Dubois, Roy end long goal droughts to propel Kings to 3-1 victory over Ducks

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Pierre-Luc Dubois and Matt Roy ended long goal droughts and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 on Saturday night to remain in third place in the Pacific Division.

Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings, who have won five of their last six, and David Rittich stopped 28 shots. They have a three-point lead over Vegas with two games remaining in the regular season. The Golden Knights hold the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Los Angeles and Vegas have clinched playoff spots, but seeding is still up for grabs in the final days of the regular season.

“We want to play well," Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said. "You can play well and not win in this league, that happens a lot of different nights. So we want to play well, and we’ll take the wins."

The Kings extended their home winning streak to eight games, their longest run since 2010-11. They are 13-2-1 on home ice since Hiller took over from Todd McLellan on Feb. 2. That is the second-best mark in the league since the all-star break.

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I wish I had the answer to that one. To be good at home, especially at the end, it brings confidence in us," said Dubois, who found the net for the first time in 14 games.

Trevor Zegras scored for Anaheim, which has dropped four of its last five. Lukas Dostal made 25 saves.

“They’re a good team. Obviously a playoff team. I think what’s good about our group is we get excited when we play these guys. It’s a little bit extra motivation, regardless of where we’re at," said Zegras, who has two goals and seven points in 10 games since coming back from ankle surgery. "I thought we competed and played hard but didn’t get the result.”

Dubois opened the scoring 2:45 into the second period while the Kings were on the power play with his first goal since March 15. The center was able to get the rebound near the net and went top shelf.

Roy extended the lead to 2-0 and ended a 10-game drought eight minutes later with a wrist shot from near the blue line while Dostal was being screened.

Zegras got the Ducks within a goal with 8:42 remaining in the third period on a snipe from the left faceoff circle.

Fiala gave the Kings an insurance score with 2:18 left on a wraparound. It was Fiala's fifth goal and ninth point in eight games.

“That TV timeout, believe it or not, at the five-minute mark I think it gave them a pause," Ducks coach Greg Cronin said. "We were all over them. We got that first goal and you could see it energized us. And, that timeout, I think they’re a veteran team and they rebooted. They put it right back into our zone, got a couple shifts in our zone, took kind of the steam out of us. And then give Fiala credit, he counter-hit (Radko) Gudas, and he was able to pick up the loose puck and stuff it.”

Los Angeles captain Anze Kopitar did not play due to injury. Hiller said it was something nagging, but nothing major.

UP NEXT

Ducks: Conclude the season at Vegas on Thursday night.

Kings: Host Minnesota on Monday night.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal, left, deflects a shot by Los Angeles Kings center Akil Thomas, right, as right wing Alex Laferriere watches during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano, left, and Los Angeles Kings defenseman Matt Roy collide during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Anaheim Ducks center Trevor Zegras, right, celebrates his goal with defenseman Olen Zellweger during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal, upper right, stops a shot by Los Angeles Kings right wing Quinton Byfield, left, as defenseman William Lagesson defends during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Kings center Blake Lizotte, left, and Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano vie for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Kings center Trevor Lewis, second from right, celebrates a goal by defenseman Matt Roy as Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe second from left, and goaltender Lukas Dostal, right, react during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal makes a glove save during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Kings goaltender David Rittich, left, stops a shot by Anaheim Ducks right wing Frank Vatrano during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

BRUSSELS (AP) — Germany on Friday accused Russian military agents of hacking the top echelons of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party and other sensitive government and industrial targets, and was joined by NATO and fellow European countries in warning that Russia’s cyberespionage would have consequences.

Relations between Russia and Germany were already tense, with Germany providing military support to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russian military cyber operators were behind the hacking of emails of the Social Democrats, the leading party in the governing coalition. Officials said they did so by exploiting Microsoft Outlook.

Officials described a hacking campaign that persisted for months.

The German Interior Ministry said in a statement that the hacking campaign began at least as early as March 2022 — a month after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine — with emails at Social Democrat party headquarters accessed beginning that December. It said German companies, including in the defense and aerospace sectors, as well as targets related to the war were also a focus.

The statement said international efforts led by the FBI shut down in late January a botnet of compromised network devices used by the Russian hackers — known as APT28 or Fancy Bear — in the cyberespionage scheme.

“Russian state hackers attacked Germany in cyberspace,” Baerbock said at a news conference in the Australian city of Adelaide. She attributed the hack to a unit of Russia's GRU military intelligence unit.

“This is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable and will have consequences,” she said, without specifying what they might be.

A separate German statement said the hacking occurred over “a relatively long period” and also targeted various unidentified German government authorities, foundations and associations. It said the Social Democrats' executive committee was targeted.

The Council of the EU and the Czech Foreign Ministry said Czechia's institutions have also been targeted by the same group. Both German and Czech officials said the GRU hackers leveraged a previously unknown vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook.

In a statement by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, the bloc’s nations said they “strongly condemn the malicious cyber campaign" by Fancy Bear "against Germany and Czechia.”

The EU noted that it had previously imposed sanctions on individuals and entities associated with the group for targeting the German parliament in 2015. It said it will not tolerate the continuation of such attacks, particularly with EU elections upcoming in June.

NATO accused Fancy Bear of targeting “other national governmental entities, critical infrastructure operators and other entities across the Alliance," including in Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.

“We are determined to employ the necessary capabilities in order to deter, defend against and counter the full spectrum of cyberthreats to support each other, including by considering coordinated responses,” said the North Atlantic Council, the principal political decision-making body within NATO.

Baerbock is visiting Australia, New Zealand and Fiji, with the trip focusing on security policy as China pushes for influence in the Pacific region.

“The defense cooperation between Germany and Australia is close and we would like to deepen it further and together expand it, because we are in a situation where we face similar threats,” said Baerbock, who is the first German foreign minister to visit Australia in 13 years.

Discussions between Baerbock and Australia counterpart Penny Wong centered on the conflict in Gaza. “I think we all understand that the only path out of this cycle of violence that we see in the Middle East at such great cost is one that ultimately ensures a two-state solution,” Wong said.

Associated Press Technology writer Frank Bajak in Boston, Karel Janicek in Prague, Stephen Graham in Berlin, Samuel Petrequin in Brussels and Foster Klug contributed to this report.

Germany's Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock, left, speaks with Lewis O'Brien, the oldest living Kaurna man, in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024, during a ceremony to mark the return of four significant cultural heritage items to the Kaurna people from the collection of the Grassi Museum in Leipzig. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, center, poses with Lewis O'Brien, the oldest living Kaurna man, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, left, in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024, during a ceremony to mark the return of four significant cultural heritage items to the Kaurna people from the collection of the Grassi Museum in Leipzig. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong arrive for a news conference in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, left, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong attend a news conference in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)

Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks in Adelaide, Friday, May 3, 2024, during a ceremony to mark the return of four significant cultural heritage items to the indigenous Kaurna people from the collection of the Grassi Museum in Leipzig. (Michael Errey/Pool Photo via AP)