{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Arizona 3, Los Angeles 2
When: 9:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 23, 2016
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale, Arizona
Referees: Brad Meier, Evgeny Romasko
Linesmen: Lonnie Cameron, Jay Sharrers
Attendance: 14195

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Arizona Coyotes coach Dave Tippett didn't like his team's starts and he didn't like its energy during a recent four-game, home losing streak.

With one game left on a seven-game homestand on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings, Tippett knew the Coyotes had to develop some positive momentum before the All-Star break begins Wednesday.

They did.

Arizona left winger Jordan Martinook scored on a partial breakaway 22 seconds into the third period off a long feed from right winger Shane Doan and goalie Louis Domingue made 26 saves as the Coyotes defeated the Kings 3-2 at Gila River Arena.

Arizona completed its seven-game homestand 3-3-1 while improving to 11-2-2 against the Pacific Division and 3-0-1 against the Kings.

"Doaner and me have worked on that play numerous amount of times in practice and we've tried it in games a few times," said Martinook of the game-winning goal on which he gloved a Doan pass out of the air and dropped it onto his stick before backhanding a shot past Quick. "Doaner is so good at that flip. He always says 'you go and skate into it' and that's exactly what I tried to do."

Arizona also got goals from Doan and defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves for Los Angeles, which has lost two straight. The Kings got goals from center Nick Shore and right winger Dustin Brown, but they never had a lead in the game.

"Obviously we've got to be a lot better," Kings center Anze Kopitar said. "With the effort we put out there, we needed Quick to be perfect so we have to have more, top to bottom."

Doan put the Coyotes on the board just after an Arizona power play expired when defenseman Michael Stone's shot from the point caromed off Doan's chest and past Quick at 13:43 of the first period. It was Doan's 17th goal of the season and 11th in his last 15 games, putting him on pace for a career high of 33 goals.

"Stand in the right place at the right time," said Doan, who joked that he merely flexed his chest when the puck arrived to force it into the net. "I've got an imprint right here on my chest."

The Kings evened the game on a bizarre play at 6:53 of the second period. As Domingue played the puck behind the net, Los Angeles left winger Tanner Pearson ran into him and Coyotes center Boyd Gordon fell over the top of Domingue.

Domingue clearly thought he had been interfered with and took off his mask, but the officials did not whistle the play dead and Kings center Nick Shore put the puck into an empty net.

"My strapping was off. I didn't fake anything," Domingue said. "It came undone and when that happens your mask goes below your eyes so I just took it off. Quite honestly, I thought they would blow the whistle before that.

"He definitely put me down and the referee said he was entitled to this part of the ice."

Arizona answered Shore's goal on a power play at 9:19 of the second period. After power-play defenseman Mikkel Boedker did a nice job of keeping the puck in at the blue line, he fed left winger Max Domi, who carried the puck to the left of the crease and lifted a saucer pass over a pair of Kings' sticks and onto the tape of Ekman-Larsson.

Ekman-Larsson one-timed the offering into the open side of the net for a 2-1 lead and his 14th goal of the season, pulling him into a tie with Carolina's Justin Faulk for the second-most goals in the NHL by a defenseman this season.

Los Angeles tied the game at 2-2 with 3:05 left in the second period when center Jeff Carter's wrist shot from the right point hit the left post and bounced right onto Brown's stick for an easy tap-in.

"I thought we got better as the game went on, but we couldn't score," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "We made a mistake to start the third. Three-two."

NOTES: Coyotes D Nicklas Grossmann missed Saturday's game because of an undisclosed illness. He was replaced in the lineup by Jarred Tinordi, marking Tinordi's first game with his new club since coming over in a trade from Montreal. ... Coyotes D Kevin Connauton also replaced D Klas Dahlbeck in the lineup. ... Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said G Mike Smith has started facing shots in one-on-one workouts with goalie coach Jon Elkin in what Tippett termed "very controlled" workouts. Smith has been on the injured-reserve list since undergoing abdominal surgery in mid-December that was expected to sideline him eight to 10 weeks. ... Kings LW Kyle Clifford (upper body) missed Saturday's game but is close to returning, per coach Darryl Sutter. ... Kings RW Tyler Toffoli was a minus-1 in Thursday's loss to Minnesota, marking only the third game all season in which he has been a minus and ending a 30-game even-or-better stretch.
Top Game Performances
 
Los Angeles   Arizona
Dustin Brown 1 Points Shane Doan 2
Dustin Brown 1 Goals Shane Doan 1
Jeff Carter 1 Assists Shane Doan 1
N/A Power Play Goals Oliver Ekman-Larsson 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jonathan Quick .875 Save Percentage Louis Domingue .929
Jonathan Quick 21 Saves Louis Domingue 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Los Angeles 28 2 0-2 3-4 20 31
Arizona 24 3 1-4 2-2 6 27
Upcoming Games
  • Arizona will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Coyotes have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .480 after a loss.
  • Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Kings have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .647 after a loss.