Kings Pound Panthers

     The Florida Panthers came off their league-mandatory bye week and were blown out by the Los Angeles Kings 6-3 on Thursday night at BB&T Center. The Panthers attempted to sweep the homestand and had their season-high three-game winning streak snapped.
     The Cats wore their road white jerseys at home for the first time this season. The Kings packed up only their home black jerseys for their long road trip.
     It did not take long for Los Angeles(28-23-4) to take a 1-0 lead at 1:39. Dustin Brown scored a power-play goal from the goal line to the right of the Panthers cage. Jeff Carter and Alec Martinez were credited with assists on the play.
     The Kings increased their margin to 2-0 at 8:16. Tanner Pearson took a shot from the right circle which James Reimer saved, however Carter put in a wrist shot from the slot area for his 28th goal of the season.
     Florida(23-20-10) answered back at 12:04 to cut the deficit to 2-1. Vincent Trocheck placed a pass from the left corner to Nick Bjugstad on the end wall. He connected a cross-ice pass to Jussi Jokinen in the crease and he scored on a one-time shot.
     Los Angeles got back their two-goal cushion with 5:01 left in the first period on a 4-on-4 situation. Drew Doughty sent a lead pass into the Panthers zone to Tyler Toffoli and he ripped a slapshot from the top left circle for a goal. Reimer was replaced by Roberto Luongo in net for Florida after the tally.
     The Panthers were able to compile two goals in the third period when the lead was out of reach. Jonathan Marchesault nailed his 16th tally of the season at 11;09 from the low slot and Aleksander Barkov flicked in a shot from close range with 21.2 seconds remaining.
     In the second period, the Kings continued to roll with three goals before the midway point of the contest to make it 6-1. Brown centered the puck from the right corner and Pearson put in a snap shot from the top of the crease at 4:06. Brown passed Rob Blake for eighth all-time in Kings history with his 495th point. LA added another goal just 21 seconds later when Dwight King stuffed in a shot from the right of the crease.
     Carter put in his second tally of the game and 29th goal of the season at the 7:31 from the left circle on assists from Pearson and Brayden McNabb. Reimer returned to the net for the Cats and replaced Luongo after that goal.
     Florida compiled two goals during the third period when the game was out of hand. Jonathan Marchessault fired a shot from the low slot for his 16th goal at 11:09 and Aleksander Barkov scored from close range with 21.2 seconds remaining.