Kovalchuk gets two assists in Kings' win against Red Wings

LOS ANGELES --Ilya Kovalchuk got his 400th NHL assist, his first point since his return, to help the Los Angeles Kings defeat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2 at Staples Center on Sunday.

WATCH: [All Red Wings vs. Kings highlights]
Alex Iafallo scored two goals and Jack Campbell made 36 saves for Los Angeles in place of Jonathan Quick, who was placed on injured reserve Sunday because of a lower-body injury he sustained in practice Saturday.
Kovalchuk, who played the past five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League, had two assists for his first multipoint game since April 25, 2013 for the New Jersey Devils, Anze Kopitar scored for the second straight game, and Paul LaDue also scored for the Kings.
Kovalchuk intercepted the puck after Red Wings goalie Jonathan Bernier played it behind the net and found Iafallo in the slot for a wrist shot that made it 3-1 at 9:15 of the third period. It was the first game for Kovalchuk with multiple assists since Feb. 15, 2013.
With 818 points (417 goals, 401 assists) in 818 games, Kovalchuk is one of seven active NHL players to average a point per game with at least 100 career games played.
"I feel like he's a very underrated passer," Kopitar said. "The plays he made to Alex for the third goal, you don't see that every day. We all know he's a great shooter, but people don't realize how good of a passer he is."

Anthony Mantha and Dylan Larkin each scored on the power play for Detroit, which lost its first two games (0-1-1) for the second time in the past three seasons. Dennis Cholowski got his first two NHL assists, and Bernier made 21 saves.
After Larkin pulled the Red Wings back to 3-2 at 16:00 of the third period, Iafallo scored an empty-net goal with 21 seconds left in the third to put Los Angeles ahead 4-2. It was Iafallo's second multigoal NHL game.
"I think we gave it our best tonight," Red Wings forward Frans Nielsen said. "It was tough, but it was good to see that we can play like that. And if we keep repeating and play the way we did today we're going to win a lot of games."
LaDue gave the Kings a 2-1 lead at 16:14 of the second, scoring his fourth goal in 35 NHL games.
Kopitar put the Kings in front 1-0 at 4:21 of the second, with Kovalchuk getting his 400th assist, but Mantha tied it 1-1 at 8:45 with the 13th power-play goal of his NHL career.
Red Wings defenseman Trevor Daley sustained an upper-body injury in the first period. Daley fell after losing his balance making a pass at the red line and accidentally was hit in the head by Kings rookie Jaret Anderson-Dolan's knee. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said Daley will not play at the Anaheim Ducks on Monday, with Joe Hicketts taking his place.
Detroit played the final 51:54 with five defensemen, with Cholowski, Filip Hronek and Libor Sulak each appearing in his second NHL game and Nick Jensen playing 22:51.

They said it

"Both units chipped in. Both the goals weren't the tic-tac-toe prettiest goals, but we had great net-front presences and just throwing them there and they went in." -- Red Wings center Dylan Larkin on the power play
"We felt all along he did a lot of good things last year (but) didn't capitalize on some of his opportunities. He's looked like he has taken his game to another level in all areas. A little bit stronger, a little bit quicker, a little more confident with the puck, and I thought that last goal was just a terrific catch-and-release." -- Kings coach John Stevens on forward Alex Iafallo

Need to know

Defenseman Drew Doughty played in his 330th consecutive NHL game, matching Kopitar for the longest streak Kings history. Kopitar's streak went from March 21, 2007 to March 28, 2011. … Anderson-Dolan, 19, played 7:26 in his NHL debut to become the youngest Kings player since Craig Redmond in 1984-85. … The Kings recalled Peter Budaj from Ontario of the American Hockey League on Sunday to back up Campbell.

What's next

Red Wings: At the Anaheim Ducks on Monday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, FS-D, NHL.TV)
Kings:At the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, FS-W, NHL.TV)