Kings Cool Off Giguere

These were two teams that could spend hours going over past woes and recent good times. Mirror images trying to come to terms with their recent success.

A 2-2 tie between the Kings and Mighty Ducks Thursday seemed fitting. A sellout crowd of 18,610 at Staples Center watched two interchangeable teams.

Both have been trying to overcome two months of meandering with a hot December. Duck Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere had been sizzling in December. King goalie Jamie Storr had been mildly warm. Giguere stopped 19 of 21 shots. Storr stopped 23 of 25.

The one difference Thursday was the Ducks were the team that blew a two-goal lead in the third period.

The Ducks seemed in fine shape after Matt Cullen gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead with his ninth goal--and fourth in five games--2 minutes 20 seconds into the third period.

The lead seemed safe in Giguere’s hands. Yet the Kings managed to rally against one of the hottest goalies in the NHL, getting goals from Brad Chartrand and Bryan Smolinski.

“We thought our team played well at the beginning of the season, we just couldn’t find a way to win,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “Now we’re playing well and we’re finding a way to win.”

Or tie.

These were two teams that have taken the step from pitiful to the area between mediocre and respectable. The Kings were 6-1-2 in their last nine games and 7-3-3 in December. The Ducks had won four of their last five games and were 6-3-1-3 in the month.

“It’s a matter of necessity, in fact, that we have been winning of late,” Murray said. “This month has been a good one for us, but we put ourselves behind the eight ball with a poor performance at the start of the year.”

If the Kings are behind the eight ball, they at least are ahead of the Ducks, who were last in the Western Conference a few weeks ago.

“We just have to be real responsible team and play to our level,” Duck Coach Bryan Murray said.

The Ducks reached a pretty good level Thursday, then slipped back.

They outworked the Kings to take a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Pavel Trnka won a battle along the boards and knocked the puck into the corner, where Mike Leclerc found Cullen alone in front of the net. Cullen beat Storr to the left for a two-goal lead. That seemed safe enough.

“Goals don’t come easy for us,” Andy Murray said. “We’ve been manufacturing enough to get the job done.”

The Ducks can identify with that.

“We obviously have to get the points as they come to us,” Bryan Murray said. “We’re just kind of finding our way now. We’re eventually going to have to settle on what kind of a team we are and play accordingly.

“The biggest thing is we have everyone playing together and understanding we have to play defense first and get good goal tending. Our work ethic has to be at a good level.”

The emphasis has been on the goal tending.

Giguere has been exceptional in December, even if his record isn’t. Entering the game, his 1.32 goals-against average was the best in the NHL during the month. His .951 save percentage was second among goals in the month.

Yet, he was had a humble 4-4-1 record. The Ducks’ 86 goals were the second fewest among Western Conference teams before Thursday. They got two Thursday and Giguere needed one more.

Chartrand, who had missed the previous nine games with an abdominal injury, ended Giguere’s shutout streak at 1:44.01 minutes. Chartrand took a centering pass from Ian Laperriere and ripped a shot between Giguere’s legs to make it 2-1 2:45 into the third period.

The Kings got even five minutes later, when Laperriere pulled Giguere to the left, then passed to Smolinski, who couldn’t miss the gaping net in front of him.

The Ducks took a 1-0 lead in the first period.

Tverdovsky passed to a streaking Cullen, creating a two-on-one break into the King zone. Cullen drew a King defender to him before slipping a pass to Friesen. He beat flicked a shot just under the crossbar to beat Storr, giving the Ducks a 1-0 lead 9:25 into the first.