Freeway Face-Off

The term Freeway Face-off refers to a series of hockey games played between the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings, both of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The series takes its name from the massive freeway system in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area, the home of both teams; one could travel from one team's arena to the other simply by traveling along Interstate 5. The term is akin to the Freeway Series which refers to meetings between the Los Angeles area baseball teams.^[1]

History

Along with the enmity shared between the city of Los Angeles and adjacent Orange County similar to baseball's Freeway Series, the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks share an on-ice rivalry due to sheer geographic proximity. The two teams are situated in the same metropolitan area, and share a television market. The rivalry started with the Ducks' inaugural season in 1993–94, and has since continued.

The Kings last made an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 1993, but have popped back into the playoff picture on five different seasons. The Ducks since their inauguration have made the playoffs seven times. As of 2010–11, the Kings and Ducks have never met in the playoffs. Since 2003, the Ducks recent success in the playoffs, including the winning of the Stanley Cup in 2007 has bolstered Anaheim's fan base, at the same time the Kings' fan base still remains intact with loyal fans despite a recent lack of success. The Ducks also went to the Finals during their Cinderella run of 2003.

During regular season (and, to some extent, pre-season) games, Kings fans arrive at the Honda Center in numbers for away games against the Ducks, and Ducks fans have done the same at Staples Center. Games between the Southern California crosstown-rivals are often very physical and fight-filled. The rivalry was showcased for the NHL premier in London at the start of the 2007–08 NHL season with two games between the teams.

The rivalry was further heated during the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, which was hosted by the Kings in their home arena of Staples Center. When the Ducks took the stage to announce Cam Fowler as their 1st round, 12 overall pick, the audience predominantly consisting of Kings fans, let out boos.^[2]

Prior to 2007, there was no official name for the regular season meetings between the Ducks and Kings, the "Freeway Face-off" name was chosen by a poll of 12,000 local hockey fans. Other names being considered were "Freeze-way Series" and "Ice-5 Series." ^[3]

Common players

Brothers

Sean (ANA: 1995—98; LA: 1999) and Chris Pronger (ANA: 2006—09)

Other players

Several players have played for both teams, including:

• Ken Baumgartner—Kings 1987–1990, 1993; Ducks 1995–1997
• Jim Thompson—Kings 1991–1992, 1993; Ducks 1993
• Lonnie Loach—Kings 1992–1993; Ducks 1994
• Warren Rychel—Kings 1992–1995; Ducks 1996–1998
• Doug Houda—Kings 1993–1994; Ducks 1998
• Bob Corkum—Ducks 1993–1996; Kings 1999–2001
• Stu Grimson—Ducks 1993–1995, 1998–2000; Kings 2000–2001
• Sean O'Donnell—Kings 1994–2000, 2008–2010; Ducks 2005–2008
• Dan Bylsma—Kings 1995–2000; Ducks 2000–2004
• Craig Johnson—Kings 1996–2003; Ducks 2003–2004
• Josh Green—Kings 1998–1999; Ducks 2008–present
• Jason Blake—Kings 1998–2001; Ducks 2010–present
• Ted Donato—Ducks 1999–2000; Kings 2002
• Mathieu Schneider—Kings 2000–2003; Ducks 2007–2008
• Lubomir Visnovsky—Kings 2000–2008; Ducks 2010–present
• Kip Brennan—Kings 2001–2004; Ducks 2005–2006
• Kyle Calder—Kings 2007–2009; Ducks 2009–present
• Jari Kurri—Kings 1991–1996; Ducks 1996–1997
• Dustin Penner—Ducks 2006–2007; Kings 2011–present

The series

Regular season results

Notable moments

Regular season

• In the 2007-08 NHL season, the Ducks and Kings opened the season by playing a two-game series at O2 Arena in London, England on Sept. 29 and 30th of 2007, respectively. Sept. 29 marked the first hockey game ever played at London's O2 Arena. The opening faceoff was delayed as there was a lighting malfunction in the arena following the national anthems. Los Angeles won the first game by a score of 4-1 with help from then 19-year old goalie Jonathan Bernier, and two goals from Mike Cammalleri. The Ducks split the series however, by beating the Kings by a replicate score of 4-1 in the second game. The second game was notable as Jonas Hiller made his NHL debut as then-Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere was injured to start the season.^[4]

• The Ducks and Kings met on March 26, 2008 at Honda Center in Anaheim for a late-season tilt. Although the Ducks and Kings were polar opposites in the standings that year (Ducks finished 4th in the West, Kings finished 15th in the West), both teams played to an exhausting effort as goalies Jonas Hiller (Anaheim) and Erik Ersberg (Los Angeles) made game-stopping saves to help their team. The game was focused centrally on the goaltenders, as Hiller made 31 saves on 32 Kings shots, and Ersberg made 39 saves on 40 Ducks shots. With the score tied 1-1 on goals from Patrick O'Sullivan (Los Angeles) and Bobby Ryan (Anaheim) through the 3rd period, Kings forward Alexander Frolov stole the puck away from a falling Mathieu Schneider at the blueline and skated full-speed on a breakaway with under 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Frolov faked a shot, but Jonas Hiller made a brilliant pad save much to the applause of the 17,331 fans in attendance at Honda Center. The two teams played through overtime scoreless, and the game had to be settled in shootout. Kings winger Dustin Brown scored first, but Ducks winger Teemu Selanne evened the shootout on the very next shot, keeping the score at 1-1 in the extra frame. The next 5 shooters all missed their attempts until Ducks defenseman Mathieu Schneider scored to put the Ducks ahead 2-1. Los Angeles forward Brian Willsie was stopped by Hiller on the next shot, giving the Ducks a 2-1 shootout victory. The win gave the Ducks a playoff spot at 4th in the West, clinching a 2008 postseason berth.^[5]

