Kings crowned as NHL lives up to London hype

The Ducks outshot the Kings 27-21 but could not beat 19-year old Los Angeles goalie Jonathan Bernier until late in the final period.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said the key to the game was his team's inablity to convert more of their nine power play chances and a failure to score in the first period when they had a two-man advantage.

"When you don't do that, it comes back to haunt you," he said. "Our lack of execution on the offensive side cost us the hockey game."

The Kings got on top early in a sloppy, penalty-filled first period when Mike Cammalleri knocked a first-time shot past Ducks goalie Ilja Bryzgalov with two Anaheim players off the ice.

Los Angeles struck again midway through the second period on another power play when defenseman Rob Blake swatted the puck into the net after Bryzgalov made the initial save but then lost sight of the puck when it dribbled underneath him.

The Kings notched two goals in the final period, the first by Cammalleri again on the power play and the second when Michal Handzus scored into an empty net after Anaheim pulled their goalie for an extra man.

Anaheim's only goal came in the third period when Bobby Ryan scored off a rebound with the Ducks on the power play.

Kings forward Cammalleri credited his team's young goalie with not letting nerves get the best of him in turning away a number of solid chances, especially late in the game when Anaheim started pressing.

"After the game I looked at him and he looked like he didn't know where he was," Cammalleri said. "But he looked pretty comfortable during the game."

The Ducks and Kings travelled to London to play as the NHL bids to gain a foothold in a market that has also attracted serious attention from the NFL and NBA.

The sell-out crowd saw a game marked by penalties that also started 16 minutes late due to a problem with the lights.

The Ducks were without their top goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who was injured. They also seemed to miss the offensive firepower of their Finnish forward Teemu Selanne, who is contemplating retirement.

Anaheim beat the Ottawa Senators last June to claim the franchise's first-ever Stanley Cup.

The two teams face off again on Sunday in London's O2 Arena before heading back to North America to resume the NHL season.