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Jonathan Quick made the Red Wings night a very tough one Tuesday night. The Kings top goaltender allowed one goal having stopped 23 shots while Anze Kopitar scored two in a 4-1 win at Little Caesars Arena. Los Angeles had 36 shots in their quest to add a second straight win to begin a new road trip.
Both Detroit and Los Angeles looked to get themselves on the plus side of being victorious. The Red Wings suffered their fifth loss in their overtime loss to the Devils on Saturday. While it gave them a consecutive point, the need for a regulation win remained elusive. The Kings rivalry win over the Ducks at home was a confidence booster to begin their week-long road trip. They have been trying to overcome a bad slide when they started hot at the start of the season. Their 1-2-1 record over the last four leaves them vulnerable to give Detroit a chance on home ice.
The game began with the Kings trying to get the best of Detroit early on. Detroit tried to push the game into the Kings end but Los Angeles had them deadlocked in the neutral zone. The Red Wings eventually got their time offensively with an early power play. While it didn’t produce a goal, they were very much ahead of the Kings who had only two shots in the first 11 minutes. They picked up the pace with Detroit but a change in score game just a few minutes later that gave the Red Wings an edge.
On a play to move the puck deep, Darren Helm put some speed into the neutral zone where he found Mike Green ahead and alone. Green took his time and score top shelf on Quick for his second of the season. Detroit got a power play eight seconds later but an interference call to Justin Abdelkader handed the Kings a chance to respond. Detroit killed the penalty with Howard putting together good blocks on scoring chances by Los Angeles and a near shorthanded breakaway by Helm. While the Kings outshot Detroit 14-11, getting the opening goal was key to move ahead with focus in the second.
They got some good shots at Quick where many of them took place directly in front of him making the saves. Howard also had some close ones fired at him including a shot from Drew Doughty that slammed on the side of his mask. While it didn’t cause Howard any harm, the Red Wings were seeing a push from their rivals in an attempt to level the score. Detroit denied them during a huge chunk of the period giving them chances to turn the tide of puck possession.
With a lot of effort in his attempts, Dylan Larkin had two chances on Quick even when he was laid out on the ice. Despite not being able to get his name on the scoreboard it was frustrating for the team who were being outshot in the period. It gave Quick a lot of energy to get saves on point blank shots that got the best of Gustav Nyquist as well. The surge of the Kings push on offense led to a wrister from Dustin Brown that caught the inside corner for his tenth to tie it all up. Detroit tried to answer with another centering shot at Quick but was stopped in response.
Before the second period came to a close, the Kings got a man advantage that helped them tally another with six seconds left. Right off the faceoff, a three man pass play ended with L.A. captain scoring his 11th for a 2-1 Kings lead. It was a 13-9 run for the Kings who with Quick pressuring Detroit had a good look forward going into the third.
They added a third unanswered 52 seconds in where an unprotected part of the net allowed Adrian Kempe to notch his eighth. The Los Angeles defense was playing tight from start to finish that helped them deal with a penalty kill. They gave Detroit very little room to set up the perfect shot that they needed in order to beat Quick in net. To put the game away with seven minutes left, Kopitar rifled a high shot that went in for his second and a three-goal gap in play.
Detroit couldn’t get it together having shot just three on goal in the period as a sign that they were about done. While that seemed to be the case, the Kings weren’t letting off the gas as they stayed close to the Red Wings making the final minutes of the game tough for them to produce anything else. When the horn sounded, it was yet a disappointing end adding a fifth straight loss and first regulation since Nov. 22.
Detroit needed to find a way to start winning as they began a home and home series with the Montreal Canadiens that would begin Thursday evening.
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Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Kings smash Red Wings hopes in 4-1 win
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