{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Los Angeles 4, Detroit 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 15, 2019
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Referees: Wes McCauley, Kevin Pollock
Linesmen: Kiel Murchison, Brian Murphy
Attendance: 18540

Anze Kopitar scored two goals and the Los Angeles Kings topped the host Detroit Red Wings 4-2 on Sunday.

Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli also scored for the Kings while Alex Iafallo had two assists. Jack Campbell made 22 saves.

The matchup included the teams with the worst records in their respective conferences. Detroit entered with 21 points in 34 games while Los Angeles had 29 points in the same number of games.

Filip Zadina and Madison Bowey scored for the Red Wings, who had won their previous two games.

Eric Comrie made his second start in goal since the Wings acquired him from Arizona on Nov. 30. He stopped 28 shots.

The Kings won the first meeting in overtime 3-2 on Nov. 14.

Both teams were playing the second part of a back-to-back. The Kings were coming off a 5-4 shootout loss at Pittsburgh, while the Red Wings edged Montreal 2-1 on the road.

Los Angeles had an 11-7 shots advantage in the first period and took a 1-0 lead.

The Wings had an early power play when the Kings were charged with too many men on the ice, yet they didn't get a shot on goal for more than eight minutes. Los Angeles also killed two other penalties later in the period.

In between, Carter scored his 10th goal of the season. He took a shot from the left circle that Comrie saved. The puck came right back to Carter, who beat Comrie on the far side at the 12:15 mark.

Kopitar made it 2-0 40 seconds into the second period. He attempted a pass from the left circle and the puck bounced off defenseman Jonathan Ericsson's skate and into the net. Matt Roy and Iafallo were credited with the assists.

Kopitar's second goal came on a rebound of an Iafallo shot from the left side. He beat Comrie on the glove side for his team-high 13th goal this season.

Through the first 16 minutes of the period, Kopitar had as many goals as the Wings had shots on net. Detroit finally perked up at that point but couldn't break through. Campbell made a sliding stop on Filip Zadina and caught Robby Fabbri's blast from the edge of the right circle. Anthony Mantha's backhander in the final minute was also turned away.

Toffoli scored his fifth goal at 6:40 of the third period. Nikolai Prokhorkin found Toffoli open on the right side and Comrie had no chance to recover.

Zadina ended the Kings' shutout bid when he banged in a rebound from the left side. Bowey and Mantha had the assists.

Bowey scored on a shot from the point with 2:23 remaining.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Los Angeles   Detroit
Anze Kopitar 2 Points Madison Bowey 2
Anze Kopitar 2 Goals Madison Bowey 1
Alex Iafallo 2 Assists Madison Bowey 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jack Campbell .917 Save Percentage Eric Comrie .875
Jack Campbell 22 Saves Eric Comrie 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Los Angeles 32 4 0-3 3-3 6 28
Detroit 24 2 0-3 3-3 6 25
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .444 after a win and .192 after a loss.
  • Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against Boston. The Kings have a W/L % of .286 after a win and .476 after a loss.