Leafs triumph over Kings with third period comeback Maple Leafs getting right with their game on roadie

Coming off a loss in San Jose, the Maple Leafs will look to respond and get back into the winning column against the Kings, continuing their West Coast road trip.

The out-of-town scoreboard would not give the Leafs any help as the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning have found ways to keep on winning, pushing the Leafs down to third in the Atlantic. 

This has put even more pressure on Toronto to respond, having to keep pace for first place in the division. 

After Friday’s practice, Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube was asked about finding consistency before the postseason, which the team has lacked in the past couple of weeks.

“I think it is important, I mean it’s not the end of it all either,” Berube said. “Definitely, I talked about consistency yesterday, and I do believe it’s important and I want our team playing a certain way going in there (Playoffs).” 

This would be another hard test for Toronto, as Los Angeles is currently the best team in the NHL when playing at home, with a .848 home point percentage, which is the fourth highest in the league since the 1990-91 season.   

“They really play a real good defensive system, they check well,” Berube said when asked about what the Leafs can expect from the Kings’ style of play. “Big strong team, you know, hard to get to in the inside of them, but they defend extremely well.” 

The Kings would also be hungry to continue putting up the wins, as they currently are two points up on the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific, trying to secure home ice in round one of the playoffs.  

In the first period, both teams would get opportunities trading many chances, with Bobby McMann looking like the biggest threat, getting multiple shots on the Kings’ netminder Darcy Kuemper.

Although both teams look hot coming out of the gate, no one would be able to jump on the opportunity to give their team a lead.

Early in the period, Brandon Carlo and Jeff Malott would get some excitement pumping through Crypto.com Arena, dropping the gloves in a fantastic tilt, giving the crowd something to cheer about in a pretty evenly matched defensive battle.

The Kings would have an opportunity to take the lead late on the power play, but a valiant defensive effort from the Leafs would take both teams into the locker rooms tied zero a piece.   

In the second, it wouldn’t take long for a team to break the ice, as Kings forward Alex Laferriere would drive to the net, skating by a stumbling Simon Benoit and putting the puck past Leafs goaltender Anthony Stolarz, giving Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. 

From this point on, the Kings would be able to shut down any offence the Leafs would try to create, clogging the middle of the ice, making it hard to develop chances. 

The Leafs would get their opportunity on the power play, but a similar outcome would appear with Toronto not even putting up a shot in two minutes of the man advantage. 

With the Kings putting up a major defensive performance, and Kuemper shutting the door, the Leafs would once again go scoreless, hoping for a better outcome in the final period of play.  

At the beginning of the third, the Leafs would find themselves killing a penalty once again, but Auston Matthews would be able to slide one past Kuemper shorthanded for his 29th goal of the year, tying the game at 1-1 and giving the Leafs much-needed life. 

“Caber (Jake McCabe) made a really nice play to me to have a little bit of time and space to try to get around a guy, and just get a shot off and was able to sneak it by him (Kuemper),” Matthews said regarding his shorthanded goal. 

After a coach’s challenge and a long review for a potential high stick on the goal, the call would stand, giving the Leafs a power play. 

Shortly after, Mitch Marner would get tripped, giving the Leafs a 5-on-3. 

Although the Leafs would not capitalize on the two-man advantage, the momentum would flip with the Leafs looking energized and ready to strike again.   

The penalties would not go away as the Kings would find themselves short-handed once again, already being on a 4-on-4, giving the Leafs a 4-on-3 power play.

With the Leafs looking to find the go-ahead goal, John Tavares would tap a rebound in from a Matthews shot, giving him his 34th goal of the season and the Blue-and-White a 2-1 lead. 

As the Kings looked for a late equalizer with the goalie pulled, the Buds would lock down the game, adding another goal to their total with Tavares putting the puck into the empty net for his second of the game.

With the Leafs leaving LA with a 3-1 win and all two points, which has been rare for teams to accomplish this season, would put the Leafs at 5-1-1 in their last seven games taking back the top of the Atlantic Division.

After the game, Tavares addressed the media on how he felt his team played in the victory. 

“I think there’s no panic in the game, I think obviously it can maybe feel like there’s not a whole lot going on, especially when you get to the halfway point,” Tavares said. “Just staying with it and not getting frustrated or discouraged, and liked the attitude in the room in between periods and just going out there competing and playing.”  

The Leafs will be right back into the action tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, looking to close out the West Coast road trip with five out of the six points secured.