Red Wings 7, Kings 4
LOS ANGELES (WWJ/AP) - The Kings got on the board first but then it was all Red Wings, as Detroit demolishes the Los Angeles Kings 7-4 Monday night.
As heard on 97.1 The Ticket -if you stayed awake for the West Coast game you were treated to a score-fest, with the Wings up in the third period 7-1.
Drew Miller scored twice, Darren Helm added a short-handed goal in the third period, and the Detroit Red Wings rolled to their sixth straight road victory, 7-4 over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
Pavel Datsyuk, Danny Cleary, Jiri Hudler and captain Nicklas Lidstrom also scored for the Red Wings, who pulled within three points of Western Conference-leading Vancouver with their second straight road win after back-to-back home losses.
Jimmy Howard made 32 saves as the Red Wings pulled away with seven consecutive goals, including three in the first period.
Michal Handzus scored in the opening minutes for the Kings, who didn't score again until captain Dustin Brown's goal cut Detroit's lead to five goals with 7:34 to play.
A few hours after acquiring goal-scoring forward Dustin Penner in a trade with Edmonton, the Kings put on their worst performance in over a month.
Wayne Simmonds and Brad Richardson scored in the final 65 seconds for the Kings, but Jonathan Quick gave up six goals on 23 shots before getting pulled with 14 minutes left. The flop was a surprise for Los Angeles, which had lost in regulation just once since Jan. 20 while winning 11 of its past 15.
The Red Wings got a measure of revenge for a 5-0 home loss to Los Angeles on Dec. 13, their fourth straight loss to the Kings. They also did it without leading goal-scorer Johan Franzen, who's home with his wife for the expected birth of their first child.
Detroit began its final lengthy road trip of the season in Buffalo on Saturday, and will visit all three California teams before wrapping up in Phoenix. With their usual cheering sections behind them at every stop, the Wings haven't lost on the road since Feb. 5.
The Wings have now won six straight.
(Copyright 2011 by WWJ Newsradio 950. All Rights Reserved.)(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
