Kings keep up the good work in 5-2 victory over Ottawa

OTTAWA -- The Kings weren’t concerned with tallying the numbers of the streaks they extended Saturday, even though some of those numbers are staggering.

What mattered to them after their 5-2 victory over the Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre was that when they were challenged, they responded with the composure and competitiveness that have been the foundation of their six-game winning streak and 13-1-4 surge.

“There’s a bunch of things going right, right now. We’ve just got to make sure we stay on top of it,” center Jarret Stoll said after the Kings scored three times in the first period and fended off Ottawa’s comeback attempt by scoring twice in the third, allowing them to stretch their road points streak to 8-0-2.

“We’ve got to make sure we just keep going and don’t let our play slip. We’re having everybody chipping in right now.”

Rookie goaltender Martin Jones improved to 5-0 by stopping 37 shots in his fifth straight start as the Kings held an opponent to two goals or fewer for the 18th consecutive time, also the 18th consecutive time they held an opponent scoreless in the first period. In addition, they scored a power-play goal for the third game in a row, a modest streak but noteworthy because that had been one of their few flaws.

“Maybe we did back off in the second a little bit,” center Anze Kopitar said, “but when it was needed to push again, push back, we got it home pretty uneventful in the end, the last five minutes.”

Goals by Dwight King, to goalie Craig Anderson’s short side, and Jeff Carter, off an Ottawa giveaway at 4:18, sent Anderson to the bench in favor of Robin Lehner after facing only four shots. Kopitar padded the lead to 3-0 when he converted the rebound of a shot by Slava Voynov at 12:56, the first of his two goals.

Ottawa finally responded on a strong individual effort by Jason Spezza, whose shot was finished off by former King Joe Corvo at 13:51 of the second period, and the Senators pulled within one at 4:24 of the third period, after Erik Karlsson’s shot slipped between Jones’ left arm and his body.

Time to get nervous?

Not the Kings.

“Our big guys had a really good first period, their big guys got going in the second,” Coach Darryl Sutter said, in a tone that indicated the whole thing was very obvious.

For Jones, the sudden closeness of the game was a wake-up call.

“I wasn’t happy with the second goal. Either goal really,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure I got refocused and got ready.

“It was a 3-2 hockey game at that point so there’s no time to feel sorry for yourself. Just get back and make sure we go to work from there.”

Which they did.

Drew Doughty deflated the Senators with a terrific rush that started in his own end, weaving up ice before taking a shot that produced a rebound for Stoll to poke in at 13:18. Kopitar completed the scoring during a power play, off a good pass from King, at 16:42.

Winning at Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa surely has helped individual players and the Kings as a team gain credibility from Eastern media who don’t see West Coast teams very closely or often. Still, that was inconsequential to Kopitar, who merits consideration for the Selke trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward.

“We came here and took care of business. We got six points out of a possible six and that’s the most important thing,” he said.

And on Sunday at Chicago, they’ll try to go eight for eight.

“We know what we’re getting into,” Kopitar said of the Blackhawks, who defeated the Kings in the West final last spring.

“We’ve played them enough over the last couple years and last year in the playoffs. It’s going to be a fun game.”

TONIGHT

AT CHICAGO

When: 4 p.m. PST.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150.

Etc.: This will be the teams’ first meeting since Chicago defeated the Kings in a five-game Western Conference final last spring. It’s unclear whether Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell will play: He took a hit to the upper body in the first period Saturday, returned for the second but sat out the third. “He’s dinged up a little and just thought he couldn’t help,” Coach Darryl Sutter said. Matt Greene is available as a replacement. Colin Fraser (concussion) was placed on injured reserve and Trevor Lewis was activated Saturday in time to center the fourth line in Ottawa.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Twitter: @helenenothelen