Kings use quick goals to defeat Capitals

WASHINGTON-- Marian Gaborik scored twice and Jonathan Quick made 27 saves for the Los Angeles Kings in a 5-2 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Thursday.

Gaborik, playing his fourth game after he missed 22 with a lower-body injury, scored his first goal of the season at 11:08 of the first period for the Kings (15-8-3), who have won three consecutive games.
\[WATCH: All Kings vs. Capitals highlights\]
"[Gaborik has] been terrific. … He's had three really good games for us," Kings coach John Stevens said. "He and [Adrian] Kempe seem to have some good chemistry together. And I thought in a really heavy game tonight, he played really hard. It's fitting that he got a couple of goals."
The Kings took a 3-2 lead with two goals in nine seconds midway through the second period.

"It kind of changed the whole hockey game," said Kings forward Jussi Jokinen, who broke the tie. "Being down 2-1, then in a nine-second span being up 3-2. It gave a big lift to our hockey team, and we didn't have to chase the game anymore. They had to chase the game."
Jonny Brodzinski tied it 2-2 at 10:01 by deflecting a point shot by Kurtis MacDermid following a turnover by Capitals goalie Braden Holtby.
"It was just a miscommunication kind of thing," Holtby said. "The Kings take away your defensive options, so you kind of try and wait. I don't know if I just misread if our winger was playing center or we didn't have a winger back or whatever. … It wasn't a flubbed pass or anything. I put it where I wanted to put it. Just a little crossed up and caught me on a deflection coming back."
Los Angeles won the face-off, Trevor Lewis passed to Jokinen behind the defense and he beat Holtby at 10:10 to put the Kings ahead 3-2. It was Jokinen's first goal for the Kings since being traded to Los Angeles on Nov. 14 by the Edmonton Oilers.
Gaborik scored an empty-net goal at 19:17 of the third period for a 4-2 lead, and Tyler Toffoli scored one at 19:56 to make it 5-2.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice for the Capitals (14-11-1), who had their three-game winning streak end.

Kuznetsov made it 1-0 at 4:04 of the first period after taking a Dmitry Orlov pass and deking Quick. Gaborik made it 1-1 before Kuznetsov made it 2-1 at 1:23 of the second period.
"I don't think it's a bad game for us," Kuznetsov said. "It's a bad result, yeah, but we can learn a lot and we can take a lot of those moments we have. We used a lot of [defensemen] shots and we [had] some opportunities. We just have to score. That's about it. They scored and we did not. We'll be better for sure."
Lewis and MacDermid each had two assists. Holtby made 22 saves.
The Kings were 2-for-2 on the penalty kill and have successfully killed 19 of their past 21.
"I've never been so tired in my whole entire life," Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty said. "I felt like I spent the entire game in my own zone playing against that [Alex] Ovechkin line. But it was a great battle. All four lines, all six [defensemen], [Quick] played great. It was just a full team effort, and that's why we won."

Goal of the game

Jokinen's goal at 10:10 of the second period.

Save of the game

Quick's save on Jakub Vrana at 1:08 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

Kuznetsov's goal at 1:23 of the second period.

They said it

"You jump right there and try to get a good fit. Off the ice, moving to a different country. You get all the off-ice things settled. Then you get traded again. You start all over again. It's challenging, but I've been through it before." -- Kings forward Jussi Jokinen, who signed with Edmonton this offseason then was traded to Los Angeles
"It's a 3-2 game. They get two goals in nine seconds. Against the top defensive team in the League, you're playing with danger." -- Capitals coach Barry Trotz

Need to know

Orlov's assist on Kuznetsov's first goal was the defenseman's 100th point in his 309th NHL game. … Jokinen, who played 10 of his 13 NHL seasons for Eastern Conference teams, has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in 22 games at Washington.

What's next

Kings: At the St. Louis Blues on Friday (8 p.m. ET; FS-MW, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Capitals: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, FS-O, NHL.TV)