DETROIT – Phillip Danault scored twice, including the go-ahead goal in the third period, and the Los Angeles Kings finished off a highly successful six-game trip with a 5-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.
Arthur Kaliyev, Victor Arvidsson and Adrian Kempe also scored for the Kings, who went 4-0-2 on their road swing. Jonathan Quick, who is 6-1 in his last seven games against Detroit, made 22 saves.
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“This type of game can go either way,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “You’ve been on the road for a really long time. You know the break is coming, you’re looking to get home to your families, and I thought our guys decided that this was going to be an important game. We played every minute like it was.”
Trevor Moore and rookie Austin Strand had two assists apiece. Strand assisted on one goal in his previous 16 career games.
Michael Rasmussen, Tyler Bertuzzi and Joe Veleno scored for Detroit. Alex Nedeljkovic made 40 saves.
Both teams were playing their final game prior to the All-Star break.
“It’s huge, especially before the break. We’re halfway through the season and these points, you need (them) on the road,” Danault said. “We played awesome and got those points. It’s perfect before the break to be in playoff position. We’ll get back and work at it and push even more.”
Rasmussen scored his fifth of the season at 17:05 of the first period when he jammed in a rebound of Filip Zadina's shot. Filip Hronek also was credited with an assist.
Danault scored at 12:47 of the second to tie it. He chopped at the puck off a rebound of Strand's shot and it snuck inside the right post. Moore added an assist.
Kaliyev got his eighth goal late in the period, tapping in a rebound of another shot by Strand from the point. Brendan Lemieux also assisted.
“I thought we were slow in the beginning,” Detroit defenseman Marc Staal said. “We didn’t have much pushback in the first two periods and that was pretty much the difference. I mean, we did get some chances in the third and we tied it up, but that was because Ned played an outstanding game to keep us in it.”
Bertuzzi's 22nd goal tied it 2-all at 8:39 of the third when he tipped in Gustav Lindstrom's shot.
Danault's second goal of the game and 12th of the season came at 12:12 after Moore made a pinpoint pass to him on a 2-on-1.
Danault just missed completing a hat trick, hitting the post after the Red Wings vacated their net for another skater.
“I almost got three. It wasn’t meant to be,” Danault said. “It just shows our line is consistent. We want to make a difference every night and we’ve been connecting since we’ve been together.”
Arvidsson added an empty-netter before Veleno scored his fourth goal with 46 seconds left. Kempe got an empty-netter in the closing seconds.
“I didn’t think our battle level was nearly good enough,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “For the most part this season, our compete and battle levels have been really good, but I thought they were better than us tonight.”
NOTES: Kings defenseman Olli Maatta played his 500th career game. … Gemel Smith made his Red Wings debut and had an assist on Veleno’s goal. The forward was claimed off waivers Jan. 19. … Detroit center Dylan Larkin, who assisted on Bertuzzi's goal, has 12 points in his last nine games. ... The Kings shut out the Red Wings 4-0 in their first meeting at Los Angeles on Jan. 8. ... Los Angeles is 18-2-4 when leading after two periods.
UP NEXT
Kings: Host the Edmonton Oilers on Feb. 15.
Red Wings: Visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
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