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The Anaheim Ducks dropped their fourth game in a row last night, falling 6-3 to the Los Angeles Kings.
It was another lifeless start for the Ducks, being completely outplayed through the first 20 minutes. Anaheim was outshot 14-5 in the frame and with a little over five minutes to go, Blake Lizotte deflected in a shot from Alex Iafallo to put Los Angeles ahead through the first period.
The Ducks actually did respond with a better second frame and Kevin Shattenkirk scored to tie it early in the period. However, the Kings re-took the lead a little later, with Viktor Arvidsson one-timing a shot past John Gibson. Then with only about two minutes to go in the period, Adrian Kempe stayed hot, beating Gibson on a power play to put the Kings up 3-1.
Things got wild in the last minute of the second period though, after a scrum turned pretty nasty when Frank Vatrano threw a jab at Pheonix Copley, who responded with blocker shots, resulting in a near goalie fight when John Gibson made his way to center ice. A match penalty for Copley then put the Ducks up on a long power play heading into the third period.
Anaheim capitalized on the power play early in the final frame, as Mason McTavish wired a one-timer past Jonathan Quick. However, the Kings killed off the rest of the penalty without more damage and later on, Anze Kopitar scored Los Angeles’ second power play goal of the game, reinstating the two-goal lead. Frank Vatrano did get one back for the Ducks later again, but yet another power play goal for the Kings, this time off Arvidsson’s second of the game, followed by an empty netter for Kevin Fiala, secured a 6-3 win for the Kings.
It was another slow start for the Ducks, yet again coming out flat in the first period. While they did put up more of a fight in the back 40 minutes and deserve a bit of credit for hanging around, they weren’t the better team.
Obviously, Anaheim’s penalty kill didn’t help at all. They gave up three goals on four Kings’ power plays and while their play at even strength wasn’t great, the goals on the man advantage really set them back.
It's also the fourth game in a row in which the Ducks have allowed at least six goals, with 26 goals given up over that stretch.
The Ducks’ blue line did continue to produce though, with Cam Fowler registering two more assists and Kevin Shattenkirk scoring again. For a defense group that should actually be pretty capable of putting up points, it’s good to see them producing over the last couple games.
So the loss marks a four-game losing skid for the Ducks, who now have 26 games left and are about to begin a pretty difficult four-game Eastern Conference road trip.
The Ducks’ first game of the trip will come on Monday afternoon against the Florida Panthers.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM FEBRUARY
Where do the Ducks go from here?
Ducks battle back against Stars but fall in shootout
Ducks defeat Blackhawks in overtime to wrap up back-to-back set
Ducks give up 59 shots in loss to Penguins
Ducks on losing streak, have allowed 20 goals over last three games
Who will the Ducks trade before the deadline? 
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