Kings go up 2-1 in series vs. Chicago
Carter has goal, two assists in Los Angeles’ victory
LOS ANGELES – Jeff Carter had a goal and two assists, Tyler Toffoli scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period, and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in the NHL Western Conference finals.
Drew Doughty had a third-period goal and an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 24 saves as the Kings returned to Staples Center with an impressive two-way effort against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Captain Jonathan Toews scored twice in the first period for the Blackhawks, but they didn’t score again until Patrick Sharp’s goal with 5 seconds left.
Corey Crawford stopped 28 shots for the Blackhawks, who have lost the first road game in 10 consecutive playoff series since 2010.
Game 4 is Monday night at the Staples Center.
Slava Voynov scored an early power-play goal as the Kings moved halfway to their second Stanley Cup Final in three years.
Three days after the Kings evened the series by scoring six consecutive goals in the final 22 minutes of Game 2, Los Angeles didn’t relax and rely on its NHL-best defense.
Neither team played conservatively despite the stakes, instead trading tantalizing scoring chances for the first two periods. The Kings kept pushing for goals even while leading in the third, recording 18 shots and keeping the talented Blackhawks stuck in their own end for long stretches.
L.A. got another monster game from the line led by Carter, the imposing goal-scorer who had four points in the third period of Game 2. In a 6:11 span of the second period of Game 3, Carter scored the tying goal off Tanner Pearson’s pass before setting up the go-ahead score by Toffoli, who has a goal in every game of the conference finals.