Bruce Boudreau has earned a reputation as a gambler and the Anaheim head coachs latest roll of the dice paid off in a big way. Ndamukong Suh . Boudreau made a surprising decision to start highly-touted goaltending prospect John Gibson in Game 4 at Los Angeles on Saturday and the 20-year-old responded by posting a 28-save shutout to help the Ducks even this Western Conference semifinals series at 2-2. Gibson and the Ducks will aim for a repeat performance when they try to take their first lead of this best-of-seven set in Mondays Game 5 against the visiting Kings. The Ducks recalled Gibson after Frederik Andersen, another rookie goaltender, was hurt late in Game 3 and had to be replaced by veteran backstop Jonas Hiller. With Andersen sidelined on Saturday, Hiller was expected to get the Game 4 start due to his playoff experience, but Boudreau instead went with Gibson, who earned rave reviews in his NHL postseason debut. "As soon as we called him up, I thought about starting him," said Boudreau. "I thought he would give us the best chance to win." Gibson had gone 3-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and one whitewash in three appearances at the tail end of the regular season for the Pacific Division champions. On Saturday, he became the first rookie to post a shutout in a playoff debut since Andrew Raycroft of the Boston Bruins against the Montreal Canadiens (3-0) on April 7, 2004. "When I found out I was going to play, I was excited," Gibson said. "I knew the team had to get a win tonight." The victory knotted the series at two games apiece and continue the trend of road teams winning in this series. Los Angeles claimed Games 1 and 2 in Anaheim before the Ducks clawed their way back into the series with two straight victories at the Staples Center. Gibson will be in net again on Monday with Hiller serving as the backup. Devante Smith-Pelly and Ryan Getzlaf provided early offense for the Ducks on Saturday, as both players tallied late in the opening period. Anaheim improved to 23-2 all-time in the postseason when Getzlaf scores a goal. Anaheim had 11 shots in the first period, but only registered three shots on net over the final 40 minutes. The Ducks went without a shot in the middle stanza, marking the first time an NHL club was held without a shot in a playoff period since it happened to Dallas against Edmonton on May 9, 1998 in Game 2 of the WCSF. While Gibson was able to record a shutout, Kings star goaltender Jonathan Quick was pulled after the first period. Quick stopped 9-of-11 shots and Martin Jones turned aside the three shots he faced over the final two periods. Kings head coach Darryl Sutter said the decision to pull his No. 1 goaltender was a tactical one and Quick should be in net when Game 5 gets underway. "It wasnt a tough thought process. They scored two goals. I dont think our goaltending is an issue. We have to finish off our shots to be successful," offered Sutter. The Kings hadnt been blanked in a home playoff contest since May 20, 2012, a 2-0 defeat to the Phoenix Coyotes in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals. L.A. forward Anze Kopitar had his point streak halted at 10 games, as he failed to pick up a point for the first time in this postseason. He was the first King to have points in 10 straight games in one postseason since Wayne Gretzky posted a franchise-record 12-game point streak in 1993. Kopitar has four goals and 11 assists to lead all players with 15 points in this postseason. The winner of Game 5 will have a chance to close the series out Wednesday in Los Angeles. The Kings, the 2012 Stanley Cup champions, are attempting to make the conference final round for a third straight spring. Anaheim is trying to advance to the third round for the first time since claiming the franchises lone Cup title in 2007. This best-of-seven set, which had been dubbed the "Freeway Series," marks the first-ever playoff matchup between these Southern California rivals. Isa Abdul-Quddus . The deal was announced shortly before the Athletics faced the Orioles in the finale of a three-game series. The 29-year-old Kottaras will join the As in Oakland on Monday. Kottaras hit . Larry Warford . Duquette signed a three-year contract on Sunday. He will be introduced to the media in a news conference Tuesday morning. The 53-year-old Duquette will attempt to bring the Orioles out of their run of 14 successive losing seasons. LONDON -- Manchester City used another rampant scoring display to replace Arsenal at the top of the Premier League with a 5-1 win at Tottenham on Wednesday, while Chelsea lost ground in the title race with a 0-0 draw against West Ham. After beating Spurs 6-0 at the Etihad Stadium, Manuel Pellegrinis side was unstoppable at White Hart Lane as well and extended its unbeaten run to 20 matches, in which time they have scored 69 goals. City received a decisive boost when Danny Rose was sent off in the 50th minute for tripping Edin Dzeko. Yaya Toure converted the penalty before Dzeko made it 3-0. Etienne Capoues pulled one back but Stevan Jovetic and Vincent Kompany added gloss to victory. City now leads Arsenal by one point, with Chelsea lagging three points behind. Elsewhere, Sunderland beat Stoke 1-0 and Aston Villa defeated West Bromwich Albion 4-3 in a derby that saw six goals scored in the first half. Since the thrashing at City and the subsequent sacking of coach Andre Villas-Boas, Tim Sherwood had overseen an upturn in fortunes at White Hart Lane, with Spurs undefeated under their new manager and having won their last four Premier League matches. Pellegrinis team was therefore expecting a tougher test at White Hart Lane. They had the better start as the in-form Sergio Aguero went close in the fourth minute with a shot from an angle that hit the post. Aguero looked unstoppable during the first half and put his team in front in the 15th minute, scoring for the eighth successive game when he slipped the ball past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from David Silvas assist. The Argentina strikers header then forced Lloris to a beautiful one-handed save. Unfortunately for City, Aguero picked up an apparent hamstring injury while sprinting for the ball and was replaced by Stevan Jovetic. "We will see tomorrow with the doctor what happened with him, maybe he has a problem with his hamstring, we will see how serious it is," Pellegrini said. "Sergio is a top player but we dont depend on just one player so we hope itts the moment where Stevan Jovetic can play and hope that Sergio can join us again as soon as possible. Reggie Bush. quot; The strikers injury was not a factor as City was awarded a penalty five minute into the second half when Rose was shown a red card for bringing down Dzeko with a tackle from behind. Toure converted by sending Lloris the wrong way. A man down, Tottenham conceded another goal two minutes later, with Dzeko scoring from a rebound after Lloris saved Silvas effort onto the post. Tottenhams Etienne Capoue pulled one back in the 59th from a corner, but Jovetic then found space in the area to beat Lloris and Kompany rounded off a perfect night with a clean finish. At Stamford Bridge, West Ham defended for most of the second half and managed to contain Chelseas assaults to secure an important point in its fight to remain in the top flight next season. Demba Ba hit the post from close range in added time before Hazard missed two consecutive chances and Etoo had a goal disallowed for a foul on Adrian. "They defended with their hearts, I respect that and praise that," Mourinho said. "I dont think with matches like this we can sell Premier League across the world. My team did everything possible." Aston Villa edged West Brom in a prolific West Midlands derby. The Baggies led 2-0 after Chris Brunt opened the scoring and Fabian Delph scored an own goal. But Andreas Weimann lobbed in to pull one back, Leandro Bacuna levelled and Delph made amends to put Villa ahead. Youssuf Mulumbu equalized two minutes before the break before Benteke had the final say when he earned a penalty and slotted the spot kick into the bottom left corner in the 64th. Benteke has now scored three goals in three games, helping Villa establish itself firmly in midtable. West Brom fell to 15th, just three points outside the relegation zone. Adam Johnson scored in the first half to give Sunderland a 1-0 win over 10-man Stoke and lift his team out of the relegation zone for the first time since August. ' ' '
