Jeff Skinner scores a hat trick and Jason Pominville records his 700th career point in win over Los Angeles.
By Dan Greenspan / NHL.com Correspondent
LOS ANGELES, CA. — Jeff Skinner had his fifth NHL hat trick to help the Buffalo Sabres defeat the Los Angeles Kings, 5-1, at Staples Center on Saturday afternoon.
Jack Eichel had three assists, Jason Pominville had one goal and two assists, and Linus Ullmark made 19 saves for the Sabres (4-4-0), who had lost their past two games.
Drew Doughty scored for the Kings (2-5-1), who lost their fourth straight game and have been outscored 21-5 in that span. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves and has allowed 10 goals on 54 shots in two starts since returning from a lower-body injury.
Skinner scored twice in the second period, at 3:31 to give Buffalo a 2-0 lead and at 15:52 for a 3-0 lead.
Zach Bogosian scored his first of the season to make it 4-0 at 19:45 of the second.
Doughty scored a power-play goal at 12:16 of the third to make it 4-1.
Skinner completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal at 19:35 of the third to give the Sabres a 5-1 lead.
Pominville, who gave the Sabres a 1-0 at 10:24 of the first, had the secondary assist on Skinner’s second goal for his 700th point in 995 NHL games, joining Ilya Kovalchuk and Jason Spezza as the third player from the 2001 NHL Draft with 700 career points.
Los Angeles used a coach’s challenge for goaltender interference on Pominville’s goal, but the call on the ice stood.
Buffalo is now 2-2 on the current 5-game West Coast trip. The Sabres conclude the trip Sunday night in Anaheim against the Ducks.