Los Angeles Kings vs. Anaheim Ducks

You found this. Be the first one here.

They call it the Freeway Faceoff, which is the most Southern Californian name ever given to a rivalry and also a completely accurate description of it. Twenty-odd miles of the 5 separate these two clubs, which means the away support does not fly in or book a hotel - it drives up after work, parks in the same structure you parked in, and sits directly behind you. That proximity is what gives the thing its texture. There is no romance to it, no century of history, just two sets of people from the same sprawling county who have to see each other on Monday morning and would very much like to win first. A March meeting lands when both clubs know exactly what their season is, which sharpens it further in either direction. Sit wherever you like and listen to how evenly the building splits on the first goal. No other fixture here does that, and it is the single best argument for the sport having taken root in a place with no winter at all.