Freeway Face-Off
| First meeting | December 2, 1993 |
|---|---|
| Latest meeting | April 13, 2024 |
| Next meeting | TBD |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 170 |
| All-time series | 81–61–11–17 (LAK) |
| Regular season series | 77–58–11–17 (LAK) |
| Postseason results | 4–3 (LAK) |
| Largest victory | LAK 7–1 ANA December 27, 1995 |
| Longest win streak | LAK W8 |
| Current win streak | LAK W1 |
| Postseason history | |
| |
The Freeway Face-Off is an
History
The Kings and Ducks are rivals due to geographic proximity. The two teams are situated in the same metropolitan area and share a television market. The rivalry started with the Ducks' inaugural season in 1993–94 and has since continued.
The Kings' first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals came in 1993. As of the end of the 2022–123 season, they have reached the Stanley Cup playoffs 32 times in franchise history (13 appearances since the Ducks joined the NHL), and won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014. The Ducks have made the playoffs 14 times, reaching the Stanley Cup Finals twice – in 2003 and winning in 2007. The Kings and the Ducks did not meet in the playoffs until the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Ducks fans have done the same for away games at the Kings' home ice,
The rivalry was further heated during the
Prior to 2007, there was no official name for the regular season meetings between the Ducks and Kings. The "Freeway Face-off" name was chosen by a poll of 12,000 local ice hockey fans. Other names being considered were "Freeze-way Series" and "Ice-5 Series."[5]
Notable moments
- In the O2 Arena in London, England on September 29 and 30, 2007, respectively, with the former date marking the first-ever ice hockey game played at the arena. The opening faceoff was delayed as there was a lighting malfunction in the arena following the national anthems. Los Angeles won the first game by a score of 4–1 with help from then 19-year-old goaltender Jonathan Bernier and two goals from Mike Cammalleri. The Ducks split the series, however, after beating the Kings by a replica 4–1 scoreline in the second game. The second game was notable as Jonas Hiller made his NHL debut, as then-Ducks starting goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere was injured to begin the season.[6][7]
- The Ducks and Kings met on March 26, 2008, at Patrick O'Sullivan (Los Angeles) and Bobby Ryan (Anaheim) through the third period, Kings forward Alexander Frolov stole the puck from a falling Mathieu Schneider at the former's blueline and skated full-speed on a breakaway with under 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Frolov faked a shot, but Hiller made a sprawling pad save, much to the applause of the 17,331 fans in attendance. The two teams then played through overtime scoreless, sending it to a shootout. Kings winger Dustin Brown scored first, but Ducks winger Teemu Selanne evened the shootout on the very next shot at 1–1. The next five shooters all missed their attempts until the Ducks' Schneider scored to put the Ducks ahead 2–1. Los Angeles forward Brian Willsie was stopped by Hiller on the next shot, giving the Ducks a 2–1 shootout victory. The win gave the Ducks a playoff spot at fourth in the West, clinching a playoff berth.[8]
- On January 8, 2009, the Ducks and Kings met for a mid-season game at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The game featured an earthquake midway through the first period, felt by some of the players and also the press writers and fans in attendance. The game was not delayed, however. Los Angeles got off to a 2–0 lead late in the first period and throughout the second on goals from Dustin Brown and Wayne Simmonds. Then-Ducks Head Coach Randy Carlyle replaced goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere in favor of Jonas Hiller shortly thereafter, but the Kings scored again on an Anze Kopitar goal to make it 3–0. The game looked one-sided in favor of the Kings until Ducks winger Bobby Ryan scored a power play goal late in the second to put the Ducks on the board. To start the third, Ryan scored again, scoring a rebound off of a Ryan Carter wristshot to cut the Kings' lead to one goal. The most notable moment of the game, however, came just about a minute later when Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf fed an open Ryan on the left wing for a scoring attempt. Ryan put on arguably one of the most dazzling moves of the season, as he skated in on an angle towards the net and put on a roller-hockey style spin move around Kings defenseman Peter Harrold. With Harrold frozen from the play, Ryan pulled the puck back on his stick and tucked it in the back of the net past a sprawling Jonathan Quick. Ryan's hat-trick set a Ducks franchise record for fastest hat-trick in team history at 2:21. The score was tied 3–3, giving the visiting Ducks momentum until Los Angeles re-gained the lead on a power play goal from Alexander Frolov. The Ducks made many last-ditch efforts to tie the game, but Jonathan Quick stonewalled the Ducks' attempts, giving the Kings a 4–3 victory over the Ducks.[9]
Recent developments
Due to the NHL's realignment (including the creation of the Canadian Division) and adoption of division-only play due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ducks and Kings played against each other eight times during the 2020–21 regular season.[10] Both teams, along with their California rival, the San Jose Sharks were part of the West Division with the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild of the Central and the two other United States-based teams in the Pacific (Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights).
