Toffoli helps Kings make 'Quick' work of Ducks
LOS ANGELES -- Tyler Toffoli scored two goals and the Los Angeles Kings rallied in the third period to defeat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 at Staples Center on Saturday afternoon.
Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick, who led Los Angeles to Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and 2014, returned after missing the previous 60 games with a groin injury and stopped 32 shots.
Anaheim had allowed the fewest third-period goals in the NHL (39), but gave up all four to the Kings in the third period.
Toffoli tied the score at 3:37 after Tanner Pearson took a shot from a tough angle and the puck came out to Toffoli, who stuffed it past goalie Jonathan Bernier.
Toffoli scored again just over four minutes later when he worked a 2-on-1 with Jeff Carter and finished the play for a 2-1 lead on his 12th goal of the season.
Seventeen seconds later, Kings defenseman Kevin Gravel took a shot from the point and teammate Dustin Brown got a piece of the puck to deflect it past Bernier for a 3-1 lead at the 8:05 mark.
Neither team produced a shot on goal for nearly four minutes to start the game. Quick made his first save since Oct. 12 after he left his crease to play the puck in traffic behind the net and came back to make a save on Andrew Cogliano's wraparound-wrist shot.
Patrick Eaves, who joined the Ducks in a trade with the Dallas Stars on Friday, started the game on a line with Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell and was second on the team with five shots on goal but didn't register a point.
The Ducks scored first on the 14th goal of the season by Cogliano at 16:53 of the first period.
Jakob Silfverberg stole Toffoli's pass in the neutral zone to create a 3-on-2. Silfverberg passed the puck to Ryan Kesler, whose shot-pass was deflected into the net by Cogliano.
Eaves drew a tripping penalty on Dwight King shortly after the goal but Los Angeles killed the man-advantage and was 4-for-4 on the penalty kill for the game.
NOTES: The Ducks assigned D Brandon Montour to San Diego prior to the game. ... The NHL upheld the 10-game suspension for Ducks C Antoine Vermette for making contact with an official during a game against the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 14. He sat out his fifth game Saturday. ...Kings RW Marian Gaborik was a healthy scratch for the second time this season. He was scoreless in the last nine games.