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Defensemen Matt Greene and Robyn Regehr scored their first
goals of the season, sparking a dominating second period by the
Kings in a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers at Staples Center
on Tuesday.
Greene, center Jeff Carter, right winger Marian Gaborik and
Regehr each scored in the second as the Kings put the Panthers
in a 4-0 hole. Right winger Dustin Brown, Los Angeles' captainh,
added a power-play goal with 3:11 remaining in the game, but
Greene and Regehr were the story.
"It's good to see Robyn and Greene score," Kings coach Darryl
Sutter said. "They don't get much credit, and they can give you
the blue-collar (effort) every night."
Greene, who had three goals last season, broke up a scoreless
contest early in the second period, and it snowballed from
there. Regehr, who scored twice last season, capped the
middle-period scoring with eight seconds remaining.
"It was just a really good second period," said Regehr, who
earned his first goal since Feb. 26, 2014, against the Colorado
Avalanche. "Our first period wasn't great, but we got a couple
real good penalty kills to keep it at 0-0, and then came out in
the second period and played a very strong period and took over
from there."
Right winger Jimmy Hayes and left winger Jussi Jokinen scored
third-period goals for the Panthers.
"I thought we really played well in the first period," Florida
coach Gerard Gallant said. "Obviously, the second period was a
different hockey game. We came out, we were flat. They were
really coming at us."
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick turned back 30 of the 32 shots he
faced as Los Angeles (10-5-4) won its second in a row. Panthers
netminder Roberto Luongo stopped 21 of 25 shots, but he was
tagged with the four second-period goals. Luongo was replaced by
Al Montoya in the third. Montoya saved one of two shots.
Florida (6-5-5) lost at Staples Center for the sixth consecutive
time.
"The second period we didn't manage the puck well," said
Panthers defenseman Willie Mitchell, a former King. "To beat
good teams, great teams and championship teams, you have to play
60 minutes."
The Kings opened the scoring at 4:32 of the second period.
Center Anze Kopitar delivered a cross-ice pass to defenseman
Brayden McNabb, who fed Greene just outside the crease, and
Greene beat Luongo. It was Greene's first goal in 47 games since
Oct. 13, 2014, against the Edmonton Oilers.
"At first, I didn't even know it was (Greene) because I didn't
know he had that in his repertoire," Kopitar said. "But it was a
great play. Great play from Brayden to see him and obviously a
great tip to get us on board."
After Florida center Vincent Trocheck was issued a double minor
for high sticking, Carter fielded a pass from left winger Dwight
King and scored his seventh goal of the season on a power play
for a 2-0 Kings advantage at 9:46 of the second. Defenseman
Jamie McBain also assisted on the score, his first point as a
King.
Los Angeles added another power-play goal with 5:32 left in the
period, when Gaborik cashed in a rebound to make it 3-0.
Regehr gathered a loose puck and smoked a winner from the left
circle for a 4-0 margin.
"Really, just Jeff Carter using his speed to create a turnover
and chasing down their defenseman and then him throwing the puck
out," Regehr said. "It ended up coming over in the mid to high
slot where their forwards couldn't get it. I knew there wasn't a
whole lot of time left in the period, so I was just trying to be
aggressive, just trying to shoot it."
With the win, Sutter passed Bob Berry for sixth on the Kings'
all-time coaching victory list with 108.
NOTES: Panthers D Willie Mitchell, a member of both of the
Kings' Stanley Cup championship teams before joining Florida as
a free agent during the offseason, was presented his 2014 ring
in a meeting with club officials before the game. Mitchell also
was recognized with a video tribute during the contest. ...
Kings D Alec Martinez, who had surgery on a finger Friday, could
return by week's end. He has missed the past two games. Cs Andy
Andreoff and Jordan Nolan also were scratches. ... Scratches for
the Panthers: D Dmitry Kulikov, C Aleksander Barkov and Sean
Bergenheim. ... Florida continues its four-game road swing
against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. ... Los Angeles caps
its four-game homestand Thursday against the Carolina
Hurricanes. The Kings begin a three-game road trip Saturday in
Dallas against the Stars.
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