Postseason history
As division rivals, the Ducks and Kings could theoretically meet in either the first or second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They could also meet in the
The Ducks and the Kings met in the playoffs for the first time during the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs. Anaheim held home ice advantage as a result of having the best regular season record in the Western Conference. The series began on May 3, 2014, at the Honda Center and ended on May 16 with the Kings winning the series in seven games,[11][12] en route to winning the Stanley Cup.
Fan reaction
The Kings were the first NHL team in Southern California, brought in by the
The rivalry is also known for local bragging rights, pitting big-city Los Angeles against its southern neighbor Orange County, which is more suburban.[13] Crypto.com Arena and Honda Center are less than an hour apart via local freeways; many Kings fans fill Honda Center in great numbers, but numerous Ducks fans also make the short trip up the freeway to Crypto.com Arena as well.[14] In recent years, crowds at both venues are quite diverse due to both teams' recent successes.
See also
Other sports rivalries between teams based in the Greater Los Angeles area:
References
- ^ Yoon, Peter (December 14, 2007). "No controversy, just champions". Los Angeles Times. p. D3.
Now that we have the Freeway Faceoff between the Kings and Ducks to go along with the Freeway Series between the Dodgers and Angels, we need a name for this. It might be difficult to incorporate 'freeway' into it, though, since they share the same building. Maybe we could call it the 'We took the same freeway as you did to get here tipoff.' Or, 'The showdown at the intersection of the 10 and 110 freeways.'
- ^ Woloszyn, Paul (September 29, 2007). "Kings beat Ducks in London opener". BBC Sports.
- ^ Adamson, Michael (October 1, 2007). "Ducks level London series with Kings". The Guardian.
- ^ O'Brien, James (June 25, 2010). "2010 NHL Entry Draft, Round 1: Cam Fowler drops to Ducks at #12". NBC Sports.
- ^ "Ducks-Kings Rivalry: Freeway Face-Off". Ducks.NHL.com. November 13, 2007.
- ^ "Ducks vs. Kings - 09/29/2007 - Anaheim Ducks - Recap". ducks.nhl.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-13.
- ^ "Kings vs. Ducks - 09/30/2007 - Anaheim Ducks - Recap". ducks.nhl.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-23.
- ^ "Kings vs. Ducks - 03/26/2008 - Anaheim Ducks - Recap". Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ "Ducks vs. Kings - 01/08/2009 - Anaheim Ducks - Recap". Archived from the original on 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ "NHL teams in new divisions with realignment for 2020-21 season". NHL.com. Retrieved 2021-04-11.
- ^ Kay, Jayson (May 16, 2014). "Who is the real underdog for tonight's Ducks-Kings game 7 showdown?". TheHockeyNews.com. The Hockey News. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Kings win Game 7, making Ducks pay for early errors". CBC.ca. CBC/Radio Canada. May 16, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Ducks earn bragging rights with narrow win over Kings". FoxSports.com. Fox Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media. March 16, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
- ^ "First look at evolved rivalry comes Wednesday". LAKingsInsider.com. La Kings Insider. November 11, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
