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The Los Angeles Kings kicked off their road trip with a win last night, defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1.
The Kings struck early in the first period just after killing off a penalty, with an unlikely source in Andreas Englund putting a shot off Mark Giordano and in, for his first NHL goal. Then after really limiting chances for the Leafs throughout the period, Trevor Moore managed to find Phillip Danault in front to beat Joseph Woll, extending the lead to 2-0. The Kings did have a power play opportunity to extend the lead later and couldn’t get much going, but it was a very strong opening frame regardless, really preventing quality chances for Toronto and taking a two-goal lead to the intermission.
While the Leafs did start to press a but more early in the second period, the teams traded power play chances, and midway through the frame, Arthur Kaliyev beat Woll with a nice shot on a man advantage, making it a 3-0 game.
Toronto did have some sporadic opportunities from there, including a good chance for Auston Matthews, but by the end of the period, Los Angeles had the Leafs completely pinned in their zone for the last few minutes of the period. While the Kings couldn’t make it a four-goal game, they were all over the Leafs, holding possession to the point the crowd was booing their home team, as Los Angeles carried all the momentum into the second intermission.
The Kings then had an opportunity to put the game out of reach nearing the midway mark of the third period but couldn’t convert, and proceeded to take a careless too-many-mean penalty. That gave the Leafs an opportunity to get back into the game, as John Tavares got Toronto on the board with a nice shot to beat Talbot. The goal gave the Leafs a bit of momentum, and all of a sudden, the Kings were losing some puck battles they’d been winning for the first 50 minutes of the game.
However, Los Angeles was able to secure the win following the Leafs’ surge, when Quinton Byfield made a nice play to spin off an opponent and create a chance, before Anze Kopitar put the puck out to Adrian Kempe, who reinstated the three-goal lead on route to a 4-1 Kings win.
This was a pretty dominant victory for the Kings, even if the final shot count may not have reflected it.
Aside from maybe a few minutes after the Leafs scored in the third period, Los Angeles had all the momentum, killing plays for Toronto before they had a chance to get started. The Kings were doing a great job denying entries, and even when the puck did end up in their end, players were getting to the puck carrier to block a shot or take possession off them to prevent a chance.
Quinton Byfield also continues to be more dangerous this season offensively, looking more comfortable holding onto the puck to look for a play. Byfield was already able to provide an impact with his strong forecheck and solid defensive work, but with five points in his last four games, it seems like the offensive upside that had him selected second overall by the Kings is starting to show more.
I’ve talked a lot about the Kings’ forward depth, but with four lines that can all contribute, the Kings have looked very, very dangerous offensively this year. Even if one line isn’t going in any particular game, the team has enough depth that they’ll still be able to get offense from the rest of the lineup.
With the victory, the Kings are now 5-1-1 across their last seven games, as they continue to solidify themselves as one of the top teams in the West. They’ll be back in action tomorrow, as they continue their road trip against the Ottawa Senators.
Los Angeles Kings Blogger • 
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