LOS ANGELES -- Milan Lucic never saw it.

A fluke goal off New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk in the second period was the difference as the Los Angeles Kings captured a 2-1 victory Thursday night at Staples Center.

Lucic, a left winger who was the closest King to the puck, was credited with the goal at 3:28 of the second, lifting Los Angeles (10-6-0) to its 10th win in 13 games.

"One of those ones where you got to be lucky, and sometimes you get the bounces going your way," said Lucic, who scored his fourth goal of the season and his second in three games. "We definitely got a big one tonight."

Kings goaltender Jhonas Enroth stopped 31 of 32 shots. Enroth, the backup to Jonathan Quick, is unbeaten in three starts this season. He claimed his first win at Staples, and he has a 0.67 GAA and a .979 save percentage.

"I really wanted to get a home start and play in my first game here," Enroth said. "I felt good about it. I was excited to play, and we played a pretty solid game. It was nice to win here."

The only Kings player more excited than Enroth was Lucic, who has been a key contributor in the club's recent run.

"The first three games didn't go the way we wanted to at all," said Lucic, referring to the Kings three consecutive losses to open the season. "They weren't just losses, they were bad losses. To be able to turn it around and get ourselves back up in the standings was something we wanted to do sooner than later. I know it's early, but you want to get your stuff off to a good start."

Netminder Jaroslav Halak made 20 saves as the Islanders (8-6-3) lost for the third time in four games.

"We played hard, competed and tried to throw everything at it in the third," Islanders captain John Tavares said.

Center Brock Nelson put the Islanders on the board first, converting a pass from Tavares and ripping a shot past Enroth for a 1-0 lead at 10:41 of the first period. It was Nelson's fourth goal this season.

After New York defenseman Calvin de Haan was sent to the box for tripping, Kings defenseman Drew Doughty smoked a shot past Halak three seconds later for a power-play goal with 3:37 left in the first to tie the score.

Doughty, who has two goals on the season, passed Lubomir Visnovsky for third place on the franchise's list for power-play goals by a defenseman with 32.

Early in the second period, Boychuk failed to clear the puck near the Islanders' net. Kings center Tyler Toffoli gathered it and fired a shot that bounced off Halak, who tried to steer the puck with his stick. However, it bounced off Boychuk's skate and into the net for a 2-1 Los Angeles advantage.

"I just got in on the forecheck, and the puck went into the net," Lucic said. "I tried to handle the puck, but I went down and all the sudden the goal horn went off. I didn't really know what happened."

New York had opportunities in the final period, including a five-on-three advantage for 45 seconds in the opening five minutes, but failed to score.

The Kings improved to 8-1-2 in the past 11 meetings between the teams.

"We came into a really good atmosphere here against a good team, and I thought we played pretty well," New York coach Jack Capuano said. "We had a chance ... on the five-on-thee and didn't get it done."

NOTES: New York is 7-1-1 when C John Tavares records a point, taking its first regulation loss Thursday. The Islanders are 5-0-1 when Tavares scores a goal. However, the Kings remain the only NHL club Tavares has failed to score a goal against. ... Kings D Drew Doughty ranked fourth in the league in ice time per game (26:34) entering the game. ... The Islanders scratched D Adam Pelech, LW Taylor Beck and G Thomas Greiss. D Derek Forbort and C Jordan Weal were unavailable for the Kings. ... The Kings have killed off 12 consecutive penalties and 18 of 19 over the past seven games. ... The two clubs meet again Feb. 11 at the Barclays Center in New York. ... The Islanders visit the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night, while the Kings complete their five-game homestand Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. ... An announced crowd of 18,230 attended the game.