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The Los Angeles Kings scored early and often as they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 on Thursday night.
L.A. took advantage of key turnovers by the Maple Leafs and had production from all four lines to give the Kings a lead that they would never relinquish.
Having production from both core players and those outside that core has really been a key to the Kings’ 10-2-1 record things season.
“The fact that we’re getting production outside of just the top guys has been helpful,… said head coach John Stevens after the game. “But we’ve had different parts of our lineup that’s contributed. If I had to put a big difference on that, I think our top guys’ games have been on this year.…
Los Angeles jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period by being predatory on giveaways inside the Leafs zone. This led to Michael Amadio, and Mike Cammalleri to score early in the period and then Trevor Lewis added the third goal in the last minute, which was a deflating blow.
“Well we gave them two goals… and in the end you lose by two,… said Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock. “You can’t turn the puck over, I don’t care what anyone says, you can’t outscore your turnovers.…
In the second period the line of Tyler Toffoli, Adrian Kempe, and Tanner Pearson took over as they have the last two weeks. The line combined for six points on the night, with Toffoli scoring two goals in two minutes to give the Kings a 5-0 lead.
“They play a real responsible, 200 foot game and they’ve got a lot of speed and skill on the line,… said Stevens after the Kings 2-1 overtime win against the Bruins on Saturday. “They can defend and check really fast, but they can attack when they have the puck.…
After Toffoli scored the Kings’ fifth goal, things started to get rocky due to some bad luck and undisciplined play.
Late in the second period, Leafs’ center Auston Matthews jumped in for a breakaway on Jonathan Quick when the referees ruled that Anze Kopitar impeded Matthews’s progress with his stick, leading to a penalty shot. Matthews is the wrong person on the Leafs to give that opportunity to and he made no mistaken in undressing Quick to break the shutout.
With time ticking off the clock in the second period, Morgan Rielly scored another one for the Maple Leafs to bring the score to 5-2, which gave them some momentum heading into the third.
Six minutes into the third, Pearson was caught retaliating on Mitch Marner with a slash to give the Leafs a power play. Connor Brown then tipped in a Jake Gardiner shot to bring the Leafs within two goals.
Toronto then had a glorious opportunity to come within one when Jake Muzzin purposely knocked his own net off within two minutes left in the game to give another penalty shot to Matthews and the Maple Leafs. However, Matthews barely missed over Quick’s left shoulder to keep it a two goal game and solidify the win.
“We know they’re a really skilled team and they’re a great offense,… said Kempe after surviving the Leafs barrage. “I think we gave up a little too many chances and a little too many rushes for them. We’ve got to be on our toes there and know they’re going to come out hard.…
Coming up next for the Kings, they take on the defending Western Conference Champion Nashville Predators on Saturday night. The Preds are coming off two straight losses to the New York Islanders and San Jose Sharks respectively. They will also be on the backleg of a back-to-back as they face the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.