Gaborik's two goals power Kings to third win in row
WASHINGTON -- Marian Gaborik scored his first two goals of the season, Jonathan Quick stopped 27 shots, and the Los Angeles Kings defeated the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Thursday night for their third straight win.
The Kings trailed 2-1 before Jonny Brodzinski and Jussi Jokinen scored goals nine seconds apart in the second period.
Gaborik, playing in his fourth game, tallied in the first period, and he and Tyler Toffoli added empty-netters for the Kings (15-8-3). Los Angeles' Kurtis MacDermid and Trevor Lewis had two assists each.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice for the Capitals (14-11-1), who saw their three-game winning streak end as they opened a five-game homestand. Braden Holtby made 22 saves.
The Capitals broke on top at 4:04 of the first period after Dmitry Orlov stole a pass in the neutral zone. He fed Kuznetsov, who broke in alone on Quick and fired high to the stick side for his seventh goal of the season.
Los Angeles tied it midway through the period. Holtby made a nice save on Gaborik on a breakaway, but the rebound deflected off Washington's Tyler Graovac and past Holtby. It was Gaborik's first goal of the season.
Kuznetsov struck again just 1:23 into the second period. Racing down the left side, Kuznetsov stopped in the left circle, and after two defensemen and another Capitals player crossed in front of Quick, fired a shot that squeezed under Quick's right arm to make 2-1.
It was Kuznetsov's second two-goal game of the season.
The game turned mid-period when the Kings scored twice in less than 10 seconds.
First, a Holtby clearing attempt was stopped near the blue line by MacDermid, who fired toward the net. His shot deflected off Brodzinski's skate and past Holty at 10:01.
Off the faceoff, Lewis found Jokinen behind the Washington defense, and Jokinen slid the puck between Holtby's pads at 10:10.
NOTES: Kings G Jonathan Quick improved to 8-2-0 in his career vs. the Capitals. ... Washington D Dmitry Orlov's assist gave him 100 career points. He has an assist in three of his past four games. ... Kings LW Marian Gaborik, who picked up his 400th assist on Tuesday, scored his 397th career goal on Thursday. ... The Kings' record for the fastest two goals is six seconds, accomplished three times, most recently by Doug Bodger and Luc Robitaille at Anaheim on April 15, 1999. ... Capitals D Christian Djoos (upper body injury) returned to the lineup after missing the previous six games. ... The Capitals waived F Nathan Walker, who made his NHL debut on Oct. 7 and became the first Australian to reach the NHL.