Kings 5, Canucks 0
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Center Tyler Toffoli recorded a hat trick, and goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 27 shots to earn his 40th NHL shutout as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Vancouver Canucks 5-0 Monday night.
Los Angeles rookie defenseman Derek Forbort scored his first career goal and center Anze Kopitar added four assists. Defenseman Brayden McNabb also scored for the Pacific Division-leading Kings (22-11-2).
The shutout was the third of the season for Quick. One of his best saves came in the second period, when he blocked a shot from the slot from Vancouver center Bo Horvat.
Vancouver goaltender Jacob Markstrom, making his third straight start, stopped 33 shots.
The Canucks (14-15-9) saw a three-game home winning streak end. It was the fourth time in 11 games Vancouver was shut out.
Toffoli's second goal of the night came at 5:55 of the third, when he put a rebound past Markstrom to give Los Angeles a 4-0 lead. He finished the hat trick by deflecting a shot from defenseman Drew Doughty on a power play at 12:56.
Los Angeles scored twice in the second period to build a 3-0 lead.
Forbort, playing in his 11th career game, made it 2-0 at 1:57. Right winger Dustin Brown started the play by muscling Canucks defenseman Matt Baertschi off the puck in the Vancouver zone.
The puck went back to point where Forbort let go a shot that deflected off two Canuck players and past Markstrom.
McNabb scored his second of the season at 11:57 after Kopitar won a faceoff in the Canucks' zone. The puck rolled back to McNabb at the blue line and he fired a shot through traffic that beat Markstrom.
The Kings led 1-0 after the first, a period where they outshot Vancouver, 16-8.
Toffoli scored his 15th of the season at 15:33. Left winger Milan Lucic skated out from behind the Canuck net and sent a pass into the slot. The puck tipped off Kopitar's stick and went to Toffoli, who beat Markstrom with a hard shot over the glove side.
The first period featured three fights, two involving McNabb. The Canucks were angry after McNabb elbowed center Henrik Sedin early in the period.
NOTES: Canucks LW Chris Higgins played his 700th career game. ... Vancouver RW Alex Burrows (neck) returned to the lineup after missing one game. ... Canucks G Ryan Miller missed his third game with a leg injury. ... Vancouver D Chris Tanev (lower body), C Brandon Sutter (hernia) and D Luca Sbisa (hand) were all scratches. ... The Canucks called up D Ashton Sautner from AHL Utica. ... Vancouver's homestand continues New Year's Day against the Anaheim Ducks. .... Kings C Jeff Carter didn't play, although he rejoined the team in Vancouver after returning to Los Angeles after sustaining an upper-body injury Saturday night in Arizona. ... Los Angeles scratched D Christian Ehrhoff. ... Kings D Matt Greene (shoulder), LW Dwight King (foot) and LW Kyle Clifford (upper body) didn't play. ... D Jake Muzzin played after the Kings asked the NHL to rescind a match penalty assessed to him Saturday. .. The Kings' four-game road trip continues Tuesday night in Edmonton.