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The Los Angeles Kings rebounded following a disappointing loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 tonight.
A big change up front was Gabriel Vilardi moving up to the top line, alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. Rasmus Kupari was also called up, playing on a line with Kevin Fiala and Carl Grundstrom. Meanwhile, Sean Walker came into the lineup, while Brandt Clarke and Jaret Anderson-Dolan were scratched, and Quinton Byfield remained out with an illness.
The Kings started strong with some pressure and good chances early but it was Toronto who struck first on a power play, as a shot came back off the boards and John Tavares was able to jam the puck past Cal Petersen. Los Angeles did end up outshooting Toronto 9-6 in the frame but couldn’t get on the board and remained down at intermission.
The Kings managed to tie the game on a power play early in the second period though, with Adrian Kempe one-timing a pass from Kevin Fiala past Ilya Samsonov. Then on another power play later in the frame, Phillip Danault made a great play to pick off a pass in the neutural zone, then put a pass over to Viktor Arvidsson for another one-timer to put Los Angeles up 2-1. The Kings weren’t done there, and with five minutes to go in the frame, Anze Kopitar found Gabriel Vilardi with a great pass from behind the net and Vilardi beat Samsonov, extending the lead. However, the Leafs did get one back a couple minutes later, as a puck popped out to Pierre Engvall and he put it past Petersen from in-close, with Los Angeles' lead cut to 3-2 through 40 minutes.
Los Angeles doubled the lead early in the third period though, off a great play by Kevin Fiala to take the puck off Rasmus Sandin at the Leafs’ blue line and go in alone, scoring on a breakaway. We saw a pretty exciting frame after that with some chances exchanged and Toronto did end up outshooting Los Angeles. It looked like the Leafs may have pulled back within one with just over a minute to go off a goal from Mitch Marner, but it was called off right away due to a high-stick. The Kings hung on after that, taking a 4-2 win.
It was a strong game for the Kings, putting together a pretty consistent effort. While they did still give up some of the same avoidable high-end, odd-man rushes early on, there were nowhere near as many chances given up as in the loss to Winnipeg.
Gabriel Vilardi moving up in the lineup was a really interesting development and he definitely deserved the opportunity. The entire top-nine played well tonight and the lineup change certainly didn’t affect Kevin Fiala negatively, who was great in the win.
It was also a big game for Cal Petersen, who has been struggling so far this season. While the first goal against was pretty weak, Petersen made some pretty big saves and it was certainly his best game of the season.
I also thought Rasmus Kupari looked good in his first game with the Kings this season, despite the limited role. He seemed confident controlling the puck in traffic and was involved in all zones. It remains to be seen how many games he ends up playing in the NHL this season (given he's still exempt from waivers), but it was a good start.
Also: Viktor Arvidsson just can't seem to score on an open net. First Detroit, then an opportunity taken away tonight – it's just a strange trend.
So the Kings are back to .500 with the win, as they try to gain ground in the Pacific Division standings. They’ll be back in action on Monday, when they face the St. Louis Blues.
OTHER ARTICLES FROM OCTOBER
Kings announce opening night roster
Late goal sinks Kings in opening night loss to Golden Knights
Brandt Clarke makes NHL debut in Kings' 4-1 loss to Kraken
Kings pick up first win of season in Kevin Fiala's return to Minnesota
Kings earn key overtime win in Detroit
Kings battle back to defeat Predators in shootout
Kings’ three-game road winning streak snapped in loss to Penguins
Kings collapse in third period, blow lead in loss to Capitals
Kings earn important home win over Lightning
Kings outplay Jets but lose 6-4 
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