DUCKS SHOOT DOWN KINGS ONCE AGAIN DUCKS 3, KINGS 2 (SO).

Byline: RICH HAMMOND Staff Writer

No matter how much they huff and puff, the Kings can't seem to blow the Ducks' house down.

For the second time this season, the Kings pushed their crosstown rivals to the brink of defeat, but by the grace of Mathieu Garon's glove and a couple of well-timed shootout dekes, the Ducks prevailed again.

Dustin Penner scored with sixminutes remaining in the third period, and the Ducks needed five shootout rounds to dispatch the Kings 3-2 on Sunday afternoon in front of an announced crowd of 18,118 at Staples Center.

``Everybody has (the Ducks) pegged as one of the top teams in the league and we probably deserved a better fate,'' Kings coach Marc Crawford said. ``You can't be disappointed to lose a game in a shootout, especially with a young team like we have.''

Victories are nothing new to the Ducks, who have earned 14out of a possible 16 points in eight games this season, but the Ducks had prevailed in just oneof their previous six shootouts, dating to last season.

The Kings have totaled fourpoints in their past threegames, a vast improvement considering that they had lost three consecutive games before that, but now the Kings head out for a four-game road trip.

The Kings missed a chance to make a statement at home Sunday. Given the way they played in the first period, on the way to a 2-0 lead, the Kings seemed on their way to an impressive victory over a Stanley Cup contender, but the Ducks slowly established control over the last two periods.

Lubomir Visnovsky and Michael Cammalleri scored for the Kings, but they missed several opportunities to add a thirdgoal, most notably on two failed power plays midway through the second period.

The Ducks got it done with youth. Rookie Ryan Shannon scored two minutes into the second period, and second-year winger Dustin Penner scored the tying goal with 5:50 left in the third period when his harmless- looking shot from the right boards deflected off the top of Garon's glove and trickled into the net.

In the fifth shootout round, Ryan Getzlaf faked Garon to his knees in front of the net, then pulled the puck around the goalie and tucked it behind him to give the Ducks the extra point for the shootout victory.

``Maybe our shooters were better today,'' Ducks coach Randy Carlyle joked, in reference to his team's shootout woes. ``We were fortunate to get it done.''

Moral victories count for nothing, but the Kings can at least take some good feelings on the road. Rookie center Anze Kopitar added two assists -- he now has three goals and eight assists in his first eight NHL games -- and the Kings outshot the Ducks 31-21 and put early pressure on Jean-Sebastien Giguere.

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Photo:

The Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf, center, is congratulated for his shootout winner.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer