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Martinez gives Kings another OT win

[October 26, 2016] LOS ANGELES -- Overtime has produced a Kings' ransom for Los Angeles.

Alec Martinez tapped in the winning shot at 1:41 of overtime, rallying the Kings to a 3-2 decision over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night at Staples Center.

Martinez rebounded a miss by Tanner Pearson and slipped it past Columbus goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky as the Kings (3-2-0) captured their third straight victory, all in extra sessions.

The goal was Martinez's second this year, both coming in overtime. Martinez also scored the winner on Oct. 20 in a 4-3 win over the Dallas Stars.

"I just tried to get it in (the forwards') hands as quickly as possible," Martinez said of a successful rush by Pearson, Tyler Toffoli and himself on the game's final play. "Pearson had a good shot, kind of. I don't know if it hit armpit or some far pad, and it was just lying there. I was able to put it in; but again, those guys did the work. I just picked up scraps."

Scrapping in the extra periods shows the Kings' mettle, defenseman Drew Doughty said.

"Obviously, we don't want to go into overtime every time, but it shows our character," said Doughty, who had the tying goal late in the third period to force overtime. "Our third periods have probably been some of our best periods lately."

Goalie Peter Budaj recorded 19 saves for the Kings, who defeated the Blue Jackets for the eighth time in 11 games. Toffoli had two assists to earn his first multi-point contest of the season. Pearson's assist extended his point streak to a career-best four games in a row.

Bobrovsky stopped 27 shots.

"The third period was going pretty well," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "When we had the lead 2-1, I just wish we had the puck more offensively. We were one and done with our forechecking. We just didn't forecheck well enough to hold on to pucks. They slipped one by (Bobrovsky) and they find a way to win in overtime."

Doughty's goal with 5:57 left in the third period tied the score at 2. Doughty smoked a shot from the right circle that bounced off Bobrovsky and into the net for his second goal of the season.

Anze Kopitar's second-period tally allowed him to close within a goal from tying Wayne Gretzky (246) for sixth on the franchise's all-time list. Kopitar has points in five of the Kings' six games.

After a Kings turnover, Brandon Saad delivered his first goal of the season, on an assist from Nick Foligno, to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead at 1:31 of the second period.

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Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) is unable to make a save off a shot by Los Angeles Kings defenseman Alec Martinez (not pictured) to end the overtime period at Staples Center. The Los Angeles Kings won in overtime 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

Later in the period, Kopitar knotted the score with his second goal of the season. The Kings' center took a pass from defenseman Tom Gilbert and ripped a shot past Bobrovsky at 13:40.

However, Columbus went up again a little more than a minute later on a power play. Cam Atkinson converted a drop pass from Sam Gagner and scored with 5:09 left in the period. It was Atkinson's second goal this season.

But the Blue Jackets faltered down the stretch.

"It was a tough game from the beginning," Blue Jackets center Alexander Wennberg said. "We came out there and it felt like it was tough to get opportunities, tough to get down in the zone. I felt like the longer the game went on we played better. I mean we come away with one point, but obviously we wanted two."

Neither club drew a penalty until Los Angeles left winger Dustin Brown was whistled for holding with 5:29 remaining in the second, leading to Atkinson's goal. Overall, there were only two penalties issued, a holding infraction on Josh Anderson at 15:39 of the second being the only other one.

NOTES: Swedish G Anders Lindback was signed by the Kings to a professional tryout but reportedly must wait for his visa to clear, according to LAKingsInsider.com. Lindback played 130 career games with Nashville, Tampa Bay, Dallas, Buffalo and Arizona. He is 45-58-8 with a 2.87 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage. ... The Blue Jackets scratched LW Sonny Milano, D Ryan Murray and Scott Harrington. D Matt Greene, RW Teddy Purcell and C Jordan Nolan were unavailable for the Kings. ... Los Angeles leads the all-time series 31-19-4, including a 18-9-1 advantage at home. ... The teams meet again Dec. 20 in Columbus. ... Both clubs resume play Thursday. The Blue Jackets visit the San Jose Sharks, while the Kings host the Nashville Predators.

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