National Hockey League
Detroit 3, Los Angeles 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, December 10, 2018
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Referees: Jean Hebert, Furman South
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Kory Nagy
Attendance: 18322

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 at the 6:32 mark. 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 in the game 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 10th point over the past 10 games.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Los Angeles   Detroit
Anze Kopitar 1 Points Dennis Cholowski 1
Anze Kopitar 1 Goals Dennis Cholowski 1
Dustin Brown 1 Assists Andreas Athanasiou 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jonathan Quick .857 Save Percentage Jimmy Howard .977
Jonathan Quick 18 Saves Jimmy Howard 42
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Los Angeles 43 1 0-1 1-1 2 24
Detroit 21 3 0-1 1-1 2 30
Upcoming Games
  • Detroit will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .412 after a loss.
  • Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against Buffalo. The Kings have a W/L % of .182 after a win and .450 after a loss.