Jonathan Quick posted his fourth shutout of the season, Justin Williams scored a power-play goal early, and the surging Los Angeles Kings beat the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 Tuesday night for their eighth straight victory.
The defending Stanley Cup champions handed the Red Wings their third shutout loss of the season. Quick, who has allowed just five goals in the last five games, increased his club-record shutout total to 35 with 20 saves. He was 1-7-1 with a 3.44 goals-against average in his previous nine games against Detroit.
The shutout was the 200th for the franchise during the regular season. Quick, the Kings' all-time leader in regular-season victories with 201, is one away from tying the longest winning streak of his eight-year career.
Jonas Gustavsson stopped 26 shots in his fourth start of the season and first since losing 4-3 in overtime at the New York Rangers on Nov. 5. Henrik Zetterberg missed his second straight game because of a head injury.
Gettt throughhh pic.twitter.com/8msRabJflq
— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 25, 2015
Gustavsson was sidelined almost three months because of a dislocated shoulder. He played only one other time for the Red Wings since returning from a brief minor league rehab stint. That was last Saturday at Dallas, when he relieved Jimmy Howard during the third period with a 6-4 deficit and got credit for the Red Wings' 7-6 overtime win despite facing only two shots.
The Kings, back indoors following their 2-1 victory over San Jose on Saturday at Levi Stadium, got the lone goal 2:24 in. Williams' 16th goal was a deflection of Jake Muzzin's slap shot from the left point 21 seconds after Drew Miller's holding-the-stick penalty. The puck also changed direction off the leg of teammate Anze Kopitar on the way to Williams.
The Red Wings came in with the league's best power play conversion percentage (25.9). But they equaled their worst effort of the season in that department by going 0 for 5.
NOTES: Detroit assistant coach Tony Granato, who played six-plus seasons with the Kings and scored 37 goals in 1992-93 to help get them to the Stanley Cup Finals, was honored in a pregame ceremony as the club continued its "Legends Night" series. ... Quick has made a career-high 15 consecutive starts. ... Los Angeles was 1 for 17 on the power play over its previous seven games before Williams connected for the fourth time this season. ... Kopitar has one goal in his last 14 games. ... The Kings signed C Jordan Nolan to a three-year, $2.85 million extension on Tuesday.
