted. He's certainly on his way to improve his play, as he now has 6 points (2G 4A) in the last four games. Powerplay also is starting to get on track, now that Teemu Selanne is back from his injury. He scored a PP goal again last night. Ducks were 2 for 4 on the man advantage, and it was one of the key parts on this Ducks win.

Overall, good game by the Ducks. Solid win and much needed 2 points. Hopefully the Ducks can build on this, and maybe go for a bit of a winning streak before the Olympic break.

My 3 Stars to the Game:

* Ryan Getzlaf (Was downright dominant before he went down with an injury. He made lots of things happen in the offensive zone, and he also scored the goal to put Ducks up 2-1 in the second period.

** Saku Koivu (Hard work, hard work & hard work. Koivu once again lead by example, giving the team everything he's got all night long. Koivu scored the game-winning goal and notched an assist.

*** Corey Perry (1G 2A 3P +/- +2 5Shots 18:17 on TOI. Perry played a great game, and those stats support that claim. Hopefully Perry' play won't be too much affected, if Ryan Getzlaf misses any significant time with an injury.