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 Goaltender Jonathan Quick recorded his 35th career shutout,
leading the Kings to a 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings before a
sellout crowd of 18,203 at Staples Center on Tuesday night.
"They have one of the top power plays in the league, and we really
cut down their chances," said Quick, who stopped all 20 shots he
faced and helped kill all five of the Red Wings' power plays.
"We took away time and space, we were good up-ice, and we were good
through the neutral zone."
Quick, who made his 15th consecutive start, earned his fourth
shutout of the season and the 200th in Kings history. Los Angeles
snapped a four-game, head-to-head losing streak to Detroit.
Right winger Justin Williams' power-play goal early in the first
period was the difference, allowing the Kings (29-18-12) to capture
their season-high eighth consecutive victory, which also is the
longest streak in the NHL. They haven't lost since falling 3-2 to
the Florida Panthers on Feb. 5.
Williams praised Quick for guiding the Kings.
"It just feels like some nights you see the saves he makes and you
think he isn't going to let anyone score tonight," Williams said.
"He's been a rock throughout this win streak, and he will continue
to be."
Goalie Jonas Gustavsson saved 26 of 27 shots for the Red Wings, who
lost for the second night in a row. Detroit (33-15-11) dropped a 4-3
shootout decision to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night after blowing
a two-goal lead in the third period.
"It's always frustrating to let in a goal, but you've got to move
on," Gustavsson said. "It was a good shot and deflection. Whether
it's a good or bad goal, you have to look forward to the next save.
That's what I did. I think we battled hard today. It makes it easier
for you as a goalie to battle when you see all of the guys working
hard."
Los Angeles hadn't played since posting a 2-1 victory over the San
Jose Sharks on Saturday in a Stadium Series game at Levi's Stadium
in Santa Clara, Calif. The Kings used another steady dose of defense
against the Red Wings to prevail.
"Obviously, we liked our game," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "We
won, and what we're trying to do is win games, so I liked that. The
power play scored a big goal early to give us the lead. If you're
aware of stats and actual real stats that matter, both teams are
very good defensive teams. They don't give up much, and that's
exactly how the game played out."
Despite generating little offense against the Red Wings, the Kings
have outscored the opposition 26-13 during their streak. They also
have killed 20 power plays in a row.
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Williams delivered at 2:24 of the first period. He got a stick on a
blast fired near the blue line by defenseman Jake Muzzin and
misdirected the puck past Gustavsson for his 16th goal of the
season.
"It felt like it took us five or 10 minutes to find our legs out
there," Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader said. "They got a
power-play goal kind of right away. Once we got settled down, I
thought we did a lot of good things out there. Obviously, they are a
good team, their defensemen are big, they like to be physical and
take the body. There wasn't a lot of room out there."
Despite pulling Gustavsson with about a minute remaining in the
game, the Red Wings failed to scratch against Quick and the Kings.
NOTES: Red Wings LW Henrik Zetterberg missed his second consecutive
game with an upper-body injury. Zetterberg, who has headaches but
hasn't been diagnosed with a concussion, left Saturday's contest
against the Dallas Stars after being hit in the head by LW Jamie
Benn. "I thought I would be better, but unfortunately, I am not,"
Zetterberg told the Detroit Free Press. ... Former Kings LW Tony
Granato, now an assistant coach with Detroit, was honored by Los
Angeles during its "Legend's Night" series before the game. ...
Detroit scratched RW Daniel Cleary and D Kyle Quincey. D Alec
Martinez, C Andy Andreoff and Derek Forbort were unavailable for the
Kings. ... The Red Wings visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday
before wrapping up their six-game road trip at the Nashville
Predators on Saturday. ... The Kings host the Ottawa Senators on
Thursday.
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