Scrivens Excels As Kings Beat Panthers 3-0
SUNRISE, Fla. (CBSLA.com/AP) — Ben Scrivens made the most of his first start in goal for the Los Angeles Kings.
Scrivens had 20 saves to record his third career shutout and the Kings beat the Florida Panthers 3-0 on Sunday.
Jordan Nolan had a goal and an assist. Justin Williams and Daniel Carcillo also scored goals for the Kings, who won their third straight game.
Scrivens, acquired in a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs in June 2013, made his first start of the season as regular goalie Jonathan Quick, one of the best in the NHL, was given a rest. Scrivens last shutout was on Feb. 18, a 3-0 victory at Florida as a member of the Maple Leafs.
"You can't give enough credit to the guys in front. They played extremely well, and all I had to do was focus on stopping the puck and seeing it well," Scrivens said.
Two of Scrivens' three shutouts have come against the Panthers.
"I've been fortunate that it's worked out here in Florida. It (stinks) that I'm in the West now, I'm only out here once a year," Scrivens said.
Jacob Markstrom had 26 saves for Florida, which has lost four of its past five games.
Nolan put the Kings ahead 3-0 at 12:28 of the third with a tip-in off a pass from Jarret Stoll.
"Fortunately I was able to get the puck and shoot it on net and it went in," Nolan said. "I was able to get a quick release and catch (Markstrom) off guard."
The Kings went ahead 2-0 at 14:55 of the second. The Panthers tried to get the puck out of their zone but it was intercepted by the Kings. Williams passed to Anze Kopitar near the goal line to the right of the net, then Kopitar pushed the puck back out to Williams. His wrist shot got past an outstretched Markstrom. Kopitar has five assists in six games.
Carcillo's goal gave the Kings a 1-0 lead at 8:46 of the second. Mike Richards passed from behind the net to Carcillo in the bottom of the right circle. His slap shot got past Markstrom. Richards has four assists in his last four games.
Kings coach Darryl Sutter was pleased with Scrivens play and his team in general.
"He was sharp early. He made some big saves and handled the puck well, which is what we needed him to do. He looked very good out there," Sutter said. "Kopitar continues to be a dominant player for us."
After scoring six goals in Friday's home opener against Pittsburgh, the Panthers couldn't muster much of an offense against the Kings.
"They're a very big, strong-bodied team," Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. "As the game wore on, we got wore down. The problem that we have is I think our hockey IQ dropped as well. We thought we could play a fancy game and you cannot play a fancy game against the Kings."
The Panthers didn't think they caught a break by facing Scrivens instead of Quick.
"We have no game where we can have a letdown," Panthers defenseman Brian Campbell said. "He played pretty good last year in Toronto."
The Kings were without defenseman Jake Muzzin for the third straight game, due to a healthy scratch.
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