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Jonathan Quick leads Kings to important win in return

Gary A. Vasquez / USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES - Jonathan Quick made 32 saves in his return from a groin injury, and Tyler Toffoli scored two of Los Angeles' four third-period goals in a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday.

Quick missed 59 games after injuring the groin in the first period of the season opener Oct. 12 against San Jose, and his return was complimented by a timely end to Los Angeles' recent offensive power outage.

Dustin Brown added his 10th goal of the season, and Jeff Carter scored an empty-net goal, securing a much-needed two points in the Kings' chase for a wild card in the Western Conference after losing four of their previous five games.

Andrew Cogliano scored, and Jonathan Bernier made 29 saves for Anaheim. They head into the bye week alternating wins and losses over their last nine games.

Toffoli scored 3:37 into the third period, ending a 130-minute goal drought for the Kings in the fierce Southern California rivalry, having been held scoreless in 10 of the previous 11 periods against the Ducks this season.

Toffoli added his 12th goal of the season off a spectacular pass from Carter that somehow stayed under Cam Fowler's feet as the Ducks defenseman slid face-down on the ice trying to deflect the puck, giving Los Angeles the 2-1 lead with 12:12 remaining.

Brown deflected in Kevin Gravel's shot from just inside the blue line 17 seconds later, giving the Kings as many goals in 4:28 as they had scored in their previous three games combined.

Quick mostly looked sharp in his return, even doing the splits well out in front of his crease to deny Nick Ritchie on a power play in the first period, but could not prevent the Ducks' lone goal.

Cogliano was on the receiving end of a quick give-and-go from Ryan Kesler, potting his 14th goal of the season late in the first. Jakob Silfverberg intercepted the puck at center ice and sparked a ruthless rush the other way, picking up his 38th point of his breakout campaign.

Patrick Eaves made his debut for the Ducks after being acquired from Dallas for a conditional second-round draft pick Friday. Slotted on a line with Corey Perry and Rickard Rakell, Eaves played 16:09.

The latest edition of the Freeway Faceoff was typically physical and ill-tempered, with a 10-man dog pile midway through the second period leading to a fight between Ducks center Nate Thompson and Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb. Carter, who leads the Kings with 29 goals, and Kesler traded blows later in the period, a right hand by Kesler momentarily sending Carter down to a knee.

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