'Yotes Notes: Perlini, Martinook Provide Offense

Jordan Martinook notched three points and Brendan Perlini scored twice to help the Coyotes win a wild game vs. the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night at the Staples Center.
Perlini notched Arizona's first and third goals in a 5-3 victory over LA, which was playing its first game in seven days after its NHL-mandated "bye week."

Trailing 2-0, the Kings scored three goals in the third period to make things interesting, but the Coyotes matched them with three goals of their own.
"Good character by the guys," Perlini said. "Every time they scored we scored right after, so it's all a credit to the guys and working hard and battling and not wanting to give in ... It was a good effort by the guys. Hopefully we can keep it going."
Perlini gave Arizona a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 4:51 of the first period.
"It's always nice to get one early, it kind of settles you down a bit," Perlini said. "We knew it's tough coming off a break. You don't have your legs or whatever, so we tried to capitalize early and did."
Perlini scored his second goal at even strength at 9:55 of the third period, just 1:17 after Tanner Pearson had scored to pull the Kings to within 2-1.
Perlini has notched 10 goals in 31 games with the Coyotes this season, his first in the NHL. He also scored 14 goals in 17 American Hockey League games before being recalled in December. That's 24 goals in 48 games as a pro.

• With two goals and one assist, forward Jordan Martinook notched the first three-point game of his NHL career. His unassisted, short-handed goal from the top of the right circle at 14:08 of third period was the game's most important goal as it restored Arizona's two-goal lead late in the game.
"I didn't want to try to take it to the net and get caught down there, so I used (Alec) Martinez as screen a bit and it found a way in," Martinook said.
Martinook added an empty-net goal with 1:25 to play, and Tobias Rieder chipped in his 13th goal of the season.
"It was a good team effort," Head Coach Dave Tippett said. "We had a lot of guys play real well ... It's a good step forward for us."

• Goalie Mike Smith made 41 saves.
"'Smitty' was unbelievable again tonight," Tippett said. "He was a rock in there, made big saves for us, and gave us a chance to win."
Smith has faced 40 shots or more 10 times this season. His record in those games is 7-0-3.
Smith did not allow a goal on Thursday until 8:38 of the third period when Pearson beat him with a shot to cut Arizona's lead to 2-1.

• Defenseman Luke Schenn played 19:36 and led the team with four hits and five blocked shots.
• Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson assisted on Perlini's first goal to extend his point streak to five games.
• Backup goalie Louis Domingue suffered a lower-body injury during the morning skate and did not dress for the game. He is considered day-to-day.
Smith's backup for the game was Marek Langhamer, whom the team recalled from the AHL a few hours before the game on an emergency basis.
• Tony Silva, the team's equipment manager, worked his 1,500th NHL game. To help mark the milestone, Tippett allowed Silva to read the starting lineup to the players before the game. After the game, the players awarded Silva the "Game MVP Belt."
"It was a special night for him," Tippett said. "Fifteen hundred is a lot of games, and he's been around this league a long time."