Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier makes a save while New Jersey Devils right wing Steve Bernier looks for the rebound during the second period at Prudential Center on Wednesday.
Agencies/Los Angeles
Jake Muzzin scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:37 to play, Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist, and the Los Angeles Kings roared back in the final minutes to snap their four-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday.
Tyler Toffoli tied it with 6:11 left for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who made a dynamic rally in their first game back after stumbling into the break in ninth place in the Western Conference after losing seven of eight.
Andrew Shaw scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period for the Blackhawks, who had won four straight regular-season games over Los Angeles.
Jonathan Quick made 26 saves, thwarting a huge Blackhawks surge in front of Los Angeles’ net in the final minute.
Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp had a goal and an assist apiece in the first period for the Blackhawks, who opened a six-game road trip with just their second loss in 10 games at Staples Center. Corey Crawford stopped 23 shots.
Shaw slipped a quick shot past Quick for his ninth goal of the season 2:25 into the third. Toffoli eventually answered with his 13th goal, scoring from the slot to highlight a strong first game back from a six-game absence with mononucleosis.
Moments later, Muzzin got a shot from the blue line past Crawford with an apparent deflection off the stick of Chicago’s Niklas Hjalmarsson.
These franchises have won the last three Stanley Cup titles and four of five. The Kings eliminated the Blackhawks in an epic conference finals last summer, winning Game 7 in overtime in Chicago with Alec Martinez’s deflected goal off Nick Leddy.
Elsewhere, Jacob Josefson and Patrik Elias scored in the shootout to lead the New Jersey Devils to a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
With the win, New Jersey (18-22-8) have won three of their last five, while Toronto (22-23-4) are mired in a season-high seven-game losing streak.
Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk and New Jersey’s Adam Larsson scored in regulation.
Alex Ovechkin became the league’s top goalscorer with his 28th and 29th goals of the season and goaltender Braden Holtby turned aside all 27 shots he faced to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In his last 24 games Ovechkin has cranked out 17 goals and the Capitals have gone 15-4-5 to move into playoff position in the Eastern Conference.