Brodzinski Scores First NHL Goal As Kings Rout Panthers
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Johnny Brodzinski scored his first NHL goal, and Andy Adreoff scored his first of the season to lead the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
Backup Darcy Kuemper stopped 24 shots for the Kings for his eighth career shutout and first since Jan. 21, 2016, with Minnesota.
Los Angeles scored three goals in the third period to put away Florida and end a four-game losing streak. All those losses came at home after Los Angeles went 11-2-2 in its first 15 games.
Tyler Toffoli scored at 8:14 of the first period on a delayed penalty, beating James Reimer for a tap-in goal, his ninth of the season. Alex Iafallo battled to protect the puck behind the net to help set up the goal, and Drew Doughty made a nice pass to Toffoli. Dustin Brown also assisted.
Brodzinski scored on a backhander at 2:23 of the third to beat Reimer top shelf. His first career goal came against a Panthers team that includes Nick Bjugstad, his former high school teammate in Blaine, Minnesota.
Andreoff scored from in front of the net, putting the puck between Reimer's legs with 4:41 remaining. Trevor Lewis added an empty-netter for the fourth goal.
The Panthers struggled on the power play as their two-game winning streak was halted. Florida had 14 shots in the period but couldn't get one past Kuemper.
Neither Brown nor Anze Kopitar — both on the Kings' top line — had a shot on goal through the first two periods.
NOTES: Panthers RW Radim Vrbata left the game during his first shift after getting hit in the face by a puck. He was holding a towel over his face to control the blood and was assisted off the ice. He didn't return. ... Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, the American League Rookie of the Year, attended the game. There were cheers and boos when he was shown on the JumboTron. ... The Panthers outshot the Kings 14-5 in the first period. ... Kuemper made just his fourth start of the season as the Kings played the first of back-to-back games. ... Kings C Nic Dowd was back in the lineup after he was a healthy scratch the previous two games. He was called for two penalties, roughing and high-sticking. ... Toffoli has a team-leading nine goals along with Kopitar. ... LW Jussi Jokinen has two assists in his first two games with the Kings since he was traded from Edmonton for Michael Cammalleri.
UP NEXT:
Panthers: Head down Interstate 5 to Anaheim to play the Ducks on Sunday in the second of back-to-back games.
Kings: Head to Las Vegas to play the Golden Knights on Sunday.
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