• On January 8, 2009, the Ducks and Kings met for a mid-season game at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The game featured an earthquake midway through the 1st period, felt by some of the players and also the press writers and fans in attendance. The game was not delayed, however. Los Angeles got off to a 2-0 lead late in the 1st and throughout the 2nd on goals from Dustin Brown and Wayne Simmonds. Ducks coach Randy Carlyle summoned goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere to the bench for Jonas Hiller shortly thereafter, but the Kings scored again on an Anze Kopitar goal to make it 3-0 Kings. The game looked one-sided in favor of the Kings until Ducks winger Bobby Ryan scored a power-play goal late in the 2nd to put the Ducks on the board. To start the 3rd, Ryan scored again, stuffing in a rebound on a Ryan Carter wristshot to cut the Kings' lead to one goal. The most notable moment of the game, however, came just about a minute later when Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf fed an open Bobby Ryan on the left wing for a scoring attempt. Ryan put on arguably one of the most dazzling moves of the season, as he skated in on an angle towards the net and put on a roller-hockey style spin move around Kings defenseman Peter Harrold. With Harrold frozen from the play, Ryan pulled the puck back on his stick and tucked it in the back of the net past a sprawling Jonathan Quick. All 18,118 fans in attendance were utterly amazed, and a huge cheer went up from the large number of Ducks' fans in attendance. Ryan's hat-trick set a Ducks franchise record for fastest hat-trick in team history at 2 minutes, 21 seconds. The score was tied 3-3, giving the visiting Ducks momentum until Los Angeles re-gained the lead on a power-play goal from Alexander Frolov. The Ducks made many last-ditch efforts to tie the game, but Jonathan Quick stonewalled the Ducks' attempts, giving the Kings a 4-3 victory over the Ducks.^[6]

Postseason series

As of 2010, the Ducks and the Kings have never met in the postseason. Because both teams are in the same division, they could theoretically meet in the Conference Quarter-finals, Conference Semi-finals, or Conference Finals, but could not meet in the Stanley Cup finals unlike MLB's Angels and Dodgers (another rivalry in the area) who can only meet in the championship round (the World Series). In 2011, for the first time since the Ducks were enfranchised in 1993, both Southern California hockey teams made the postseason and could meet in any of the first three rounds depending on the results of the final two days of the regular season.

Fan reaction

Despite not being as publicized as some other NHL rivalries, the Ducks and Kings have a pretty intense rivalry that is known to Western Conference hockey fans, and fans of both teams. The Los Angeles Kings were the first NHL team in Southern California, brought in by the expansion era of 1967-68. The Anaheim Ducks (formerly Mighty Ducks of Anaheim) came into the league for the 1993-94 season along with the Florida Panthers. With the Kings having been in existence for 26 years before the Ducks arrived, many saw the Ducks as taking away from the Kings' fanbase and attention in the local market. The Kings were known to be one of the teams to establish hockey as a foothold in Southern California, largely due to the help of Wayne Gretzky. The Kings' success of the late 1980s and early 1990s really helped spike interest in hockey in Los Angeles, also spawning the growth of inline hockey. The Ducks' arrival in nearby Orange County brought new fans to the Southern California hockey scene, and creating enmity between the two teams and their fans. Many Kings fans who were disillusioned with the team's status after 1993 became Ducks fans. However, both teams have loyal fanbases in large.

The rivalry is also known for local bragging rights, pitting big-city Los Angeles against its southern neighbor Orange County, which is known to be more suburban. Staples Center and Honda Center are less than an hour apart via local freeways. Many Kings fans fill Honda Center in great numbers, but numerous Ducks fans also make the short trip up the freeway to Staples Center as well. In recent years, crowds at both venues are quite diverse due to both teams' recent successes in the last few seasons.

There is much hatred between fans of the two teams. Kings fans like to taunt the Ducks with chants of "Ducks suck" and "Anaheim sucks" at every home game. In contrast, it has been said to hear "Beat LA" and "Stanley Cup" chants from Ducks fans when taunting the Kings.

See also

• National Hockey League rivalries

Other Rivalries in the Los Angeles area

• Major League Baseball: Freeway Series
• National Basketball Association: Lakers-Clippers rivalry
• College Football: UCLA–USC rivalry
• Major League Soccer: Honda SuperClasico

Former

• National Football League: Rams-Raiders rivalry

References