Toronto Maple Leafs needed to work very hard to reach a win over the LA Kings this Tuesday night. The hosts managed to break the resistance of the last-placed team in the Western Conference in the final period and to post a 3-1 win.
Many believed that the Maple Leafs wouldn’t have any troubles against the Kings, but it turned out to be wrong. The fans at the Scotiabank Arena saw one fierce, tough, and physical hockey. And according to Mike Babcock, that was what his team needed. A match that will test their mental strength and check how they handle the pressure in must-win situations.
“We need to go through that,” he said, adding that easy games aren’t good for the team, because at some point, things will get rough.
“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?,” Babcock asked. “Yea, but we’re not getting anywhere like that.”
Frederick Andersen and Jonathan Quick were in the middle of attention in the first period, as both goals stayed protected with both goalies recording seven saves.
The guests struck first in the second period. It was a power-play goal at 5:40. Alex Iafallo was the scorer, as the left-winger happened to be at the right place following Anze Kopitar’s caromed shot.
Alexander Kerfoot tied the result with 6:31 to go, after intercepting the pass of one Kings’ players and placing the puck routinely besides Quick.
After this goal, the game became very intense, and there were several minor penalties, as players on both sides became a bit nervous. The spectators had to wait for 12:36 to see the next goal when Auston Mathews broke Kings’ defense. Maple Leafs had a lot of luck in those moments, as the puck reached Matthews in a very fortunate way. Mitch Marner fell down across the goal line, with the puck hitting William Nylander’s skate. It deflected straight towards Matthews, who immediately took this gift. Nylander notched an assist, although he didn’t plan that.
Some half a minute later, he scored a goal too. This time, Matthews assisted him; only the 22-year old did that on purpose. It was a 2-on-1 rush, and Toronto’s center didn’t want to be selfish, but rather passed the puck to his colleague.
“We tried to stay patient and play as little in our zone as we could. It was a tight game, but we were able to get a couple of big goals in the third,” he said.
The LA Kings (5-10-0) will now visit the Ottawa Senators this Thursday. They have four defeats in the last five contests and are last in the West.
Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs (8-5-3) host the Vegas Golden Knights on the same day. Right now, Babcock’s guys are sixth in the Eastern Conference. After the clash with the Golden Knights, they host the Philadelphia Flyers.
