Ducks hope to make point versus Kings

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Ducks need to earn only one point against their cross-town rivals Sunday to secure their fifth consecutive Pacific Division championship.

The Ducks meet the Los Angeles Kings at the Honda Center with a two-point lead over the second-place Edmonton Oilers. If Edmonton defeats the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday night, Anaheim would need only the point that comes from a shootout loss to break the ensuing tie.

After fighting inconsistency all season, the Ducks enter their regular-season finale with 10 victories in their past 13 games, with all three losses coming in overtime. As a result, Anaheim amassed 23 points during that stretch.

"You want to go into the playoffs on a high," Ducks right winger Corey Perry said. "You want to be at the top of your game. That's what we've been talking about all season, just get into the playoffs and start trending upward. We've been doing that lately."

But left winger Nick Ritchie will not play Sunday or in the first game of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The NHL issued a two-game suspension to Ritchie for punching the Chicago Blackhawks' Michal Rozsival, who showed no inclination to fight, Thursday night.

However, defenseman Hampus Lindholm and center Nate Thompson could return to the lineup after skating during Saturday's practice. Thompson missed Thursday night's game because of an upper-body injury, while a similar injury kept Lindholm inactive for the past three games.

Lindholm's return would boost a defensive corps reeling from Cam Fowler's injury. Fowler sustained a sprained right knee and will be out from 2-to-6 weeks after a knee-on-knee hit from the Calgary Flames' Mark Giordano early in the third period Tuesday night.

Sunday's game also could mark the end of a legend's career. The Kings' Jarome Iginla, who will turn 40 in July, will become an unrestricted free agent after recording career worsts in assists, points and plus-minus rating.

In his prime, Iginla was one of hockey's most feared offensive threats. He won the Art Ross Trophy in 2002 by amassing league highs of 52 goals and 96 points, twice earned the Maurice Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal scorer, received honors as the league's best player from the NHL Players' Association and made six All-Star teams.

Iginla will finish his career 12th in career games played. He needs one goal to pass Hall of Famer Joe Sakic for 15th all-time with 626 goals and one point for 1,300.

"I have a lot of respect for Jarome. You can't coach desire and compete, and he's got it in spades," Kings coach Darryl Sutter told the team's website.

Sutter served as the Flames' coach and general manager for nearly eight seasons when Iginla played in Calgary.

Iginla admitted facing an uncertain future after a 2-1 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on April 2, when he and 40-year-old Shane Doan faced each other possibly for the final time in their respective careers.

"I don't know what his plan is," Iginla told the Los Angeles Times, "and I don't really know mine for sure, either."

Iginla is not the only member of the organization in such a situation. Sutter, who guided the Kings to the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cups, might be fired amid increasing criticism for his team's lackluster performance and extremely defensive style.

Nevertheless, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle expects Los Angeles to provide fierce competition.

"We know that the cross-town rivalry is still in place," Carlyle said. "It's not going to be a cakewalk by any means. It's going to be a hard-fought battle. We just have to take care of our business, and we've taken on that mantra for probably the last 20 games."