(Field Level Media) Jimmy Howard made 42 saves, and Dylan Larkin scored an unassisted goal as the host Detroit Red Wings topped the Los Angeles Kings 3-1 on Monday.
Larkin has two goals and five assists over the past four games. Dennis Cholowski and Frans Nielsen also scored for Detroit, which bounced back from a 3-2 home loss to the New York Islanders two nights earlier.
Anze Kopitar scored the lone goal for the struggling Kings, who kept constant pressure on Howard but couldn’t break through until the third period. Jonathan Quick stopped 18 shots for the Kings, who have lost five of their past seven games.
The teams were awarded just one power play apiece and didn’t score on their opportunity.
The Kings had a 10-8 edge in shots on goal in the opening period, but the Red Wings scored the only goal.
Christoffer Ehn threaded a pass through traffic to Cholowski, who lifted a shot over Quick’s right shoulder just inside the crossbar. That gave the rookie defenseman five goals this season. Jacob de la Rose also assisted on the goal.
Detroit made it 2-0 at the 6:06 mark of the second period when Nielsen banged in his own rebound for his fifth goal. Andreas Athanasiou and Thomas Vanek were credited with assists.
Nielsen had gone scoreless into the month of December until he collected his first goal against Boston on Dec. 1. Last Tuesday, Nielsen notched the second hat trick of his career in an overtime triumph against Tampa Bay.
Larkin scored late in the middle period when he stole the puck in the Kings’ zone, weaved around a defenseman and beat a sprawling Quick on the stick side. That gave him a team-high 12 goals.
Kopitar prevented a shutout with 6:38 remaining when he banged in a rebound off Howard’s skate. Alex Iafallo and Dustin Brown got assists on the goal, Kopitar’s eighth of the season. It was also Kopitar’s 10 point over the past 10 games.
