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The Freeway Series is set to make its NHL playoff debut on Saturday, as the Anaheim Ducks host the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Benjamin Pavard Jersey . Watch the game on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The new format unveiled for the 2014 playoffs was designed to force more geographical rivalries in the first few rounds. It certainly has paid off with this matchup, as these two Southern California rivals get set to meet in the postseason for the first time. The Ducks and Kings are shining examples of Gary Bettmans dream that hockey could work on the West Coast. The Kings entered the league as an original expansion club in 1967-68 -- well before Bettmans tenure as commissioner -- but Anaheim, an expansion club in 1993-94, broke through first with a Stanley Cup title in 2007. L.A., of course, was able to join the same club by winning a Cup as an eighth seed in the spring of 2012. Anaheim, the top seed in the West, finished 16 points ahead of Los Angeles in the Pacific Division standings this season and holds home-ice advantage at the start of this best-of-seven set. The Ducks also will host Game 2 on Monday before the series shifts to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4. The Ducks went 4-0-1 against the Kings during the regular-season series, but a 3-0 win by Anaheim in L.A. on Jan. 25 marked the only encounter that was decided by more than one goal. The Kings enter this second-round series only days after earning a slice of NHL history by combing back from a 3-0 series deficit to eliminate the San Jose Sharks. Los Angeles completed the monumental comeback with its fourth straight win over the Sharks on Wednesday, taking the series with a 5-1 rout in San Jose. L.A. joined the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders and 2010 Philadelphia Flyers as the only teams to pull off the monumental comeback. After winning the franchises first Stanley Cup in 2012 and making it to the Western Conference finals last season, the Kings were already on the rest of the leagues radar before the comeback, but the rally against San Jose is another reminder how dangerous this team L.A. can be. Despite dropping the first two games in San Jose by a combined score of 13-5 and losing a home Game 3 in overtime, the Kings came back from the brink of elimination to survive and advance. "It was a result of us staying together as a group of guys. When youve gone to the top of the mountain with the same group of guys its a little bit easier when youre at the bottom to come up," Kings captain Dustin Brown said. L.A. was the top defensive team in the league during the regular season, allowing an average of 2.05 goals per game. After getting torched for 17 goals in losing the first three games against San Jose, the Kings righted themselves and allowed the Sharks to score just five times the rest of the way. By the end of the series even the Kings offense was rolling. L.A. outscored the Sharks 12-2 over the final three games. The historic comeback was a total team effort, but it may not have been possible without Jonathan Quicks play in the crease. The 2012 Conn Smythe winner posted a save percentage of .963 over the final four games against San Jose and that number jumps to .979 over the last three contests. Over 57 career postseason games, the 28-year-old Quick boasts a 2.15 GAA and .927 save percentage. Including eight shutouts, the American netminder has held the opposition to one goal or less 21 times during his standout playoff career. While Quick is the clear-cut No. 1 in the L.A. crease, the Ducks situation between the pipes is murky to say the least. Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau made the controversial decision to go with rookie Frederik Andersen at the start of the clubs first-round series against Dallas, but veteran backstop Jonas Hiller was in the crease when the Ducks finally clinched in Game 6. Hiller will start in Game 1 against the Kings. While Andersen started all six games in Round 1, Hiller was called upon to replace the 24-year-old on two occasions, including the Game 6 comeback win. Andersen was pulled after allowing four goals on 12 shots in that final game and Hiller stopped all 12 shots he faced to earn the series-clinching victory. Hiller is 11-10 with a 2.24 goals against average and .936 save percentage in 22 career playoff appearances. Andersen went 3-2 with a 3.40 GAA and .892 save percentage against the Stars in a rough introduction to the NHL postseason. The Ducks almost were pushed to a decisive seventh game by Dallas if not for a furious comeback to win a road Game 6 in overtime. The Stars led 4-2 heading into third period before Anaheim scored twice in the final 2:10 of regulation and winning it 5-4 early in overtime. Nick Bonino scored two of the games final three goals to help the Ducks pull off the comeback. Bonino tied for the team lead with three goals in Round 1, but