This time, Kings right wing Tyler Toffoli settled for simple skill against Carolina rather than the sick skill he displayed against San Jose.
The season is only a few weeks old and already Toffoli has unveiled many moves in his arsenal of tricks. On Friday, it was a precise quick-release shot from the right circle, beating Carolina goalie Cam Ward on the power play at 11:06 in the first period.
That goal held up as the game-winner as the Kings defeated the Hurricanes, 3-0, at Staples Center. Toffoli added one more late in the third, at 17:02, finishing off a two-on-one with linemate Milan Lucic.
Toffoli has scored in four consecutive games, and the Kings have won four straight games after opening with three losses.
They received victories on back-to-back nights from goalie Jhonas Enroth on Thursday in San Jose and Friday from No. 1 goalie Jonathan Quick.
Quick faced 40 shots against the Hurricanes to record his first shutout of the season and 38th of his career.
“You always want more,” Quick said.
For some perspective, the Kings have scored 13 goals in seven games. Toffoli has six of those goals.
The only other Kings with more than one goal are Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter, who scored twice Thursday in San Jose.
“You try to find different ways to shoot the puck. You can’t score every goal the same,” Toffoli said. “You’ve got to find ways to score different goals and I’m trying to do that right now.”
So how does he keep this run going, like the stretch he had last season before he got sick?
“Try not to get mono again,” Toffoli said, smiling.
Kopitar gave the Kings some breathing room when he scored to make it 2-0 at 8:04 of the third period, taking advantage of an errant hand pass by Hurricanes defenseman Ron Hainsey.
Of the Kings’ four victories, Toffoli has the game-winning goal in two of them.
One other meaningful way to look at his scoring run: Toffoli’s six goals matches the entire scoring output of the Ducks. Of course that says just as much about the struggling Ducks as it does about the surging Toffoli.
Beyond Toffoli’s scoring exploits, the Kings are finding their identity in a season of transition, particularly on a remolded defense led by veterans Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez and Jake Muzzin.
Toffoli’s goal was set up by an alert play by defenseman Christian Ehrhoff, who found him alone in the circle with a quick pass.
Ehrhoff, who signed with the Kings as an unrestricted free agent in August, has two assists in the last two games.
“I think we’re fortunate to have Marty [Martinez] and Christian,” Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said before the game. “We’ve used nine defensemen already. Six games and nine defensemen, so it tells you it’s still a work in progress.”
Said Muzzin: “Hoff’s been good. He’s a veteran guy. He knows the league. He knows what he has to
do. Going from the right side and playing the left
last night, he did a great
job. He’ll continue doing that.”
A couple of hours before the game, Muzzin broke down the way the Kings have rebounded after a rough start. He said they “slacked” early in the season. They seem to be finding the right mix on the back end.
“Maybe the faces have changed but the attitude and our mind-set is the same,” Muzzin said. “Young D [defensemen] are trying to step up and take new roles. I thought we’ve done a great job in the last three games of doing that. Our mind-set going into games has improved and we have to continue. It’s a long season.
“I know it’s early. But I think we’ve taken steps in the right way.”(Lisa Dillman)
Link: http://www.latimes.com/sports/kings/la-sp-kings-hurricanes-20151024-story.html
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