The first period of Game 7 was unlike any period thus far in this series. Los Angeles came out of the gate fast and physical, resulting in numerous chances early. John Gibson came up big for the Ducks early, but he could only do so much, taking on lots of pressure and plenty of shots early.
The top line of Marian Gaborik-Anze Kopitar-Dustin Brown was flying for the Kings in the opening frame, drawing the game's first penalty even. Brown raced past Ben Lovejoy, only to have Lovejoy haul him down. The Kings cashed in on their early powerplay, as Justin 'Mr. Game 7' Williams buried a rebound off of a point shot by Slava Voynov.
The Kings did not let up at all after the opening goal. They continued to win the battles for the puck all over the ice. Four minutes after the opening goal, Jeff Carter flew past Hampus Lindholm to get a breakaway on the Ducks goaltender as he beat the rookie goaltender with a perfectly placed backhand. Before the halfway mark of the period, it was already 2-0 Los Angeles.
Anaheim's best scoring opportunity resulted in a penalty shot for Corey Perry, but Jonathan Quick pokechecked the puck off the Anaheim forward's stick to preserve a 2-0 Kings lead. Less than a minute after the big play by Quick, Mike Richards put a rebound past Gibson to make it a 3-0 Kings lead.
No one could have expected a start this dominating-by either team. Anaheim generated few scoring opportunities in the opening frame. The nerves associated with a Game 7 may have got the best of the Ducks in the first twenty. The battle-tested Kings didn't seemed phased by the pressure of the series-deciding game and the scoreboard is indicative of this. Expect a big push from Anaheim in this second period, as they need to get back in to this game.