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DETROIT (Ticker) -- The Detroit Red Wings have to be glad they will not be seeing the NHL's "most unelegant player" for a while. Jason Allison again victimized the Red Wings, scoring the tying goal with 11:25 remaining as the Los Angeles Kings managed a 3-3 tie. Called the "most unelegant top player" by Kings coach Andy Murray after he scored twice in a 3-2 home win over the Red Wings on October 12, Allison lived up to that moniker Wednesday when he tied the game. Allison streaked through the defensive zone and took a soft shot that appeared to deflect off Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidstom for his third goal in two games against the defending Stanley Cup champions. Red Wings right wing Darren McCarty seemed to agree with Murray's earlier assessment. "He's deceptive," McCarty acknowledged. "He's big and strong. I think the word used to describe him was unelegant. He might not be the most elegant skater, but he's strong on his skates. He works behind the net. He has a long reach and he uses it to his advantage. He's a good player and when he plays with guys like (Ziggy) Palffy and (Adam) Deadmarsh, you have to pay attention to him." In his 10-year career, the 27-year-old Allison has six goals and 12 assists in 14 games against the Red Wings. The teams meet again February 24. Allison's tally came 3:09 after Sergei Federov gave Detroit a 3-2 advantage with a slap shot from the high slot. "It would have been nice to hold the lead and win 3-2," Red Wings coach Dave Lewis said. "The tying goal was not a set play. It was a broken play that went off a skate." "We know they are a tough team and it's hard to get points in their building," Kings goaltender Felix Potvin said. "But we were well rested. We haven't played since Saturday. It's important to start the road trip on the right note." Allison also assisted on Lubomir Visnovsky's first-period power-play goal, which was Los Angeles' first on the road and the first allowed by the Red Wings in 15 shorthanded situations. But less than four minutes later with Allison in the penalty box for slashing and eight seconds remaining on Detroit's man advantage, Tomas Holmstrom jammed in a rebound at the crease after Potvin stopped his previous two attempts. The Kings could have taken a 2-1 lead following Visnovsky's first goal in 20 games. But with 2:02 remaining and the Red Wings shorthanded goaltender Curtis Joseph smothered Palffy's snap shot. "One of their guys had the puck," Joseph said. "I started to challenge him and didn't see Palffy. "He put it on and it was kind of desperation move. Fortunately he didn't one-time it. He kind of caught it and shot and I had just enough time and it was just the right height, where I was able to get my glove." Los Angeles scored its second power play goal 4:18 into the second, when defenseman Mathieu Schneider teamed up with Palffy and Bryan Smolinski. He took a pass from the high slot, deked Joseph and beat him with a backhander. Over eight minutes later Brett Hull recorded his 1,250th career point, when he fed Pavel Datsyuk, who put a backhander past Potvin. A lot of the game was played on special teams, largely in part due to both teams failure to adjust to the new rules on obstruction. Los Angeles was 2-of-8 with the man advantage, while Detroit was 1-of-7. "We're trying to adjust," Lewis said. "The referess have called things a certain way and the players have played a certain way. I'd rather be talking about the game then the officiating. It's the same way on the bench. We're concentrating on the calls rather than the opponent." "That's the way it is," Murray said. "When you check the scoresheet after every game there's nine or 10 power plays for each team. We've been struggling with our power play. We haven't been real good at the last three games. We scored a couple tonight and had some other great chances." |
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