LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Mighty

Ducks have never made the playoffs in the same season since their

territorial rivalry began 11 seasons ago.

But one has made it each of the last seven seasons.

At the moment, both teams are on the outside looking in. The

Kings have the best shot at the postseason, and they played like it

Saturday night when they beat the Ducks 4-2 for their third victory

in four games.

Sean Avery and Joe Corvo scored early in the second period and

Esa Pirnes notched his first NHL goal. Luc Robitaille also scored

and Roman Cechmanek outplayed Jean-Sebastien Giguere by making 30

saves. That helped the Kings remain a point behind Dallas in the

race for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot.

"It came down to who wanted the two points more," Kings

forward Trent Klatt said. "Our goalie played well in the first

period and gave us a chance to regroup, and we were fortunate

enough to get some goals in the second period."

Rob Niedermayer and Vaclav Prospal scored power-play goals and

Niclas Havelid had two assists for the Ducks, next-to-last in the

conference. They are 11 points out of a playoff spot after coming

within one victory of winning the Stanley Cup last year.

"The way they played tonight, all they have to do is put

together a couple of wins and get right back into that playoff

race," Kings center Ian Laperriere said. "They showed last year

that they play really good down the stretch. They're playing so

hard, I wouldn't be surprised if we see them in the picture."

The Ducks haven't been getting much production from several

players including captain Steve Rucchin, who has one goal in 29

games.

Anaheim outshot opponents in each of the previous eight games,

including 47-11 against Minnesota in a 6-2 win Friday. The Ducks

outshot the Kings 14-5 in the first period but all they got out of

it was a 1-1 tie.

The Kings had 19 shots in the second period, and had a 7-1

advantage the first 3½ minutes when they took the lead on goals by

Avery and Corvo.

"As well as Anaheim played in the first period, we elevated our

game," Kings coach Andy Murray said. "Sometimes you play like

that in one period and it's tough to get out of that funk. So I

liked our mental adjustment."

Avery popped a rebound of Eric Belanger's shot over Giguere's

shoulder just 66 seconds into the middle period. Corvo scored on a

one-timer from the slot, and Giguere slammed his stick against the

left post in disgust before coach Mike Babcock called a timeout.

"It was just a good shot, but I have to find a way to get a

piece of it," Giguere said. "Whenever you give a guy a chance to

one-time it from the slot, there's a good chance it might go in."

Robitaille, whose 642 goals are the most in NHL history by a

left wing, made it 4-1 at 17:49 of the second with his 11th goal --

matching the total he had last season in 81 games with Detroit.

"I was a little too aggressive on it," Giguere said. "I've

got to be standing still on that shot, not moving toward the guy.

Sometimes you have a tendency to get too aggressive when things

don't go your way, but that's not my game. My game is to be patient

and be at the right place at the right time."

Prospal, who had his first career hat trick Friday, scored a

power-play goal with 7:40 remaining. It was his 100th NHL goal and

sixth in five games following a 17-game drought.

Kings rookie Dustin Brown, who missed the previous 26 games with

a sprained left ankle, played for the first time since Nov. 29 and

set up the game's first goal at 7:11.

Game notes
Pirnes, playing in his 25th NHL game, spent the previous

four seasons in the Finnish Elite League. ... Anaheim rookie C

Joffrey Lupul was named to the Western Conference roster for the

YoungStars game, to be played during All-Star weekend. ... Niclas

Havelid had six assists in two games, following a 10-game point

drought. ... Michael Holmqvist missed his fourth straight game

because of a strained abdominal muscle. ... The Kings placed RW

John Tripp on the injured list, retroactive to Jan. 19, because of

a facial injury.