It certainly took a while, but Alec Martinez appears to have regained the trust of Los Angeles Kings head coach Darryl Sutter.
After a season-and-a-half spent alternating between starts and healthy scratches, the 26-year-old is back in the lineup and poised to keep his spot. Martinez isn’t content to merely play either, as he has quietly established himself as one of the most valuable Kings defensemen over the team’s current eight-game win streak.
In his last five outings, the puck-moving blueliner has notched three goals and two assists while recording a plus-three rating.
In his previous 40 games, he had only registered seven points and a plus-seven rating.
Beyond his production, Martinez’s style of play is a tailor-made foil to the stay-at-home approach offered by partner Willie Mitchell.
Though the fourth-year pro isn’t risky on the ice, he is assertive, continually looking to push play toward the opposition’s zone. This is reflected in his strong on-ice Corsi (shot attempt differential per 60 minutes) of 13.77, which ranks fourth among Kings defensemen behind puck- ...
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Article written by Vinh Cao
Alec Martinez Proving His Worth to Los Angeles Kings During Home Stretch
March 13th, 2014 by Vinh Cao Leave a reply »
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