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DETROIT (Ticker) -- The NHL's most dangerous penalty-killing unit was at it again. Brett Hull scored a shorthanded goal 7:03 into the second period as the Detroit Red Wings handed the Los Angeles Kings their fifth straight road loss, 4-2. With Detroit protecting a 1-0 lead and Darren McCarty in the penalty box for holding the stick, the Red Wings limited the Kings to few chances near the net before Steve Yzerman raced down the ice and passed to defenseman Chris Chelios. Chelios, who also set up Detroit's first goal, whipped a pass to Hull for a patented one-timer that found space between goaltender Felix Potvin's pads. "I find the spot," Hull said. "Hopefully, it goes in when I shoot. It hasn't been going in lately, but today it finally did." It was Detroit's league-leading seventh shorthanded goal and second in as many nights. "I think you look at the people with skill out there killing penalties. A lot of teams, they use all their defensive players, checking-type players. This team uses all their skill guys," Hull said. Craig Johnson scored during the same Los Angeles power play, but the Red Wings' special teams struck again before the second period ended. This time it was on the power play as Brendan Shanahan took a pass from Tomas Holmstrom at the left faceoff circle and one-timed it past Potvin for his 13th goal. The play was set up by one of many outstanding defensive plays. As the Kings were trying to move the puck through the slot, Sergei Fedorov's bodycheck pried it loose. Holmstrom picked up the loose puck and raced up the ice on a 2-on-1 before passing to Shanahan, who extended his points streak to six games. Defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom also scored on the power play in the first period for Detroit, which has won three straight and nine of its last 11 games. The Red Wings' defense made it easy for Dominik Hasek, who faced just 10 shots. "We have to show better effort," Los Angeles center Ian Laperriere said. "Ten shots won't beat Dominik Hasek. There has to be a lot more effort coming out of this room. The coaches can't do everything. We had moments where they pressured them, but you have to play 60 minutes. It's good to respect them, but you have to play hard." "We didn't play good enough," Kings coach Andy Murray added. "Detroit played very well. You have to admire their team for the intensity and hard work they bring every night. Obviously, there was a difference in those two areas in terms of intensity and hard work. The Red Wings had it. We've given the Wings a lot of tough games over the last three years; tonight, they were just so much better than us." The Kings had four shots in the first period and three apiece in the final two. "We played well defensively on our end," Chelios said. "We threw a lot of shots at Potvin. They're a tough team to play against, they dump the puck a lot. They didn't get too many chances off their dumps and forechecks. "They didn't really get quality chances. After the last couple of games having a few letdowns defensively, we were conscious of it. So tonight as a team, forwards and defense, we played well. I think when we got up 2-0, we sat back a little. But for the most part, I thought we kept pressure on them the whole game." The third period had been a struggle for Detroit in its previous two games. On Friday against Minnesota, the Red Wings allowed three goals after jumping out to a 5-0. And on Tuesday against Carolina, they surrendered three goals and nearly squandered a 4-0 lead. Fedorov added an insurance goal with 2:20 to play, extending his points streak to three games. The Kings, who upset Detroit in last season's Western Conference quarterfinals, fell to 2-6-0-1 on the road.
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