ANAHEIM >> There are five meetings between the two NHL teams in this area, but the Ducks might want to get together with the Kings more often. Battling with their blood rival tends to get their game back in order.
They’re not lighting up the scoreboard but the Ducks didn’t need to Sunday night. A focused, defensive-minded effort, another razor-sharp effort by John Gibson and a goal by Josh Manson was enough to give them a 1-0 win over the Kings at Honda Center.
Before a sellout crowd of 17,174, the Ducks turned (31-19-10) got their second 1-0 win in a three-game span. Gibson starred in the other one at Minnesota to end their road trip but the goalie simply needed to be solid to get his fifth shutout of the season.
Manson provided the difference in the second when he jumped into an open area around the right hashmark in the offensive zone and easily put Ryan Getzlaf’s cross-ice pass in past a diving Kings goalie Peter Budaj for his second goal of the season.
“Any time Getzy gets the puck and turns up with it on that side of the ice, I know he sees you,” said Manson, who’s other goal came Dec. 15 at Boston. “He sees everything on the ice. I just tried to find a hole and he put it on my tape.”
Getzlaf got the puck away from Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb in the corner of the offensive zone and curled toward the net with two options at his disposal.
“As soon as I turned up, it’s either going to the net or it’s going back door,” Getzlaf said. “There’s really only two options at that point and Manson did a good job getting down there.”
The Ducks got the edge they needed on a night where they were stingy and disciplined. Just two minor penalties were taken and both of those Kings power plays were killed off without Gibson needing to perform some acrobatics in net.
But when he was called upon for the few big saves that were needed, Gibson was right there for each and every one. Since his 51-save effort against Philadelphia on New Year’s Day, Gibson has a 1.82 goals-against average and four of his five shutouts.
“Everybody pulled the same direction,” Ducks center Ryan Kesler said. “We were all positive on the bench. We got a solid effort from everyone tonight.”
Another game came off the schedule for the Kings (28-26-4) as they remain out of playoff position. Scoring continues to be an issue for them as this blanking became their third in the last six contests.
There was the six-goal explosion in Florida for a fine end to their recent road trip but being back home – or close to home on Sunday – has provided no comfort. The Kings have lost five of six and all of the defeats have come in regulation.
“We’re still fully confident we can turn it on now and get back into that playoff spot that we want to be in,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. “The longer we wait, the harder it’s going to be. Right now, we’re losing point and other teams are winning games that aren’t playing against us.
“We need to get on track immediately. That was the focus before tonight’s game and we failed.”
The Kings had a couple close calls. Playing in just his third NHL game since his promotion from the American Hockey League, Adrian Kempe had his best chance to get his first goal and forge a third-period tie but his rebound try clipped the post.
Earlier, Trevor Lewis had a look at an open net after a bounce off the end boards came his way but the grinding forward couldn’t lift the puck over Gibson’s paddle as the goalie did what he could to thwart the prime scoring opportunity.
Ducks coach Randy Carlyle is glad to take any points he can get while his team tries to get back to playing with more consistency and putting wins together. He’ll welcome the 10-point edge on Calgary and 12-point bulge on the Kings while staying within range of San Jose and Edmonton in the Pacific.
“No matter what happens, 12 points is a lot of area to make up,” Carlyle said. “But they have games in hand. It still makes a big difference if there’s a gap between a team that’s chasing us. If we can continue to create those types of gaps that are with teams behind him, then it sets us up.”
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