Kings falter late, fall again
L.A. gives up two third-period goals as it suffers its fifth loss in last six games.
TORONTO — The Maple Leafs didn’t earn many style points from their coach in a victory over the Kings.
But Mike Babcock saw enough to be encouraged.
Auston Matthews and William Nylander scored 30 seconds apart in the third period, and Toronto beat the Kings 3-1 on Tuesday night.
“Some people would think it was ugly,” Babcock said. “I thought it was beautiful.
“We need to figure out who we are, and the harder the game is, the better it is for us. Now, would you like to win by a touchdown and everyone relax and all that? Yeah, but we’re not getting anywhere like that.”
Alexander Kerfoot also scored for Toronto (8-5-3), which received 24 saves from Frederik Andersen and won its second straight game. Matthews and Nylander each added an assist.
Captain John Tavares was back in the Maple Leafs’ lineup after missing seven games with a broken finger.
Alex Iafallo scored for the Kings (5-10-0), who began a three-game Canadian trip with their fifth loss in six games. Jonathan Quick made 20 saves for his team, which was coming off a 4-3 overtime home win over Chicago on Saturday night.
“No one in here likes to lose,” Quick said. “The only people that can do something about it is us. We’ve got to keep working.”
Matthews snapped a 1-1 tie with 7:24 left in regulation. Andreas Johnsson sent a pass in front that went off Nylander and right to the Maple Leafs center, who scored his 12th goal of the season.
With fans still celebrating, Nylander moved in on a two-on-one with Matthews and outwaited Quick and Kings defenseman Sean Walker before scoring his fourth goal of the season with 6:54 remaining.
The Kings opened the scoring at 5:40 of the second with Kerfoot in the penalty box for interference. Anze Kopitar’s initial shot off the end boards popped out the other side to Iafallo, who quickly tucked his fifth goal of the year behind Andersen.
The Maple Leafs got even with 6:31 left in the period when Walker turned the puck over just as teammates Kyle Clifford and Trevor Lewis collided in the defensive zone. Kerfoot moved in alone and fired his fifth goal past Quick.
Toronto defenseman
Jake Muzzin, acquired from the Kings in January for winger Carl Grundstrom, prospect Sean Durzi and a 2019 first-round pick, played his first game against his exteam and took a penalty in the second for interference.
“The few mistakes we made ended up in our net,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “We checked real well, did what we had to do. We were just a little short.”
The Kings next visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.