Andrew Fielding, USA TODAY Sports
Game 1 of the Kings vs. the Ducks took place yesterday at the Honda Center. “GO KINGS GO!” was what you could hear in the stadium, but the Ducks fans took over the whole stadium as they shouted “GO DUCKS GO!” and “LET’S GO DUCKS!”. Oohs and aahs echoed around the stadium as well as there were hits and goals going in and the puck hitting the posts. Since the Ducks came into the NHL in 1993, this is a series that we all have been waiting for.
And let me tell you all, it was worth the wait. The Kings entered game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round Series with hopes of taking the win from the Ducks and with the help of Gaborik, their hard work was rewarded. The scoring started with a wrist shot from Alec Martinez in the 9th minute of the first period with assists from Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik. But not ven three minutes later, Matt Beleskey helped the Ducks tie the game with assists from Ryan Getzlaf and Cam Fowler.
Later in the second period, Bonino had a chance to give the Ducks the lead, but the puck hit the post. On the 8th minute of the 3rd period, the Ducks took a 2-1 lead with a goal from Teemu Selane with the help of Patrick Maroon and Ryan Getzlaf. They had a chance to take a 3-1 lead with the puck rebounding off from Quick and Perry having an open net, but hit it too wide. As the game was coming to an end, the Ducks and their fans thought they had the win in their grasps, but Gaborik would bring the stadium with an awe of silence. With 0:40 seconds left in the game, the Kings pulled out Quick and the Ducks were going against 6. With only 0:07 seconds to go, Mike Richards shot for the goal, and as it rebounded from Goalkeeper Jonas Hiller, Marian Gaborik was there to put it in the net and send them to overtime.
During an interview with Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano, he quoted “It’s pretty painful right when it happens but…. You’ve got to move on.” Overtime came into play and the Ducks had many opportunities to take the win but Jonathan Quick was just too fast and saving the Kings from a Game 1 loss. In the 12th minute, Gaborik once again became the hero. With an assist from Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty, Gaborik was able to get the puck in the goal and take Game 1 of the series.
After the game, Drew Doughty said, “the atmosphere in the crowd was pretty good tonight. One of the loudest I’ve ever heard in this arena. I think a lot of that had to do with the Kings fans here. This is huge for California. But I think that all the players in here, as much as we all know about it, we’re just focused on winning games, and that’s all that matters to us.” With this win, the Kings won 5 games in a row, now in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Jonas Hiller started his first game of the Playoffs and had 36 saves but that wasn’t enough for the Ducks. Jonathan Quick looked great as well, having 35 saves and stopping the Ducks from taking the win.
The Kings showed us that they never give up, especially since the First Round Series against the Sharks. And they will continue to fight for the wins and try to take the series to go unto the next round, but they will have a fight from the Anaheim Ducks.
Game 2 takes place Monday at 7pm PT at the Honda Center.
