Martinez's late goal gives Kings win over Rangers, ends skid
LOS ANGELES (AP) Bad breaks and bounces piled up during the Los Angeles Kings' six-game skid, and it looked as if another gaffe would extend that drought when goalie Jack Campbell accidentally deflected a centering pass into his own net with his skate midway though the second period.
Instead, the Kings found the resolve they had been lacking to rally for their first win since Oct. 11.
Alec Martinez scored with 55 seconds remaining, and the Kings beat the New York Rangers 4-3 on Sunday.
Martinez brought the puck from behind his net into the offensive zone and fired a wrist shot through the legs of Brendan Smith and past goaltender Henrik Lundqvist for his first goal of the season.
''Yeah, when the buzzer sounds, it was obviously a good feeling,'' Martinez said. ''We haven't felt that in a while. That said, we enjoy it tonight and tomorrow it's back to work.''
Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists, Trevor Lewis scored and Drew Doughty had two assists for the Kings.
Dustin Brown, making his season debut after breaking a finger in Los Angeles' final preseason game, also scored.
Vladislav Namestnikov and Tony DeAngelo each had a goal and an assist and Ryan Spooner also scored for the Rangers, who are winless in five road games. Lundqvist made 36 saves.
Spooner tied the game at 3-all with 4:44 remaining after Lewis had put the Kings ahead about five minutes earlier, ending a 410-minute span during which the Kings failed to hold a lead.
Los Angeles tied it on power-play goals from Brown and Kovalchuk just under three minutes apart in the second period after DeAngelo's pass ended up in Campbell's net to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.
''I don't think anybody panicked. I gave up that bad one in the second and they just kept going,'' said Campbell, who made 22 saves in place of the injured Jonathan Quick.
Quick is day-to-day because of a lower-body injury. Kings coach John Stevens said Quick did not feel right after participating in practice Saturday.
''There wasn't one particular acute moment that had it, but he had a great practice and I thought he was terrific. So we're all a little surprised that he came up lame after that. In the course of practice something happened,'' Stevens said.
The Rangers have not won away from home this season, and the frustration was evident after another self-inflicted mistake for too many men on the ice resulted in Kovalchuk's power-play goal.
''You just have to stop beating yourself,'' Rangers coach David Quinn said. ''It's hard enough in this league to beat teams when you're not beating yourself. We helped them win tonight, and that's got to stop. That's on me, and we're going to keep at it.''
The Rangers have been outscored 23-13 on the road and have allowed at least three goals in every road game.
NOTES: The Kings recalled Peter Budaj from Ontario of the American Hockey League to back up Campbell. F Michael Amadio was assigned to Ontario in a corresponding move. ... Rangers D Adam McQuaid did not play after sustaining a lower-body injury in a 4-1 loss at Chicago on Thursday. Quinn said Saturday there was a chance McQuaid could be available for either of the final two games of the four-game trip.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Continue their trip at San Jose on Tuesday.
Kings: Host Philadelphia on Thursday.
---
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/tag/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports