Sam Reinhart celebrated his 30th birthday by scoring the game-winning goal and Brad Marchand tallied twice to give the visiting Florida Panthers a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday.
Sam Bennett and Anton Lundell also scored for the Panthers, who claimed only their second road win of the season by scoring four unanswered goals.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions.
Anze Kopitar and Corey Perry replied for the Kings, who have claimed only one victory in seven home games.
Goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 19 shots.
With the score tied 2-2 after the first period, Reinhart made his milestone birthday extra special by jumping on a rebound chance at 11:45 of the second period to net his fifth goal in six games.
Lundell extended the Florida lead when he scored a short-handed goal at 8:41 of the third period.
Marchand rounded out the scoring four minutes later when he took advantage of a turnover in the Kings zone and netted his sixth goal in five games.
It is another home defeat for the Kings, who even held a lead during a back-and-forth first period.
Bennett provided the Panthers a much-needed quick start when he opened the scoring at the 2:06 mark. Jeff Petry’s point shot was denied but Bennett pounced on the rebound.
Kopitar answered at the 9:23 mark. While he was parked in front of the net, the Kings captain deflected Adrian Kempe’s high shot on the power play.
Perry put the Kings ahead 97 seconds later with a breakaway marker, his fourth goal in five games.
But Marchand tied the clash at 17:30 of the opening frame by stealing the puck from Forsberg behind the Kings net and quickly depositing it into the cage.
Lundell scored and Marchand got his second of the day with insurance goals in the third at the 8:41 and 12:36 marks, respectively.
–Field Level Media
