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 "It was exciting and a personal accomplishment, but in this time
of the year, it's huge to get wins," the Los Angeles Kings center
said.
Thanks in large part to Toffoli's efforts, the Kings rallied for a
5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames on Thursday night at Staples
Center.
Toffoli's goal on a breakaway at 8:18 of the third period capped his
scoring and lifted the Kings (24-18-12) to their third consecutive
win. Los Angeles defeated the Flames (30-22-3), who had won four of
their previous five games, for the first time this season in four
tries.
"Honestly, it was pretty similar to the last time we played them,"
said Kings center Jeff Carter, who finished with three assists. "I
felt like we controlled the play a lot and hung on to it in the end
and made plays. The difference was we capitalized on plays."
No one more than Toffoli, who leads the Kings with 18 goals.
"We're a pretty tight-knit group here, and individual stats don't
really mean a lot," Toffoli said. "We hung on to (the puck) in their
end and made plays. The difference tonight was that we capitalized
on our chances. It's a big win for us."
Added Carter, "Tyler's real strong in his own end. He plays the
right way. For a young guy, that's pretty impressive. He battles on
walls and makes plays to the center man, which makes my life a lot
easier. He's a smart kid, and he gets it, so hopefully he can keep
it going."
The score was tied at 2 after two periods before Los Angeles pulled
away with three goals in the third.
"They brought their 'A' game," said Flames right winger David Jones,
who had a goal in the loss. "They played really well, so it's tough,
but it is something to build from. We were going into the third, and
then a few mistakes and it was in the back of our net."
Left winger Dwight King started the run, gathering a pass from
Carter and converting for a 3-2 Los Angeles lead just 59 seconds
into the third period. The Kings are 12-0-0 when Carter records two
or more points.
Center Jordan Nolan delivered a goal, his third this season, at 6:44
of the third.
Toffoli, who also had an assist, opened the scoring at 3:16 of the
first period. He took a pass at center ice from Carter, rushed down
the right side, then froze defenseman Kris Russell with a hesitation
move before ripping a winner past Flames goalie Jonas Hiller for a
1-0 lead.
Calgary quickly wiped out the advantage early in the second period.
Jones got a stick on a blast by defenseman TJ Brodie and misdirected
it past Los Angeles netminder Jonathan Quick for a power-play goal
to tie the score at 3:09. It was Brodie's 10th goal of the season.
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Left winger Mason Raymond, who scored twice, put the Flames ahead by
cashing in a rebound at 3:41.
The Kings came back, though. Defenseman Jake Muzzin fired a shot
near the boards that bounced off Carter near the crease. Toffoli
fielded the puck and slipped it by Hiller with 16 seconds remaining
in the second period to tie the score at 2.
For Carter, it was his 500th career point.
Raymond scored again, his 11th goal this season, at 12:59 of the
third.
Los Angeles finished with a commanding 45-18 edge in shots. Quick
made 15 saves for the win. Hiller stopped 35 of 40 shots before he
was replaced by Karri Ramo, who saved all five shots he faced.
"Momentum swings obviously played a part in the game," Mason said.
"They had a lot of shots on us. (Hiller) kept us in there as long as
he could. I don't know what our final shot totals were, but I know
it was about 15, and that's not good enough."
NOTES: Former Kings coach Barry Melrose was honored before the game
as part of the club's "Legends Night" series. Melrose, a longtime
ESPN analyst, coached the Kings from 1992 to 1995, leading them to
the Stanley Cup Final in 1993. ... Calgary G Jonas Hiller celebrated
his 33rd birthday. ... The Kings wore throwback purple and gold
uniforms. ... Flames D Corey Potter, LW David Wolf and RW Josh
Jooris were scratched. C Andy Andreoff, D Alec Martinez and D Derek
Forbort were unavailable for the Kings. ... The clubs cap their
regular-season series April 9 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in
Calgary. ... The Flames open a four-game homestand Saturday against
the Vancouver Canucks. Los Angeles hosts the Washington Capitals on
Saturday.
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