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Kings blast Jackets to cap 6-0 homestand

Oct 26, 2014 - 11:43 PM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli each had a goal and three assists as the Los Angeles Kings completed a perfect homestand with a 5-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Tanner Pearson added a pair of goals to help the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings finish off the first-ever 6-0-0 residency in franchise history. Dwight King also scored during a three-goal second period for Los Angeles that supported a 22-save effort from Jonathan Quick.

"It was important to get the points tonight because we're going on a tough trip," Kings head coach Darryl Sutter said. "I give our team credit for basically playing shorthanded through all six games."

Tim Erixon recorded his first career NHL goal for Columbus, which concluded a four-game road trip 1-3-0. Mark Letestu tallied as well in the loss, but Sergei Bobrovsky stopped just 22-of-27 shots in a rough day between the pipes.

The Blue Jackets also were hit with a potentially serious injury to Nick Foligno in the third period. The veteran forward was taken off on a stretcher with 11:34 to play after being inadvertently checked into linesman Shane Heyer while chasing a puck alongside Carter near the benches.

Foligno's head collided with Heyer's back and elbow as the linesman pulled himself up onto the boards in an attempt to avoid the play.

"I understand he is alert and will be traveling back with us. So that is a good thing," Blue Jackets head coach Todd Richards said of Foligno after the game."

Bobrovsky was sharp over the opening 20 minutes as the Blue Jackets carried a 1-0 lead into the second period, but was left defenseless on a 5-on-3 power play early in the middle session that got the Kings rolling.

Los Angeles cashed in on the two-man advantage courtesy of Carter, who skated in to place Toffoli's pass to the slot into a wide-open Columbus net 3:04 into the stanza.

Toffoli put Los Angeles in front with 3:30 remaining in the second, one-timing a Carter feed into the upper left corner while stationed to the left of the crease.

The goal began a furious scoring flurry between both teams. Just over two minutes after Toffoli connected, King sent a quick shot through Bobrovsky's legs upon corralling the rebound of Justin Williams' shot during an odd-man rush.

It took a mere 32 seconds for the Blue Jackets to pull within 3-2, as Letestu rifled a wrister in transition past Quick's glove hand under a minute prior to the second intermission.

Columbus failed to generate much of a threat in the third period, however, and two late goals from Pearson put the game out of reach.

He outraced James Wisniewski to a puck dumped into the Blue Jackets' zone by Toffoli and fired a shot over Bobrovsky's shoulder for a 4-2 game with 8:11 left. Pearson later put home a rebound of a Toffoli chance that Carter set up with a behind-the-net give to extend the margin.

"We kind of knew what was going on," said Pearson of the first goal. "(Toffoli) flipped it and I was just off to the races. I liked my chances with my speed."

Columbus was successful on its initial power-play chance to take a 1-0 edge after one period. With Drew Doughty in the box for interference, Erixon swooped in from the left side to deposit the carom of Ryan Johansen's drive from the point with 5:21 remaining in the frame.

Game Notes

Kings center Anze Kopitar did not return to the contest after suffering an upper-body injury in the second period ... The Kings' previous best mark during a six-game residency came in 1990-91, when they posted five wins and a tie ... Johansen's assist on Erixon's marker extended his point streak to eight games, during which he's tallied 11 points (five goals, six assists) ... The Kings had killed off 18 straight penalties prior to Erixon's goal ... Jackets defenseman Ryan Murray made his season debut after sitting out the first seven games recovering from knee surgery.