Ducks, Kings open together

Forty-one home games, and the Ducks and the Kings happen to open their seasons at home on the same night, Oct. 12.

That Sunday, the Ducks take the ice at the Honda Center against Phoenix at 5 p.m., and about an hour later, the Kings will do the same against San Jose at Staples Center.

Surely, fans of both teams exist.

One solution: Watch a period in Anaheim, hit the road and pray for a smooth ride with little traffic on the way to Los Angeles to catch the rest of the Kings’ game.

One welcome change in the just-released 2008-09 NHL schedule for the Kings and Ducks is a move away from seeing the likes of the Sharks, Dallas Stars and Coyotes seemingly every other week.

There will be less emphasis on divisional play, and every Canadian team will play one another at least twice.

The Ducks and Kings will play each team in the NHL at least once this season and meet each other six times. And the first Kings-Ducks game comes early, on Oct. 14, at Staples Center.

The Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings play at Staples Center on Oct. 27 and Jan. 15, and at the Honda Center on Oct. 29 and Jan. 14.

Dallas, which knocked the Ducks out of the playoffs in the first round in April, makes its first trip to Anaheim on Nov. 7.

There won’t be any regular-season visits to Southern California from Sidney Crosby and the Penguins. But the Ducks play at Pittsburgh on Jan. 16 and the Kings play the Penguins on March 20.

But the Washington Capitals and NHL most valuable player Alexander Ovechkin will be at Anaheim on Nov. 19 and in Los Angeles a day later.

The New York Rangers will also be making a rare appearance in Southern California, playing at Anaheim on Dec. 16 and then against the Kings the next day.

The Kings will be gone most of March, playing 11 road games, in part because the World Figure Skating Championships will be at Staples Center on March 23-29.

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