Los Angeles Kings Feel the Power of the Toronto Maple Leafs after 5-1 Loss

The Los Angeles Kings felt the speed of the Toronto Maple Leafs as they rolled into the Staples Center last night and quickly made their presence felt as they went on to a 5-1 victory over the Kings.

It took  the Toronto Maple Leafs only minutes into the first period before scoring the first of their five goals when Nazem Kadri scored his first of the night while in a power play position after a double fake shot play that saw Peter Budaj was unable to overcome.

Morgan Rielly scored the second of the night at 13:48 in the first after  the Los Angeles Kings once again found themselves a man down making it 2-0 for the Leafs. L.S responded with 5:32 left in the first to score their only goal.

Also scoring for the Leafs last night was Andreas Johansson and John Taveras. Earning assists were John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Morgan Rielly, Travis Dermott, Par Lindholm and Patrick Marleau. Frederick Andersen has 22 saves for the night, in a game that saw the Leafs outshooting the kings 35-23.

Mitch Marner, who earned two assists last night was pleased with the way the Leafs were moving their feet. He added, in post-game interviews,

“We drew penalties with our speed. That’s something we haven’t done much this year. Our whole team came out ready to play, and we made it hard on their defence.”

This was the first of three games Toronto will play in California on their current road trip. After suffering a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday, lasts night win was a welcome return to winning games, and for hockey betting punters, the next two stops will see Toronto facing off against the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

Toronto’s power play was effective last night scoring three of their five goals while in a power play position. They continued with their effective season start, and that was without Austin Matthews, who remains out with an injury to his shoulder.

NHL

Last night also saw John Tavares scoring this third goal in a row and connecting on a shot in the first period to earn his eleventh of the season. Tavares has proven a valuable asset to the Maple Leafs and has racked up 22 points in the 17 games played so far with his hometown team, one that saw many in the league surprised by his decision to sign with Toronto.

Morgan Rielly, who is leading the list of top scoring defensemen in the league, spoke about Tavares contribution stating,

“Tavares has been great. We’re 18 games in, and he’s been outstanding. He’s been a leader. He’s been a 200-foot player. He’s been putting the puck in the net.”

The loss last night was the third in a row for L.A who under the direction of interim coach Willie Desjardins, have only managed to score two goals in their last three games and are sitting in last place in the Pacific Division. Anze Kopitar, captain of the Los Angeles Kings, commented post-game on the poor team performance saying,

“We’ve got to pull our stuff together here quickly and win some games. We’ve been talking for a while now. If we don’t get our minds to it and actually get it done on the ice, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Andreas Johansson goal in the second put Toronto up 4-1 and saw the Kings replace Peter Buda with Cal Peterson in the net. Budaj has 15 saves, and that was equalled by Peterson, who was making his NHL debut. Los Angeles has been struggling after seeing their two top goaltenders joining the injured list after both Jonathan Quick and Jack Campbell are recovering from knee injuries.

Commenting on first NHL appearance, Petersen stated,

“I was a little surprised” to get put in the game. I didn’t hear the coach right away. It was an exciting moment, and I got to face a shot right away, which helped. I was just trying not to make it bigger than it is.”

The L.A Kings now go on the road and will meet the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday before heading to St Louis to play the Blues.