Recap: Coyotes Beat Kings, Stretch Win Streak to Four Games

LOS ANGELES -The Coyotes put their trust in Adin Hill once again on Tuesday night, and the rookie goalie delivered another solid performance.
Hill, making his third consecutive start, stopped 25 of 26 shots to lead Arizona to a 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings at the Staples Center.

"It's really nice to know that the staff here in Arizona has confidence in me, and I want to give them no reason not to," Hill said.

Starter Antti Raanta has missed the past three games because of a lower-body injury, but is close to returning to the lineup. Backup Darcy Kuemper, who has missed the past six games because of a lower-body injury, is expected to practice on Wednesday.
"'Hilly' was good again," Coyotes Head Coach Rick Tocchet said. "He's unflappable right now. He's feeling it and it's a nice story ... He's come in and he's put the plug in for us. We have some guys hurt and he's holding the fort."

Leading 2-0, Hill shined at 9:41 of the third period when he made an acrobatic blocker save on a shot by Jeff Carter, who drove hard to the net with the puck on his stick.

• The Coyotes, who have won four games in a row, dominated the Kings for most of the game and hung on late as Los Angeles made its strongest push.

Alec Martinez pulled the Kings to within 2-1 when he scored from the top of the crease with 5:45 left in the third period. Hill made five saves after Martinez's goal, including one on a shot by Anze Kopitar as the Kings skated with an extra attacker over the final 90 seconds.
LA's Dustin Brown knocked the puck past Hill with 53.6 seconds remaining, but the goal was quickly waved off because Brown struck the puck with a high stick.
"It was a little hectic there at the end, but I think we showed some good composure and battled back and played together as a team, the 5-man unit plus the goaltender out there," Lawson Crouse said. "That's what you like to see, and we battled right until the end."
• Crouse scored Arizona's first goal when he snuck the puck past Kings goalie Jonathan Quick on a short-handed breakaway with 1:35 left in the first period.
The shorty was the second of the season for Crouse and the NHL-leading 11th for Arizona this season. Four Coyotes have notched at least two: Michael Grabner (four), Brad Richardson (three), Derek Stepan (two) and Crouse (two).

Arizona is just the seventh team in NHL history to score 11 short-handed goals in its first 26 games, and the first to do so since the Philadelphia Flyers in 2008-09.
"Obviously we're trying to stop the puck going into our own net, and when you can chip in offensively, it's a bonus," Crouse said. "I think we're just playing to our systems, playing fast and jumping at the right times and getting chances and obviously bearing down at the right times."

• Nick Schmaltz put Arizona ahead 2-0 when he ripped a power-play shot from the right circle past Quick, who was playing minus his stick for a few seconds. The goal was Schmaltz's second in four games with Arizona, and his fifth point since coming to the Coyotes via a trade with Chicago on Nov. 25.

• Jordan Oesterle played 19:06 and took a team-high four shots on goal in his 100th NHL game.
• Playing for injured Michael Grabner, Mario Kempe skated 13:49, took two shots on goal and delivered two hits in his first game since Oct. 13. The bonus for Kempe was he got to play vs. his younger brother Adrian for the first time in a regular season NHL game. Their mom, who is visiting North America from Sweden, watched the game from inside the Staples Center.