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

Byline: RICH HAMMOND 

Staff Writer

Hockey's Southern California split will take place again. The Ducks, who joined the NHL in 1993, and the Kings have never made the playoffs in the same season, and the gap has never been bigger.

The Ducks, despite a sizable midseason hiccup, remain in first place in the Pacific Division and second place in the Western Conference while the Kings have sunk to the bottom of the conference.

But with five-plus weeks left in the regular season, both teams have motivation.

The Ducks are fighting for playoff positioning while the Kings are fighting to show that they will be a team to be reckoned with in the future. The Kings won the battle Thursday night as Michael Cammalleri scored a power-play goal in overtime for a 4-3 victory over the Ducks before an announced 17,620 at Staples Center.

Scott Niedermayer and Andy McDonald scored second-period power-play goals to give the Ducks a two-goal lead but the Kings rallied and tied the game on Jamie Lundmark's goal with 8:49 left in regulation.

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.

With one game remaining in the season series, the Ducks lead the Kings five games to two. All of the games have been decided by a one-goal margin.

"The playoffs are out of reach so it's more about pride," Kings winger Dustin 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."

In some ways, Thursday's game felt like a fresh start between the Kings and Ducks.

In the 11 days since the teams last met, the Kings shuffled their roster. In trade-deadline moves, the Kings sent away Mattias Norstrom and acquired Jamie Heward and Jaroslav Modry, who made their debuts for the Kings. With the exception of the addition of Brad May, the Ducks stood pat at the deadline.

Despite their wobble in January in February, the Ducks remain strong, and with a showdown against San Jose looming tonight, the Ducks went with backup goalie Ilya Bryzgalov against the Kings.

Bryzgalov is stronger than most teams' No. 1 goalies, but the Kings struck first Thursday when Alexander Frolov picked up a puck at center ice, split two defenders and scored on a backhand shot.

Notes: May left the game in the first period with an undisclosed lower- body injury and didn't return. ... The Kings activated Ivanans and defenseman Richard Petiot from the injured list. Ivanans, who missed two games with an arm injury, rejoined the Kings' lineup while Petiot, who has been out all season with a knee injury, was assigned to the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Manchester, N.H. ... Shay Stephenson, recalled on an emergency basis to take Kopitar's place in the lineup, made his NHL debut.

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CAPTION(S):

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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