Controversial call leads to Ducks loss; Kings in 0-2 hole
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It was almost a night for the record books in Anaheim.
The Ducks, who battled back from a 4-1 deficit, scored three goals in the third period to force overtime before falling to Detroit, 5-4, in the extra session.
With just 38 seconds left in the third period, Ducks defenseman Sheldon Souray was called for slashing.
While Anaheim survived the rest of the period, Gustav Nyquist spoiled the Ducks' comeback with his first-ever overtime playoff goal just as Souray was about to leave the penalty box.
"I didn't really see anything," Souray said of the final penalty. "It
was a tough call. Tough way to end it. We battled back hard. We didn't
start the game and periods as hard as they did, and they capitalized on
that."
“At the end of the game, you can usually get away with murder,” said captain Ryan Getzlaf. “For a retaliation call, it’s tough to swallow.”
The Ducks will need to improve on their start to each period if they wants to push forward in the series. Anaheim gave up goals in the first 64 seconds of each period Thursday night playing catch-up throughout the night.
“It was awful and I have no answer for it at this point,” said Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau. “It’s really disappointing and something that will be addressed before our next game.”
While the Ducks felt shortchanged by the officiating, the Ducks had five power play opportunities and could only cash in once. The scene now shifts to Motown for games three and four and while the loss was frustrating, the Ducks' Bobby Ryan knew the Red Wings would not be an easy out.
“We never thought it was going to be a sweep. We knew we would have to win at least one in Detroit.”
While the Red Wings won on the scoreboard, they suffered a huge loss as defenseman Danny Dekeyser is done for the series with a broken thumb.
While it was a frustrating loss for the Ducks, it was even worse for the Kings.
What a difference a year makes.
Last season the Kings steamrolled through the playoffs, building 3-0 series leads in each of the four rounds en route to their first ever Stanley Cup.
After their 2-1 setback at the hands of the Blues on Thursday night, the defending Stanley Cup Champions now find themselves down two games to none as the series returns to Staples Center, Saturday night for Games 3 and 4.
For the second straight game it looked like we were headed for overtime until the Blues, Barret Jackman put one over the glove of Jonathan Quick with just under a minute to play for the victory.
"He probably didn't think I was going to shoot, the way my hands are," Jackman said. "The building erupted and it's a pretty good feeling."
For Jackman, it was his first career playoff goal.
"Lucky shot," Jackman said in a postgame interview with the NBC Sports Network. "I saw a bit of a screen and I just tried to get it at the top part of the net."
While everything went right for the Kings a year ago, it has been quite the opposite in 2013. Los Angeles has now lost back-to-back games to the Blues after winning the eight previous contests. The loss on Thursday marked only the second time in 117 games that the Kings lost a game in regulation when leading after two periods.
"I gotta stop that," Quick said. "My fault. Second game in a row. I got to do better.”
“It’s our own fault that we are in this position,” Drew Doughty added. “We need to step up to the plate or we are going to be in big trouble.”
The Kings will look to continue their dominance at home where they won a league-high 19 games during the regular season.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report.