Arizona Coyotes finally get offense going early, defeat Los Angeles Kings 3-2

The Arizona Coyotes waited a long time to make something happen in the first period. Tonight they put together one of the best periods of the season.

Arizona ended its four game winless streak with a 3-2 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night at Gila River Arena. The win improved Arizona's record to 3-0-1 against the Kings this season.

Scoring Summary

First Period

1-0 Arizona: Sometimes just throwing the puck towards the net is enough. Tobias Rieder redirected a brisk pass from the corner to Michael Stone, who fired the puck on net. His shot bounced off the crest of Shane Doan's jersey and behind Jonathan Quick to give the Coyotes an early lead. Assists to Stone and Rieder on the goal at 13:43.

Second Period

1-1 Tie: A goal that really defies explanation. Louis Domingue was returning to his net from behind the play when he got checked by Tanner Pearson outside the crease. Believing the play to be dead for either an interference call or a loose mask strap, Domingue took off his helmet, and got an unobstructed view of Nick Shore's easy goal. No assists on the goal at 6:53.

2-1 Arizona: Max Domi is very, very good. He made a saucer pass cross-ice to Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who banked home the puck on Quick to give the Coyotes another lead. Check it out:

Look at this saucer pass from Max Domi. pic.twitter.com/m4XsNf28O9

— Pat Iversen (@Pat_Iversen) January 24, 2016

Assists to Domi and Mikkel Boedker on the power play goal at 9:19.

2-2 Tie: Because it's Los Angeles, everybody's favorite King had to get a goal of his own. Jeff Carter's point shot hit the post and fell at the feet of Dustin Brown for an easy tap-in goal from beneath the face-off circle. Assists to Carter and Luke Schenn on the goal at 16:55.

Third Period

3-2 Arizona: The crowd had little time to get settled in for the third period before the Coyotes restored their lead. Shane Doan floated a pass from the defensive zone to Jordan Martinook, who turned on the afterburners and blew by Drew Doughty to finish a forehand-backhand on Quick. Assists to Doan and Brad Richardson on the goal at 0:22.

Stat Report

Paw Prints

• For reaction from Los Angeles, check out Jewels From The Crown.
• #TinordiWatch ends as Nicklas Grossmann sits due to illness. He played 15:39 and blocked four shots.
• Martinook's goal in the third period was his first in 16 games.
• Boyd Gordon went down briefly in the third period after blocking a shot in the ankle. He would return in the period however.
• Milan Lucic continued to do Milan Lucic things; after Kevin Connauton slashed his wrist, Lucic skated over to an unsuspecting Connauton after the whistle and punched him in the head while Connauton was looking away. Lucic would receive a game misconduct on the play.
• Arizona won the last minute of play thanks to two ill-advised icings by the Kings. The Coyotes controlled the puck in the offensive zone and simply ran around the tired Kings to end the game.
• Attendance: 14,195

Looking Ahead

Arizona heads out on the road next to Minnesota. Puck drop against the Wild is 6:30 PM Arizona time on Monday.