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Defending champ Kings claim their first victory

Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Slava Voynov

Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, Slava Voynov

AP

After a lackluster start to the season against the San Jose Sharks and a narrow loss to the Arizona Coyotes, the Los Angeles Kings have finally forced themselves into the win column. They took the lead early against the Winnipeg Jets and cruised to a 4-1 victory Sunday night.

The Marian Gaborik-Anze Kopitar duo that was so effective in the 2014 playoffs combined for their first goal of the season, but it was the line of Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli, and Tanner Pearson that led the charge tonight. The trio accounted for the Kings’ other three goals with each of them finding the back of the net.

Pearson’s goal at 2:03 of the second period made it 3-0 and chased Jets rookie goaltender Michael Hutchinson from the contest. It was just Hutchinson’s fourth career NHL game.

At the other end of the ice Martin Jones was solid, stopping 29 of 30 shots to give starter Jonathan Quick a night off after he played Saturday.

The Kings will look to build off of tonight’s success when they face Edmonton on Tuesday. For Winnipeg, this concludes a three-game road trip. The Jets will get four days off before making their home debut against Nashville on Friday.

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