Carter's 2 Goals Not Enough For Kings In Loss To Red Wings
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mike Green and Dylan Larkin put Detroit ahead with second-period goals and Petr Mrazek made 35 saves to lift the Red Wings over the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Friday night.
Tomas Tatar also scored for the Red Wings, and Justin Abdelkader and Henrik Zetterberg each had two assists.
Jeff Carter scored twice and the Kings dropped to 5-2 on the road. Jhonas Enroth made 26 saves.
The Red Wings nearly took the lead in the first minute, but Enroth made a glove save to rob Gustav Nyquist at point-blank range. Instead, it took over 14 minutes before Tatar knocked Abdelkader's pass into a wide-open net for a power-play goal, his sixth of the season.
The Kings nearly tied the game seconds later when Tyler Toffoli beat Petr Mrazek, only to see his shot hit the post and bounce away.
The Red Wings had a chance to increase their lead 2 minutes later when Drew Doughty took a tripping penalty, but a turnover led to Carter scoring on a breakaway to tie the game.
Both teams had power-play chances early in the second, but the teams were at even strength when Green kicked a rebound onto his stick and fired it between Enroth's legs for a 2-1 lead at 3:45. It was Green's first goal with the Red Wings.
Just over 2 minutes later, Enroth gave up another bad rebound, this one off Abdelkader's shot, and Larkin tapped it home for his seventh goal. Carter, though, scored his second goal of the night to make it 3-2 midway through the period.
Doughty hit the post with 5 minutes left in the second, and the game remained 3-2 going into the third.
Detroit got a scare in the opening minutes of the period when Larkin's right leg buckled under him as he tried to stop. He went gingerly back to the Red Wings' locker room but returned to the ice with 10 minutes to play.
Mrazek made a pair of quick saves from Trevor Lewis and Jordan Nolan with 6:35 left, preserving the lead. Larkin nearly clinched the game with 1:47 to play, only to be stopped by Enroth.
Milan Lucic missed a tip-in with 20 seconds left, and the Red Wings blocked three shots in the final 10 seconds.
NOTES: Detroit F Brad Richards returned after missing 13 games with a back injury, while Red Wings D Brendan Smith returned after missing five games with an illness. ... The Kings were playing the second of a five-game trip, which began with a 3-2 shootout win against Philadelphia on Tuesday night. ... Red Wings D Danny DeKeyser missed part of the third period after suffering facial cuts from a deflected puck.
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