Anze Kopitar hauled in a pass from Vladislav Gavrikov as he came out from behind the net and saw Adrian Kempe streaking down the right side. He threaded the needle between two Ducks defenders to feed Kempe, who promptly got the puck past Lukas Dostal for the first goal of the game early in the third period.
It was an offensive breakthrough for the Kings, who had been aggressive all game but hadn’t quite found the back of the net. Five minutes later, Alex Laferriere picked off a Ducks pass and added a second goal — ultimately the deciding one — to all but seal a 3-1 win for the Kings over their archrivals in the first Freeway Face-Off this season.