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 The defenseman's power-play goal to open the third period was the
difference Monday, and the Kings held on for a 4-2 victory over the
Detroit Red Wings at Staples Center.
Martinez ripped a rocket from outside the right circle at 1:28 of
the final period for his fifth goal of the season.
"I mean, it's hockey, things like that are going to happen,"
Martinez said. "There's a lot of ebb and flow, but you just try to
stay even keel, keep playing your game and have confidence in your
game that if you stick with it, you will more than likely be
successful at the end of the night."
Left winger Dwight King added an empty-netter with 53 seconds
remaining in the game for his third goal this season.
Los Angeles forward Anze Kopitar had a goal and three assists, and
center Tyler Toffoli scored a goal. Kopitar delivered his fifth
multi-point game of the season and was the major reason the Kings
prevailed, coach Darryl Sutter said.
"Every game is different. Every game takes on its own little deal,
but I think (Kopitar), after the first period, took over the game,"
Sutter said.
Two of the Kings' goals came via the power play.
"Overall, we played a pretty solid road game," Red Wings forward
Henrik Zetterberg said. "When you play against a team like this,
there's not a lot of quality chances. There were a lot of ugly
chances. You have to get in front of the net, get pucks on net and
get there for second chances.
"We didn't really get in the middle (of the ice) in the second
period, but in the third, we had a really good push again. After
they scored, we had some pretty good shifts and good chances, but
they're a good team and they won tonight."
Goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 25 of 27 shots for the Kings, who
won for the second time in three games. Quick extended his point
streak to eight games, his second eight-game streak this season.
Goalie Jimmy Howard made 27 saves for the Red Wings, who had their
four-game winning streak snapped. Detroit won each of its previous
four road games, including a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on
Sunday.
"It was a complete battle out there," Howard said. "I was trying, to
the best of my ability, to find pucks and make saves for the guys,
but came up short."
Left winger Tomas Tatar and defenseman Alexei Marchenko scored for
the Red Wings.
The win allowed Los Angeles (27-12-3) to split the season series
with the Red Wings (22-14-7). Detroit recorded a 3-2 decision over
the Los Angeles on Nov. 20.
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The Kings' 27 wins in 42 games are a franchise record.
Toffoli put the Kings on the board first, converting a pass from
Kopitar on a rush at 2:59 of the first period. It was Toffoli's
club-leading 20th goal of the season.
The Red Wings rallied, though, with two goals late in the first
period. Tatar tied the score, getting a stick on a blast from center
Darren Helm and redirecting it past Quick to tie the score with 4:11
remaining in the period. For Tatar, it was his 14th goal this
season.
Marchenko gave Detroit the lead, fielding a pass from Helm and
smoking a winner with 1:44 left in the first. Marchenko scored for
the first time this season.
Kopitar knotted it at 2 with a wrist shot from just outside the
circle for his 12th goal of the season on a power play with 4:32
remaining in the second period.
NOTES: Detroit D Kyle Quincey returned after missing 35 games with
an ankle injury. ... Red Wings C Dylan Larkin led the league with a
plus-24 rating through the weekend, but he was minus-2 Monday. He
ranked second among rookies with 29 points (14 goals, 15 assists)
through Sunday. Larkin also topped all rookies with four
game-winning goals. ... Kings C Anze Kopitar has 15 points (three
goals, 12 assists) in the past nine games. He ranked second among
NHL forwards with average ice time per game of 21:15 through the
weekend. ... The Red Wings scratched C Joakim Andersson, while D
Jamie McBain, C Andy Andreoff and C Jordan Nolan were unavailable
for the Kings. ... Los Angeles is 83-81-32 all-time against Detroit,
including a home record of 49-34-15. ... Detroit caps its six-game
road swing Thursday at the Arizona Coyotes. ... The Kings are off
until Saturday, when they host the Ottawa Senators.
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