Rickard Rakell makes mark in season debut as Ducks blank Kings

LOS ANGELES >> There were only a handful of seconds remaining in a scoreless first period when Ducks center Ryan Kesler drifted into the left circle to battle Kings counterpart Nic Down for a faceoff in the attacking zone Tuesday at Staples Center.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle substituted Rickard Rakell for Andrew Cogliano just before the puck was dropped, stationing him just to Kesler’s left. Kesler, a wily veteran, tied up Dowd, a first-year player, at the drop of the puck and kicked it behind him to a hard-charging Rakell.

With a flick of his wrists, Rakell snapped the puck through the legs of first Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin and then goaltender Peter Budaj for a goal in his season debut after signing a six-season, $22.8-million contract Oct. 14. Soon enough, Rakell and the Ducks were rocketing to a 4-0 victory.

“The plan was to shoot it if I got it,” Rakell said of his goal, which came with only 31 seconds left in the first period and set the tone for what was to come during the pivotal second. “Kesler did a great job and I just tried to get it through.”

Rakell added assists on second-period goals by Antoine Vermette (power play) and Joseph Cramarossa, who scored his first in the NHL in his fifth game. Cramarossa’s goal, after a turnover by Kings defenseman Alec Martinez, gave the Ducks a 4-0 lead at 10:46 of the middle period.

“It was just amazing, and I won’t forget today,” Cramarossa said.

Vermette and Cramarossa sandwiched their goals around a Kesler power-play strike.

“I was hoping to do that, happy that I did,” Rakell said of making an impact with his three-point game in his first contest of 2016-17. “Best thing was to get the win. … I’m just hoping to be able to build off this and try to help the team as much as I can.”

Ducks goalie John Gibson stopped 30 shots for his seventh career shutout.

“It’s nice that we kind of make a statement and get a good win,” Gibson said.

The Kings’ loss was their third in a row after a four-game winning streak after a three-game losing streak to start the season. Their scoreless streak reached an almost incomprehensible nine periods after weekend shutouts at the hands of the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks.

The Kings were last shut out in three straight games in 1968-69.

“We’ve got to play with a lot more emotion, a lot more desperation,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. “That’s when we’re at our best. Desperation. Emotion. Physicality. All of that. And then on top of that, executing our game plan. Tonight, we didn’t do that.”

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There was more to the Kings’ loss than a lack of offense, according to Kopitar.

“You can’t expect to win games when you give up four,” he said. “We’re taking too many penalties. We’re not drawing any penalties. We’ve got to put in a lot more emotion and desperation. I think it’s just preparation, and it’s on us leaders to be on top of that and lead the charge.”

Their latest defeat couldn’t be pinned on Budaj. He made his eighth appearance in relief of No. 1 goalie Jonathan Quick, who suffered a groin injury during the Kings’ season-opening loss Oct. 12 to the San Jose Sharks and isn’t expected back on the ice until January.

Every mistake, every lapse in judgment, ended up costing the Kings a goal.

Kesler outmuscled and outsmarted Dowd on the first goal, and Carlyle made a shrewd move to swap Cogliano for the more offensively gifted Rakell. Muzzin’s double-minor for high-sticking Cramarossa then led to power-play goals for Vermette and Kesler.

Martinez’s ill-advised outlet pass missed the stick of Dowd, but ended up on the blade of Vermette, who passed to Rakell, who passed to Cramarossa. Dowd and Martinez then watched as Cramarossa’s wraparound attempt struck them both before crossing the goal line.

Jack Campbell replaced Budaj to start the third, his second NHL appearance. His first was during a 6-3 loss to the Ducks on Oct. 20, 2013, while with the Dallas Stars. The Kings signed him as a free agent last summer and he was expected to play with the Ontario Reign of the AHL.

But that was before groin injuries to Quick and backup Jeff Zatkoff.

Budaj also was set to spend the season with the Reign.

Meanwhile, the Ducks are nearly whole again, with Rakell’s stunning return to their lineup Tuesday. Defenseman Hampus Lindholm, a fellow Swede, is due back sooner rather than later, after he gets his work visa, after he signed a six-year, $31.5-million deal last Thursday.