KINGS FIGHTING FOR PRIDE CAMMALLERI SCORES IN OT TO BEAT ANAHEIM KINGS 4, DUCKS 3 (OT).

Byline: RICH HAMMOND 

Staff Writer

The Ducks are in second place in the Western Conference and the Kings are in last place. The gap between the Kings and the Ducks is 31 points, but that's not discernable when the teams meet on the ice.

The crosstown rivals have played seven times this season, and every game has been decided by one goal. The Ducks have prevailed four times to the Kings' three, but the Kings pulled one out Thursday when Michael Cammalleri's overtime goal gave them a 4-3 victory in front of 17,620 at Staples Center.

"We have a lot of respect for (the Ducks)," Cammalleri said. "We have to play well against them or we're not going to look good. We have a lot of pride and fans who want to see us develop."

Cammalleri's goal, 3:17 into overtime with Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer in the penalty box, capped a rally. The Kings rallied from a two-goal deficit, just as they did Saturday against Colorado.

The Ducks, who won their past two games despite blowing a two-goal lead in each, couldn't pull it out this time. Niedermayer's interference penalty led to Cammalleri's 4-on-3 overtime goal.

Niedermayer also took an interference penalty on Sunday against Colorado that led to a tying goal, but Niedermayer responded with the winning goal. There would be no redemption on Thursday.

"Everybody has the physical ability here," Niedermayer said. "It's our mental focus. Tonight we had it off and on. We didn't play a consistent game all night."

The team captain echoed his coach, who was disappointed with the Ducks' effort in a game in which they outshot the Kings 30-21.

Kings goalie Sean Burke held up well, and Ilya Bryzgalov took the loss, as the Ducks chose to save No. 1 goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere for tonight's showdown against San Jose.

"We didn't play with the necessary urgency that the situation asked for," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We turned the puck over too many times and it cost us. It's mental, that's all it is. Our mental preparation has got to be better."

The Kings played without rookie sensation Anze Kopitar, who suffered an undisclosed upper-body strain in practice this week and is considered questionable for Satuday's game against Nashville.

With the loss of Kopitar, their third-leading scorer with 56 points in 63 games, the Kings seemed to be at a disadvantage, especially against a Ducks team coming off an impressive victory over San Jose.

"The playoffs are out of reach so it's more about pride," Brown said before the game. "The worst thing we can do is just roll over and die. We've got some big games left against teams like the Ducks and Nashville and we can make a statement that we're going to be better in the future."

Notes: The Ducks' Brad May, acquired from Colorado on Tuesday, left the game in the first period with an undisclosed lower-body injury and didn't return. ... The Kings activated Raitis Ivanans and defenseman Richard Petiot from the injured list.

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Photo:

Kings goaltender Sean Burke, left, blocks a shot by the Ducks' Samuel Pahlsson during the first period Thursday at Staples Center.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Box:

DUCKS vs. SHARKS

- Elliott Teaford