Dating back to and including Los Angeles’ 4-1 win at St. Louis on February 11, 2013, the Kings are 27-7-2 with Alec Martinez in the lineup, and 21-19-2 without Alec Martinez in the lineup. These numbers include playoff games. Overtime playoff losses are counted in the loss column, rather than in the overtime/shootout loss column.

Team stats:

13-14 w/ Martinez: 10-1-1 record / 30 GF (2.50 G/G) / 17 GA (1.42 GA/G)

13-14 w/o Martinez: 5-5-0 record / 29 GF (2.90 G/G) / 30 GA (3.00 G/G)

12-13 playoffs w/ Martinez: 6-1 record / 18 GF (2.57 G/G) / 13 GA (1.86 GA/G)

12-13 playoffs w/o Martinez: 3-8 record / 19 GF (1.73 G/G) / 21 GA (1.91 GA/G)

12-13 w/ Martinez, February 11 on: 11-5-1 record / 57 GF (3.35 G/G) / 39 GA (2.29 GA/G)

12-13 w/o Martinez, February 11 on: 13-6-2 record / 53 GF (2.52 G/G) / 45 GA (2.14 GA/G)

Total, w/ Martinez since 2/11/13: 27-7-2 record / 105 GF (2.92 G/G) / 69 GA (1.92 GA/G)

Total, w/o Martinez since 2/11/13: 21-19-2 record / 101 GF (2.40 G/G) / 96 GA (2.29 GA/G)

Notes and observations:

-I didn’t compile these numbers to advocate a more regular role for Alec Martinez. These statistics are solely designed to highlight a statistical anomaly that I find interesting.

-It’s a bit misleading to include the February 11 game, as Martinez logged 1:35 of ice time before succumbing to an upper-body injury that would sideline him until March 4. I included this game because it supports the underlying statistical theme, and because I’ve always included it when tracking the team’s record with Martinez in the lineup, something I’ve done since the team’s road trip through Carolina, Florida, Tampa Bay and Nashville last month.

-It’s interesting that even though Martinez is generally known as a puck-moving offensive catalyst with strong possession and Corsi metrics, Kings games are decidedly higher scoring when he has been out of the lineup this season. Games without Martinez in 2013-14 have averaged 5.90 goals between the two teams, while games featuring Martinez have averaged 3.92 goals.

-It also deserves a mention that Martinez’s effect on these numbers is negligible, as he has generally served the role of a sixth defenseman when in the lineup. He has totaled six assists over the duration of the team’s 27-7-2 record when he has been in the lineup; his last goal came on February 10, the day before the stretch started. This season Martinez is averaging 15:25 of ice time per game, the lowest amongst the team’s defensive corps.

-What do these numbers tell us? Not very much of substance. Once again, this is to highlight a bizarre statistical anomaly. Still, these numbers do indicate that Martinez does seem to have an intangible effect on his teammates, and that the team certainly has won with a much greater frequency when he has been included in the lineup.