Jeff Carter scores two goals in Kings win

LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Carter scored two goals, and Peter Budaj made 22 saves to help the Los Angeles Kings to a 5-0 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Staples Center on Wednesday.
Marian Gaborik, Dustin Brown and Dwight King scored for the Kings (26-21-4), who have won four games in row after losing four straight.
It was Budaj's sixth shutout of the season, tied with Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals for most in the NHL. He has two shutouts in his past three starts, 17 in 308 starts in the League.

"Just playing up here this year, I think, is more than I can imagine," said Budaj, who spent most of the 2015-16 season with Ontario of the American Hockey League. "I'm just thankful to be here. The team is playing great in front of me. We work tremendously hard to keep going and to give us a chance every night."
WATCH: All Avalanche vs. Kings highlights
Said Kings coach Darryl Sutter: "That was a legitimate shutout tonight."
The Avalanche (13-33-2) have lost nine games in a row (0-8-1). Rookie goaltender Spencer Martin, in his third NHL start, allowed three goals on 11 shots in the first period but made 27 saves on 29 shots in the second and third periods.

Gaborik scored 47 seconds into the game, jamming the puck in through traffic in the crease to make it 1-0.
Carter scored twice before the end of the first to put the Kings up 3-0.
After Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon was penalized for slashing Brown, Carter scored eight seconds into the power play, at 7:15, with a shot from the left faceoff circle, using teammate Tanner Pearson as a screen.
He scored his second of the night at 17:42 from the left side of the crease after Devin Setoguchi kept the play alive in the slot. It was Carter's 26th goal, two behind Sidney Crosby for most in the NHL.

The Avalanche thought they cut the Kings lead to 3-1 at 5:17 of the second period when Jarome Iginla beat Budaj from the slot, but the goal was waved off for goalie interference. Colorado coach Jared Bednar challenged the call, but video review confirmed Blake Comeau contacted Budaj.
"We did have some good looks for a stretch," Bednar said. "For about a 15-minute stretch, we started generating a little bit. I thought Budaj was good though. They did a good job of keeping us off the net and making sure we didn't get the traffic or screens we needed."
The Kings scored two more goals in the third period. Brown scored at 4:11, redirecting Kevin Gravel's shot from the blue line. King made it 5-0 at 10:56 when his shot from behind the net went in off the left skate of Avalanche defenseman Eric Gelinas.

Colorado forward Rene Bourque left with an upper- body injury 23 seconds into the game after a hit by Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb. Bourque missed three games with a lower-body injury before returning to the lineup in a 5-1 loss to the Ducks on Tuesday.
Kings forward Jordan Nolan left the game with a lower-body injury after contact with Avalanche forwards Carl Soderberg and Matt Nieto to the left of Martin along the boards with less than seven minutes left in the second period.

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Goal of the game

Brown was just above the left hash marks when he redirected Gravel's wrist shot from the point past Martin.

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Save of the game

Budaj got his stick on Nieto's shot from the slot on a rush at 1:41 of the second period.

Highlight of the game

All five Kings contributed on Carter's power-play goal. Defensemen Jake Muzzin and Drew Doughty got the assists, but Anze Kopitar won the draw to set the play in motion, and Pearson screened Martin.

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Unsung performance of the game

In addition to his assist on Carter's first goal, Muzzin had four shots on goal, two hits and three blocked shots in 22:53.

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They said it

"Maybe we're trying too much. I don't know what to tell you. We're trying as hard as we can, but for whatever reason, things aren't going our way." -- Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog
"To leave with a victory, going on the road, is huge. We're trying to do whatever it takes to get as many points as possible. It's very important for us. As you can see the standings, it's a tight, tight race. Everybody keeps winning. It seems like nobody's losing points, so we're doing the best we can to try to win."-- Kings goalie Peter Budaj on getting a win before a four-game road trip
"He's been good for us all year, and he was good again. He had an opportunity to come in and he's kind of seized that opportunity and taken control of it. It's just one of those things you like to see." -- Kings forward Dustin Brown on Peter Budaj, who has started 42 games since No. 1 goalie Jonathan Quick was injured

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Need to know

The Kings placed veteran defenseman Tom Gilbert on waivers Wednesday. Gilbert had one goal and five points in 18 games, and has played in one game since Dec. 22. ... Los Angeles recalled defenseman Paul LaDue from Ontario on Wednesday, but he did not play.

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What's next

Avalanche: Host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ALT, TSN3, NHL.TV)
Kings: At the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, CSN-PH, FS-W, NHL.TV)