LOS ANGELES — Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson are among the few Kings who don’t have a Stanley Cup ring from two years ago.
Jeff Carter is grateful the youngsters are carrying him along on their own Cup chase after their line came up with another monster game against the Blackhawks.
Carter had a goal and two assists, Toffoli scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period, and the Kings beat Chicago 4-3 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in the 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.
“I’m having so much fun with these guys,” said Toffoli, who has scored a goal in every game of the conference finals. “Getting to play with a guy like Carter is a great opportunity, and [Pearson] and me are trying to live up to him.”
Game 4 is Monday night at Staples Center.
Three days after Carter had four points in the third period of Game 2, Los Angeles got another dominant effort from the line centered by the veteran goal-scorer.
In a 6:11 span of the second period of Game 3, Carter scored the tying goal off Pearson’s pass before setting up the go-ahead score by Toffoli, who has a goal in every game of the conference finals.
“They have a lot of chemistry from playing together” in the minors, Carter said. “They use their speed and their skill to create opportunities, and they kind of drag me along with them, so it’s fun.”
Toffoli and Pearson still hadn’t cracked Los Angeles’ lineup in 2012 when the eighth-seeded Kings won the title. Toffoli became a regular for last season’s run to the conference finals, while Pearson made his NHL debut in a playoff game last spring.
They have both become key components of the Kings’ four-line offensive attack. Slava Voynov also scored an early power-play goal as the Kings moved halfway to their second Stanley Cup final in three years.
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.
“Once they got the lead, they seemed to get the momentum, and we couldn’t quite find our way back into the game,” Toews said. “It’s up to us to play better with those leads.”
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, generating 18 shots and keeping the talented Blackhawks stuck in their own end for long stretches.
“We all want to win in here, and Toews is obviously our captain and leader,” Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith said. “He definitely led the way tonight, but we need everybody if we are going to beat this team and try to win one here. Toews came out and led the way. It’s up to the rest of us to follow that.”