Los Angeles 2, Carolina 0
When: 10:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 2, 2018
Where: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Referees:
Dean Morton, Chris Schlenker
Linesmen:
Devin Berg, Jonny Murray
Attendance:
17546
By Field Level Media
Alec Martinez scored the winning goal with 2:13 remaining, and goalie Jonathan Quick delivered a sensational 34-save shutout as the host Los Angeles Kings beat the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 Sunday night.
Going into the day's action, the Kings were the lowest-scoring team in the league and the Hurricanes were tied with the Arizona Coyotes for the second-least-productive offense.
With overtime looming and the contest still scoreless, Martinez delivered the clutch goal -- just his second of the season. Martinez drove to the net and neatly redirected Jake Muzzin's crossing pass into the cage.
Kyle Clifford iced the game with an empty-net goal with 53 seconds left, and the Kings snapped their two-game losing skid.
Quick had a huge hand in the inability for the Hurricanes to turn on the goal light -- especially Lucas Wallmark. Quick delivered a highlight-reel save on Wallmark in the dying seconds of the first period and then denied him again with a stunning blocker save midway through the second period.
The veteran goalie also held strong during a Carolina five-on-three power play for 91 seconds midway through the third period en route to his 50th career shutout and first victory of the season for a Los Angeles team that is tied for last in the league in points. Quick (1-4-1) missed significant time this season due to a lower-body injury.
At the other end, Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek delivered a strong performance between the pipes with a 33-save effort. Carolina lost for the third time in four games (1-2-1).
The night also became about who wasn't playing. The Kings announced veteran forward Ilya Kovalchuk will miss nearly a month due to an ankle infection that required surgery, and then Adrian Kempe didn't dress due to an upper-body injury. To help alleviate some of their injury woes, Los Angeles earlier in the day claimed forward Nikita Scherbak -- a 2014 first-round draft choice -- off waivers from the Montreal Canadiens.
Meanwhile, Carolina was without its top goal scorer, Micheal Ferland, for a second consecutive game due to a concussion.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Carolina |
|
Los Angeles |
N/A |
Points |
Kyle Clifford 1 |
N/A |
Goals |
Kyle Clifford 1 |
N/A |
Assists |
Dustin Brown 1 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Petr Mrazek .971 |
Save Percentage |
Jonathan Quick 1.000 |
Petr Mrazek 33 |
Saves |
Jonathan Quick 34 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Carolina
|
34 |
0 |
0-3 |
4-4 |
8 |
36 |
Los Angeles
|
35 |
2 |
0-4 |
3-3 |
6 |
36 |
Upcoming Games
-
Los Angeles will play their next game at home against Arizona. The Kings have a W/L % of .222 after a win and .444 after a loss.
-
Carolina will play their next game on the road against San Jose. The Hurricanes have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .429 after a loss.