Anaheims best player in the series was Hart Trophy finalist Ryan Getzlaf. The star centerman notched three goals and four assists against the Stars despite missing Game 4 due to a lower-body injury. Getzlaf returned to the lineup in Game 5 no worse for wear and helped spark a 6-2 rout with a one-goal, two-assist performance. Getzlafs linemate Corey Perry also had a solid first round, notching two goals and five assists to match his centerman for the team scoring lead in Round 1. All told, the Ducks spread out the goal-scoring against the Stars with 13 different players hitting the net. In addition to Bonino, Getzlaf and Perry, forwards Mathieu Perreault and Devante Smith-Pelly also added multiple goals with two markers apiece. Perreault missed Game 6 with a lower-body injury and is questionable for the opener of this series. Boudreau also created a minor firestorm when he made future Hall of Famer Teemu Selanne a healthy scratch in Game 4. The move may have paid off, however, as the 43-year-old Finn, who is expected to retire after this season, posted two assists in Game 6 after notching just one helper over his first four games of the series. Brown, Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar and Tyler Toffoli combined to score all seven goals for L.A. in the 2013-14 season series with the Ducks. Kopitar led the way with three markers and Brown added two. Perry paced the Ducks with two goals and two assists in the season series, but Getzlaf only had a goal and an assist over five games. Both of Boudreaus goaltending options fared well against L.A. this season, with Andersen going 3-0 with a 1.62 GAA and Hiller posting a sparkling 0.96 GAA to go with a 1-0-1 record. Quick was 0-2-1 with a 2.30 GAA in three games for the Kings. Olivier Giroud Jersey . -- Chris Tillman paid no attention to the Baltimore bullpen as it started to stir in the ninth inning. France Blank Jerseys . The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted at Melbourne Park just before 2 p.m. Thursday, suspending all matches on outer courts until the early evening and requiring the closure of the retractable roofs at Rod Laver and Hisense arenas before play could continue on the show courts. http://www.nationalfrancesoccer.com/customized/ .C. United on Saturday night and boost the Unions playoff hopes. Nick DeLeon scored in the 36th minute for United (3-23-6), which had ample opportunities to build on its lead but went its 10th straight match without a victory. DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- John Isner held off an upset bid by Dudi Sela of Israel on Thursday night to advance to the quarterfinals of the Delray Beach Open after No. 3 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan exited the tournament because of a left hip injury. The second-seeded Isner squandered four match points in the third set after leading 4-1, but the 6-foot-10 American rallied from a 5-2 deficit to prevail in the tiebreaker for a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5) victory that earned him a spot in the quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. "More times than not, when Im up 4-1, I close it out," said Isner, who is 5-0 in his three-set matches this season but is playing in his first tournament since exiting the Australian Open with an ankle injury last month. "It definitely didnt need to go to 5-5 when I was up 4-1. I put a lot of stress on myself when I do that." The world No. 13 will face American qualifier Rhyne Williams on Friday night. Williams ousted wild-card Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2 in Thursdays nightcap to reach his second ATP quarterfinal. Nishikoris bid to win his second consecutive ATP title came to an abrupt halt Thursday afternoonn when the top-ranked Asian was forced to retire during the first set of his second-round match because of a left hip flexor injury. Florian Thauvin France Jersey. Nishikori was trailing Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia 4-2 when he decided to stop the match. He said that he experienced discomfort for the first time during his first-round win Tuesday in which he stretched his win-loss record this season to 12-2. "I tried to play, but if youre not 100 per cent, its tough," said Nishikori, who is ranked No. 15 in the world and was coming off a win in Memphis last week. "I couldnt do anything today. Its going to take some time to recover. Its shocking this happened, especially since Ive been playing well." Gabashvili advanced to the quarterfinals on Friday and will face No. 7 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia, who defeated American wild-card Ryan Harrison 6-3, 6-4. Samuel Groth and Max Mirnyi advanced to the doubles semifinals with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win against Americans Sekou Bangoura and Vahid Mirzadeh. Harrison and fellow American Jack Sock filled out the final spot in the doubles semifinals with a 6-4, 7-5 win against Santiago Gonzalez and Scott Lipsky. ' ' '