Carter scores 2 as Kings rout Panthers
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jeff Carter scored his 28th and 29th goals of the season and added two assists to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night at the BB&T Center.
Carter began the day second in the NHL in goals scored, just three behind Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby. This was Carter's seventh multi-goal game of the season.
Florida pulled goalie James Reimer after three goals and then removed Roberto Luongo after three more, allowing Reimer to finish the game. The Kings scored their first six goals in less than 28 minutes, and the six goals tied for the most allowed by Florida this season.
The Kings (28-23-4) broke a two-game winless and scoreless streak, getting back on track after losing 5-0 in consecutive contests.
Florida (23-20-10) had its season-best three-game win streak snapped. Trailing 6-1 in the third, the Panthers got goals by Jonathan Marchessault and Aleksander Barkov.
It took only 19 seconds for Florida to get off to a bad start as Jussi Jokinen was whistled for an accidental high-sticking penalty against Tyler Toffoli.
The Kings made Florida pay on a bit of a lucky goal 1:20 later. Dustin Brown tried a cross-ice pass to Tanner Pearson. Reimer broke up the pass, but the puck deflected off his stick and into the net.
Los Angeles made it 2-0 with 11:44 left in the first period. After Florida defenseman Alex Petrovic failed to clear the puck out of his zone, the Kings swarmed. One shot hit the post and Pearson made a blind pass to the slot, where Carter scored on a high shot to Reimer's stick side.
Florida got on the board with 7:56 left in the first period. The goal came seven seconds after the Kings killed off a Carter penalty for tripping Jonathan Huberdeau. But even though the penalty expired, Florida kept the puck in the Kings' zone and scored when Nick Bjugstad centered the puck to Jokinen.
It was Jokinen's sixth goal of the season, but it was quickly negated when Toffoli put the Kings up 3-1 with 5:01 left in the first period. With the teams skating 4-on-4 -- thanks to matching roughing penalties on Shawn Thornton and Derek Forbort -- Toffoli beat Reimer high to the glove side.
Reimer was replaced by Luongo.
The Kings kept attacking, getting second-period goals from Pearson and Dwight King 21 seconds apart. A centering pass by Brown found Pearson, whose soft redirection went in off of Luongo's stick. King scored by stuffing the puck past Luongo.
Los Angeles extended its lead to 6-1 when Carter scored on a rebound.
After that goal, the Panthers went back to Reimer.
NOTES: Florida G Roberto Luongo hasn't started since allowing five goals Jan. 31. James Reimer made two straight starts. ... Kings G Jonathan Quick (groin), out since the season opener, is expected to return in three weeks. ... The Panthers wore their white jerseys at home for the first time in years. ... Panthers RW Jaromir Jagr turns 45 on Wednesday. ... Panthers D Keith Yandle and LW Shawn Thornton -- who are New England Patriots fans -- used the team's bye week to travel to Houston for Sunday's Super Bowl. ... Of Florida's final 29 games, 20 are against teams in playoff position. Florida also starts a five-game road trip on Saturday at the Nashville Predators. ... The Kings are off until next Thursday's home game against the Arizona Coyotes.