ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Alex Laferriere scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, and Erik Portillo made 28 saves to win his NHL debut in the Los Angeles Kings’ 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
Laferriere had a goal and an assist, and Alex Turcotte also scored for Los Angeles in the 165th edition of the Freeway Faceoff rivalry.
Ryan Strome scored and John Gibson stopped 16 shots for Anaheim.
Strome opened the scoring early in the second, slipping behind Phillip Danault and converting a rebound for his fifth goal. Turcotte tied it eight minutes later on a 2-on-1 rush with Laferriere for his third career goal.
Laferriere then swatted home a rebound in the Ducks’ slot after Danault drove the net, scoring the 10th goal of the Harvard product’s second NHL season.
The 24-year-old Portillo is serving as David Rittich’s backup while Darcy Kuemper is injured. Portillo was a third-round pick in 2019 by Buffalo, which traded his rights to LA last year.
Ducks forward Leo Carlsson missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury.
Takeaways
Kings: Another strong fundamental effort following Wednesday's impressive 4-1 win over NHL-leading Winnipeg. They've rebounded smartly from their humiliating 7-2 loss at San Jose on Monday.
Ducks: Another dismal offensive effort by the NHL's lowest-scoring team over the past six seasons. Portillo gave up plenty of fat rebounds, but the Ducks couldn't convert. They also went 0 for 3 on the power play.
Key moment
Troy Terry got the puck all alone in front of Portillo with 18 seconds left, but he lost control and couldn't recover when Portillo sprawled headfirst in front of him.
Key stat
Portillo left with 9:30 to play due to a dislodged skate blade. Rittich played 83 seconds and made two saves.
Up next
The Kings host Ottawa on Saturday, and the Ducks host the Senators on Sunday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
Greg Beacham, The Associated Press
