Freeway Face-Off

Anaheim Ducks Los Angeles Kings
First meeting	December 2, 1993
Latest meeting	April 10, 2025
Next meeting	November 28, 2025
Statistics
Meetings total	174
All-time series	84–61–11–18 (LAK)
Regular season series	80–58–11–18 (LAK)
Postseason results	4–3 (LAK)
Largest victory	LAK 7–1 ANA December 27, 1995
Longest win streak	LAK W8
Current win streak	LAK W1
Postseason history
2014 second round: Kings won, 4–3

TheFreeway Face-Off is anice hockeyrivalry between theNational Hockey League (NHL)'sAnaheim Ducks andLos Angeles Kings. The series takes its name from the massivefreeway system in thegreater Los Angeles metropolitan area, the home of both teams; one could travel from one team's arena to the other simply by traveling alongInterstate 5. The term is akin to theFreeway Series, which refers to meetings between theLos Angeles metropolitan area'sMajor League Baseball teams, theDodgers and theAngels.^[1]

The Kings and Ducks are rivals due to 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 in1993–94 and has since continued.

The Kings' first appearance in theStanley Cup Final came in1993. As of the end of the2022–23 season, they have reached theStanley Cup playoffs 32 times in franchise history (13 appearances since the Ducks joined the NHL), and won the Stanley Cup in2012 and2014. The Ducks have made the playoffs 14 times, reaching the Stanley Cup Final twice – in2003 and winning in2007. The Kings and the Ducks did not meet in the playoffs until the2014 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Ducks fans have done the same for away games at the Kings' home ice,Crypto.com Arena. Games between the two teams are often very physical, typically including multiple fights and penalties. The rivalry was showcased for the NHL premiere at theO2 Arena inLondon at the start of the2007–08 season with two games between the teams. The Ducks and Kings split both games 4–1 each. The Kings won the first game and the Ducks won the second game.^[2][3] It was also showcased as part of a2014 NHL Stadium Series match atDodger Stadium in Los Angeles, where Anaheim reigned victorious in a 3–0 shutout.

The rivalry was further heated during the2010 NHL entry draft, which was hosted by the Kings at Staples Center (renamed Crypto.com Arena in 2021). When the Ducks took the stage to announceCam Fowler as their first-round, 12th overall pick, the audience predominantly consisting of Kings fans, let out boos.^[4]

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 ice hockey fans. Other names being considered were "Freeze-way Series" and "Ice-5 Series."^[5]

• In the2007–08 season, the Ducks and Kings opened the season by playing a two-game series atO2 Arena inLondon,England on September 29 and 30, 2007, respectively, with the former date marking the first-ever ice hockey game played at the 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 goaltenderJonathan Bernier and two goals fromMichael Cammalleri. The Ducks split the series, however, after beating the Kings by a replica 4–1 scoreline in the second game. The second game was notable asJonas Hiller made his NHL debut, as then-Ducks starting goaltenderJean-Sebastien Giguere was injured to begin the season.^[6][7]
• The Ducks and Kings met on March 26, 2008, atHonda Center in Anaheim for a late-season tilt. Although the Ducks and Kings were near opposites in the standings that year (the Ducks finished fifth in the West while the Kings finished 15th), both teams played to an exhausting effort, as goaltenders Jonas Hiller (Anaheim) andErik Ersberg (Los Angeles) made game-stopping saves to help their team. The game was focused centrally on the goaltenders, as Hiller stopped 31 of 32 shots, while Ersberg 39 of 40. With the score tied 1–1 on goals fromPatrick O'Sullivan (Los Angeles) andBobby Ryan (Anaheim) through the third period, Kings forwardAlexander Frolov stole the puck from a fallingMathieu Schneider at the former's blueline and skated full-speed on a breakaway with under 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Frolov faked a shot, but Hiller made a sprawling pad save, much to the applause of the 17,331 fans in attendance. The two teams then played through overtime scoreless, sending it to a shootout. Kings wingerDustin Brown scored first, but Ducks wingerTeemu Selanne evened the shootout on the very next shot at 1–1. The next five shooters all missed their attempts until the Ducks' Schneider scored to put the Ducks ahead 2–1. Los Angeles forwardBrian 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 fourth in the West, clinching aplayoff berth.^[8]
• 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 first 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 first period and throughout the second on goals from Dustin Brown andWayne Simmonds. Then-Ducks Head CoachRandy Carlyle replaced goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere in favor of Jonas Hiller shortly thereafter, but the Kings scored again on anAnze Kopitar goal to make it 3–0. The game looked one-sided in favor of the Kings until Ducks wingerBobby Ryan scored a power play goal late in the second to put the Ducks on the board. To start the third, Ryan scored again, scoring a rebound off of aRyan 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 centerRyan Getzlaf fed an open 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 defensemanPeter 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 sprawlingJonathan Quick. Ryan's hat-trick set a Ducks franchise record for fastest hat-trick in team history at 2:21. 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.^[9]

Due to the NHL's realignment (including the creation of theCanadian Division) and adoption of division-only play due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Ducks and Kings played against each other eight times during the2020–21 regular season.^[10] Both teams, along with their California rival, theSan Jose Sharks were part of theWest Division with theColorado Avalanche,St. Louis Blues, andMinnesota Wild of theCentral and the two other United States-based teams in thePacific (Arizona Coyotes andVegas Golden Knights).

As division rivals, the Ducks and Kings could theoretically meet in either the first or second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They could also meet in theconference finals, provided that either or both teams qualify for wild card spots. However, neither team can meet in theStanley Cup Final. This differs from the similarFreeway Series between MLB's Los Angeles Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers, who are in separate conferences (theAmerican League andNational League, respectively) so they can only meet in the final round of the MLB postseason, theWorld Series; and theChargers–Rams rivalry (Chargers and Rams are in theAmerican Football Conference (AFC) andNational Football Conference (NFC), respectively) so they can only meet in the final round of the NFL postseason, theSuper Bowl.

The Ducks and the Kings met in the playoffs for the first time during the2014 Stanley Cup playoffs. Anaheim held home ice advantage as a result of having the best regular season record in the Western Conference. The series began on May 3, 2014, at the Honda Center and ended on May 16 with the Kings winning the series in seven games,^[11][12] en route to winning theStanley Cup.

The Kings were the first NHL team in Southern California, brought in by the1967 NHL expansion. The Kings' success of the late 1980s and early 1990s, largely due to the arrival ofWayne Gretzky in 1988, helped spike interest in ice hockey in Los Angeles, also spawning the growth ofinline hockey in the area. The Ducks, formerly known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, came into the League for the1993–94 season along with theFlorida Panthers. With the Kings 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 Ducks' arrival in nearbyOrange County brought new fans to the Southern California ice hockey scene, creating rivalry between the two teams and their fans.

The rivalry is also known for local bragging rights, pitting big-city Los Angeles against its southern neighbor Orange County, which is more suburban.^[13] Crypto.com Arena 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 Crypto.com Arena as well.^[14] In recent years, crowds at both venues are quite diverse due to both teams' recent successes.

• List of NHL rivalries
• El Tráfico
• Freeway Series
• Lakers–Clippers rivalry
• UCLA–USC rivalry

• Anaheim Ducks
• Los Angeles Kings
• National Hockey League rivalries
• National Hockey League in Greater Los Angeles
• 1993 establishments in California

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from May 2025