High-powered Ducks shred Kings’ usually stout defense

Add the trade deadline to a Kings-Ducks game and it might as well be a full moon.

Both teams had been plodding through low-scoring games of late until they combined for perhaps the most entertaining meeting of the season Sunday night.

There was Corey Perry’s hat trick, plus a fluky bounce goal, a disallowed goal and an in-game trade by the Kings, whose lack of offense finally caught up to them while the Ducks kept rolling with a 4-2 win at a raucous Honda Center.

The Ducks’ eighth straight win moved them to within two points of the first-place Kings in the Pacific Division. The Ducks have typically downplayed their attention to the standings, but Perry broached the topic of the division crown.

“I think you’ve got to keep pushing for it,� he said. “It’s right there. We can see it in our sights now, and it’s getting closer. But at the same time, we’ve just got to keep playing our style of game.�

The Ducks powered through behind Perry, who wrapped an eventful second period when he grabbed a loose puck off the end glass and flipped it up and off of Kings goalie Jonathan Quick on the power play to tie the score, 2-2.

Early in the third, Perry’s second whack made it through Quick for the go-ahead goal to complete the hat trick at 1:27. The goals were Perry’s 24th, 25th and 26th this season.

“Obviously he was a guy we circled on the board, like many other guys on their team,� Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. “We can’t let guys like that have that big an impact. We need our top players to shut those type of guys down, play them physical, and run them out of the building, and we weren’t able to do that.�

Ducks right wing Corey Perry (10) celebrates his goal with teammates David Perron (57) and Sami Vatanen (45) during the second period.

(Kelvin Kuo / Associated Press)

The Kings have scored two goals in each of the last five games. But defense was a bigger issue. Four goals — three by the Ducks’ power play — were the most they have allowed in eight games, and they lacked their usual detail. That was evident when Nick Shore was stripped of the puck by Perry, who set up David Perron for the Ducks’ fourth goal.

Adding to the Kings’ woes was that time was not put back on the clock after Milan Lucic’s goal was challenged by the Ducks and disallowed because of offsides, with the score 4-2 in the third.

“We told [the officials] they should [have put time back on],� Doughty said. “They didn’t listen to us.�

Alec Martinez and Tanner Pearson scored for the Kings. Pearson, who scored twice Saturday against Buffalo on rebounds right to his stick, was gifted again when a pass by Ducks defenseman Simon Despres took an odd carom off the corner boards to the slot, and Pearson easily converted past an unaware Ducks goalie John Gibson.

Ryan Getzlaf extended his point streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the NHL.

Kings get Versteeg

The Kings moved to address their lack of offense with the acquisition of winger Kris Versteeg from the Carolina Hurricanes for prospect Valentin Zykov and a conditional fifth-round draft choice this year.

The deal was made official during the third period. Monday is the NHL’s trade deadline.

An individual not authorized to comment on the deal said the conditions of the draft choice would be based on the Kings’ playoff success and number of games played.

To make room for Versteeg’s $2.2-million salary cap hit, the Kings on Friday put Marian Gaborik on long-term injured reserve. Versteeg had 11 goals and 33 points in 63 games with Carolina this season.

In another off-ice move, the Kings put Jordan Nolan on injured reserve.

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Times staff writer Lisa Dillman contributed to this report.