Perlini, Martinook help Coyotes defeat rusty Kings
LOS ANGELES -- Brendan Perlini and Jordan Martinook scored two goals apiece Thursday night and the Arizona Coyotes held off the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 at the Staples Center.
The Kings were coming off their league-mandated week off and with the loss, NHL teams are 3-9-1 when returning from their break, getting outscored 38-12 in the 10 losses.
The Coyotes took a 2-0 lead into the third period and Arizona goaltender Mike Smith appeared on his way to breaking the franchise record for shutouts, but the teams combined for three goals in a 2:29 stretch to tighten up the game and bring the crowd to life.
Kings right wing Dustin Brown made it 3-2 when he put back a rebound as he fell to the ice at the 11:07 mark of the third period. Tanner Pearson scored off a rebound 2:29 earlier to prevent the Kings from getting shut out for the third time in the last four games, but Perlini answered 1:17 later when he scored his second of the game and 10th of the season.
The Kings went on the power play for the first time with 6:34 remaining, but it was the Coyotes who scored short-handed as Martinook took advantage of a bad change by the Kings and beat goaltender Peter Budaj with a wrist shot from the right circle.
Martinook sealed the victory with an empty-net goal, which also brought him to double digits in goals on the season.
The Kings, who had not played since beating the Florida Panthers 6-3 on Feb. 9, got off to a bad start when leading scorer Jeff Carter went to the penalty box at 3:33 after hooking Martin Hanzal and the Coyotes scored on their first shot with the extra man.
Radim Vrbata's centering pass skipped over the blade of Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty and Perlini took advantage. His first swipe at the puck missed, but his second shot beat Budaj for a 1-0 lead and ended a streak of 26 consecutive penalty kills by the Kings.
Arizona made it 2-0 only 16 seconds later as right wing Tobias Rieder skated around Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb and came from behind the goal line, shooting the puck at Budaj from in close at a side angle. The puck clanked off the crossbar and into the side of the net, briefly triggering the red light behind the goal, but the referee waived it off.
The puck stayed in front the crease as Budaj was on his backside, and Josh Jooris shot it into the net. The referees reviewed the play and confirmed Rieder's goal was good, the second goal on the third shot on net for the Coyotes.
Adrian Kempe made his NHL debut for the Kings and had the best scoring chance of the opening period, getting loose on a breakaway with just over four minutes left, but his backhand went wide. He was the only Los Angeles player with more than one shot on goal in the opening period.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson assisted on Perlini's goal, giving him a season-high five-game point streak, and Vrbata's assist on the same goal gave him a four-game point streak and moved him within seven points of 600 for his NHL career.
Arizona had no shots on goal the first 9:06 of the second period and five overall, but Smith stood firm on the other end, stopping all 12 shots he faced in the period. The Coyotes went without a goal in the second period for the first time in the last 12 games.
NOTES: LW Adrian Kempe, the Kings' first-round draft pick in 2014, had 11 goals and eight assists in 43 games with Ontario (Calif.) of the American Hockey League this season. ... Arizona LW Jamie McGinn, who has eight goals and 14 points in 50 games, was a healthy scratch for the first time this season and C Peter Holland drew into the lineup for the second time since Jan. 23. ... Coyotes D Jakob Chychrun was a healthy scratch for a fourth straight game. ... The Coyotes recalled G Marek Langhamer from Tucson after backup Louis Dominigue suffered a lower-body injury during the morning skate. Langhamer, who backed up starter Mike Smith, had no NHL experience coming into the game. ... Coyotes LW Lawson Crouse missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury. ... Kings LW Andy Andreoff and D Kevin Gravel were healthy scratches.