Quick, Kopitar lift Kings in SO victory over Leafs
LOS ANGELES -- Jonathan Quick stopped all three attempts in the shootout and Anze Kopitar scored in the third round to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-2 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night at Staples Center.
The Kings erased a 2-0 deficit with two goals in the first two minutes of the third period before handing Toronto its fourth consecutive loss.
The Kings, who took over eighth place in the Western Conference, scored a power-play goal 27 seconds into third period when Kopitar took a shot from the right point that was off target, but the puck hit Toronto defenseman Nikita Zaitsev in the helmet and ricocheted into the net, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Los Angeles tied the score at 1:57 of the third period after Tyler Toffoli recovered a puck that Toronto had sent around the back of its net. Toffoli passed the puck into the middle to defenseman Alec Martinez and he slid it over to Tanner Pearson, who was all alone in front of Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen. Pearson beat Andersen with a quick stick move for his 22nd goal of the season.
Tyler Bozak and Zaitsev scored for Toronto, and Brian Boyle registered his first point since joining the Maple Leafs in a trade Monday with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Boyle won a faceoff against Jeff Carter in the Los Angeles zone and passed the puck back to Zaitsev, who was just inside blue line. Zaitsev flicked a shot toward the net and goaltender Jonathan Quick appeared to be screened by Los Angeles defenseman Jake Muzzin, who skipped out of the way just before the puck sailed past Quick and into the net for a 2-0 lead at 7:20 of the second period.
NOTES: Maple Leafs C Eric Fehr, acquired Wednesday in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, participated in the morning skate, but was a healthy scratch along with RW Ben Smith, LW Josh Leivo and D Martin Marincin. ... Bob Miller, the Kings broadcaster the last 44 years, announced his retirement during a news conference earlier in the day. Miller suffered a stroke while at Staples Center during the All-Star weekend in late January. .... The Kings handed the Maple Leafs their worst loss of the season 7-0 on Nov. 8 in Toronto. ... Kings C Nick Shore sustained an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return.