Jimmy Howard spent the third period fending off shot after shot Calgary Flames Hats Authentic , but the Detroit Red Wings never seemed in much danger of losing.They were already comfortably ahead by that point.“It’s nice to be able to go out there tonight and play with the lead,” Howard said. “We bent but we didn’t break.”Howard made a season-high 42 saves and Dylan Larkin scored his 12th goal of the season to lift Detroit to a 3-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night. Dennis Cholowski and Frans Nielsen also scored for the Red Wings, who improved to 13-6-2 in their last 21 games.Howard came within 6:38 of his first shutout of the season. Then Anze Kopitar scored the only goal for Los Angeles.The Kings outshot Detroit 19-4 in the third period and 43-21 for the game.“Jimmy Howard was my favorite player tonight,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “We didn’t play well enough. They outplayed us, and Jimmy gave us a chance to win the game.”Cholowski opened the scoring for the Red Wings, beating goalie Jonathan Quick high to the short side in the first period. Nielsen made it 2-0 in the second when he collected his own rebound and scored after Quick had slid out of position.“We had a bunch of odd-man rushes when it was still 1-0 and we didn’t finish any of them,” Kopitar said. “If we even get one goal in that stretch, it changes the game. We can’t be satisfied because we got 43 shots. We’ve got to score some goals.”Larkin’s unassisted goal came late in the second. He intercepted an errant pass near the top of the slot and moved to his right to elude a sliding Los Angeles player. Then he was alone against Quick and scored to make it 3-0.“The puck was there. I think I’ve seen (Drew) Doughty slide like that a couple times so I was figuring he was going to do that Custom Calgary Flames Jerseys ,” Larkin said. “Just saw it unfold right in front of me. It was a pretty lucky play.”The Kings, who are tied with Chicago for the fewest points in the NHL, have been shut out only once this season. They spoiled Howard’s bid in the third when Kopitar tapped in a loose puck at the doorstep.“I thought we played hard tonight,” Los Angeles coach Willie Desjardins said. “I thought we had lots of scoring chances and we didn’t capitalize.”The Kings have the fewest goals in the NHL, but they’d scored eight times in their previous two games, and this was their season high in shots. Los Angeles had 40 shots in a 4-3 win over the New York Rangers on Oct. 28.“I thought we sat back a little too much in the third,” Larkin said. “Howie was great all game. I thought he was pretty deserving of a shutout and we got to just battle, we’ve got to play our game in the third.”NOTES: Each team had only one power play and failed to score. … The Kings have not won when trailing after two periods since Jan. 26 www.officialhurricanes.com , when they overcame a 1-0 deficit against Calgary. … It was the fifth goal this season for both Cholowski and Nielsen and the eighth for Kopitar. … Howard’s previous season high was 40 saves on Nov. 6 against Vancouver.UP NEXTKings: Visit Buffalo on Tuesday night.Red Wings: Visit Washington on Tuesday night. BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) The Sabres’ top prospect, center Casey Mittelstadt, is leaving Minnesota following his freshman season after agreeing to a three-year, entry-level contract with Buffalo on Monday.Mittelstadt is scheduled to join the Sabres on Tuesday, and general manger Jason Botterill said he expects the player to make his NHL debut Thursday, when Buffalo hosts the Detroit Red Wings.With Buffalo out of playoff contention, Botterill also told reporters before Buffalo’s game at Toronto on Monday that he hoped Mittlestadt would consider representing the United States at the world hockey championships in Denmark in May.The agreement with the Sabres was reached a little over a week after Minnesota’s season ended by failing to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Gophers are also undergoing a change after coach Don Lucia announced he is stepping down following 19 seasons.The 19-year-old Mittelstadt was selected by the Sabres with the No. 8 pick in the 2017 draft.Mittelstadt had 11 goals and 19 assists in 34 games and was named to the Big Ten all-freshmen team this year.He has already made a splash in Buffalo after creating several highlight-reel plays in representing the bronze-medal-winning United States team at the World Junior hockey championship Carolina Hurricanes T-Shirts Authentic , which was held in the city three months ago.From Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Mittelstadt was named the 10-nation tournament’s MVP after finishing tied for first in scoring with 11 points (four goals, seven assists).Botterill was impressed by how Mittelstadt excelled at the world juniors.”With it being here in Buffalo, there was that added pressure,” Botterill told The Associated Press in January. ”And I think you saw a player who instead of succumbing to the pressure, actually thriving in that type of environment.”Mittelstadt’s most memorable goal came in a in a 3-2 preliminary-round loss to Slovakia.With the U.S. trailing 2-1, Mittelstadt stripped the puck from Marian Studenic at the Slovakia blue line and circled back into the zone. Mittelstadt kicked the puck between his legs to avoid a check by defender Michal Ivan and didn’t break stride in cutting across the top of the crease and avoiding goalie Roman Durny. He swept a shot into the open left side with 3:11 remaining.Mittelstadt joins a Sabres team that has already extended its franchise-worst playoff drought to seven years Carolina Hurricanes Hoodies Authentic , and in jeopardy of finishing last in the overall standings for the third time in five seasons.The Sabres have six games left after playing Toronto, and they are not allowed to demote Mittelstadt to the minors this spring.Mittelstadt will use up the first year of his contract this season. However, he would not be eligible to be exposed for selection in an expansion draft in 2020, should the NHL approve Seattle’s bid to join the league for the 2020-21 season.Mittelstadt’s addition comes a day after defenseman Will Borgen elected to skip his senior season at St. Cloud State to sign a three-year contract with the Sabres.—