Kings blueliner Alec Martinez is a Rangers killer

To the fans of the New York Rangers that are reading this, we apologize in advance. However, the timely success that Alec Martinez of the Los Angeles Kings has been able to find against the Blueshirts can’t be denied.

The 31-year-old defenceman broke a 3-3 tie late in the third period of the clash between the Kings and Rangers on Sunday. The goal, his first of the 2018-19 campaign, lifted LA to the 4-3 win and ended their six-game losing streak in the process.

The game was Martinez’s 12th career regular season contest against the Rangers, but Sunday was the first time he’d ever found the back of the net versus New York. That doesn’t mean he hasn’t gotten the best of them before, though.

In Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, Martinez buried the biggest goal of his life in double overtime to clinch Lord Stanley’s mug for the Kings. And, like with his most recent tally, it was Henrik Lundqvist between the pipes when the red light went off behind the Rangers’ net.

When some fans were reminded of this moment in sports history, they weren’t too pleased.

That’s understandable. It’s just strange how things work out sometimes.

During his career in the NHL, Martinez has never really been known as an offensive blueliner. Sure, he collected a career-high 39 points in the 2016-17 season, but he only has 58 goals in 507 contests to his name and a career regular-season points percentage of .345.

Yet, in 12 career games against the Rangers, he now has a goal and six assists for a points percentage of .583.

Thankfully, since the two squads are in different conferences, they’ll only face each other once more this season. Just be sure expect big things out of Martinez when the puck drops at Madison Square Garden on February 4th.

More NHL coverage on Yahoo Sports