SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — After being outscored 10-0 in their previous two games, the Los Angeles Kings responded in a big way.
Jeff Carter had two goals and two assists, and the Kings easily beat the Florida Panthers 6-3 on Thursday night.
Dwight King, Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli and Dustin Brown also scored for Los Angeles, while Peter Budaj made 36 saves. Carter’s four points were a season high, and the Kings poured in six goals for the first time since getting seven at Toronto on Nov. 8.
Los Angeles was coming off consecutive 5-0 losses at Washington and Tampa Bay, yet had six goals before this game was half over.
“It’s nice. We don’t get it too often,” Carter said. “We’re typically a pretty low-scoring, tight-checking team. It’s nice to see the guys get rewarded.”
The Kings played nine of their past 10 away from home.
“We just needed to win,” Carter said. “It’s been a long stretch of road games for us. We obviously weren’t happy with the last two games.”
The Kings hadn’t scored in regulation on the first three stops of their four-game road swing; the only goal Los Angeles had on the trip was an overtime winner to beat Philadelphia 1-0 on Saturday.
“You lose 5-0 twice in a row, kind of gives you a kick in the butt,” said Pearson, who set a career high with his 16th goal.
Jussi Jokinen, Jonathan Marchessault and Aleksander Barkov scored for Florida, which had won a season-best three straight. Jaromir Jagr had an assist.
The Kings needed all of 1:39 to get going in this one before Brown opened the scoring. Carter and Toffoli also scored in the first period as starting Panthers goalie James Reimer gave up three goals on eight shots.
He was lifted with 5:01 left in the first in favor of Roberto Luongo, who allowed three goals in 3 1/2 minutes of the second period before Reimer returned. Reimer finished with 11 saves.
“It wasn’t pretty. Everyone knows it wasn’t pretty, and we’re going to forget about it,” Panthers interim coach Tom Rowe said. “It was a tough night for everybody — coaches, players, goalies. (The tape) is already being burned.”
Pearson, King and Carter had the three quick goals in the second to put the game well out of reach. Pearson redirected a pass from Brown to get the flurry started, King made it 5-1 just 21 seconds later and Carter got his second of the night and 29th of the season three minutes after that.
“They lost the last two games and we knew they were going to come out hard and we didn’t,” Marchessault said. “No excuse, we weren’t ready.”
NOTES: Longtime broadcaster Jiggs McDonald, one of the original announcers for the Kings 50 years ago, worked the game for Fox Sports West. McDonald lives near Fort Myers, about two hours west of Sunrise. … Miami Marlins players JT Realmuto, Dee Gordon, Tom Koehler and Derek Dietrich took part in the ceremonial puck drop before the game. … Kings G Jonathan Quick, out with a groin injury since the season opener, is expected to return in three weeks. … The Panthers hadn’t played in six days. The Kings have a week off before their next game.
UP NEXT
Kings: Host the Arizona Coyotes next Thursday.
Panthers: Visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday.
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