The Kings used a Quinton Byfield goal in overtime to down the Maple Leafs on a night that meant everything for the Kings' playoff lives.
Artemi Panarin continues his great play with the Kings, this time with a great find to Quinton Byfield on the rush in overtime to score the game-winning goal and lift the Los Angeles Kings (31-26-19) over the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-6.
In a tie game in overtime, we've seen this before from the Kings, and it's never good. But this time, Los Angeles capitalizes in the clutch to win a huge game in a must-win situation to stay alive in the playoff race.
This win makes up for that heartbreaking loss the Kings suffered on Thursday against the Nashville Predators.
The game opened up as it has in the last four games. Once again, the Kings went down by two goals to start the first period; it's the third time in their last four games that they have started off this poorly in the opening frame.
The recent defeats the Kings have been suffering stem from terrible early starts and fighting their way back into the game, which ends in the same pattern: losing in overtime.
Los Angeles went six minutes in the first period, not even recording one shot on goal, which tells you everything about why Toronto held a 2-0 lead to end the first period.
The early sluggish turnovers by Los Angeles led to the two-goal hole that the Maple Leafs poured on the Kings.
Despite the offensive struggles early on by the Kings, they still outshot Toronto 11-8 after 20 minutes.
The second period began immediately with Los Angeles playing with more urgency and tenacity, scoring two goals in two minutes. At the 18:49 minute mark, the Kings played a beautiful rush on transition with Jared Wright leading the play to find Quinton Byfield for the tap-in goal.
Another goal was capitalized on by the Kings after a Maple Leaf turnover. Mikey Anderson led the 2-on-1 rush out of the box and fed a trailing Adrian Kempe on the rush to bury his 31st goal of the season, tying the game up 2-2.
Toronto had two consecutive goals that were called off, which helped the Kings dodge a bullet. One goal was called off for offside, and the second for too many players on the ice, which would've had the Maple Leafs up 4-2, leaving the score tied.
Despite the two overturned goals, the Kings didn't capitalize on those calls and ended up giving up another goal, which counted.
The Maple Leafs converted on their first of two power plays, scoring on the loose puck, to give Toronto back the lead.
But, over five minutes later, the Kings once again tied things up after a beautiful pass from Brandt Clarke, finding Artemi Panarin for the tip-in goal in tight, tying the scoreboard 3-3.
With just under 11 seconds to go in the second period, the Maple Leafs would once again score on their second power play of the night after great passing. Easton Cowan beat Darcy Kuemper to give Toronto the lead again.
Despite trailing 4-3, Los Angeles was much better in the second. Recognizing that the playoffs are on the line, they were more aggressive on both sides of the ice and outshot the visiting team 17-6.
Now, this is where all the chaos began for Los Angeles. Entering the third period down by one, the Kings scored three consecutive goals to take a two-goal lead. Here's how it all started.
Panarin led with terrific patience on the puck, skating around the neck, redirecting traffic passing the puck to Adrian Kempe, who scored his second goal of the night through traffic to once again tie the game up.
Big Sammy Helenius put Los Angeles back in front for the first time just 28 seconds later after tying it up. Helenius got help with a nice moving screen by Jeff Malott to fire the puck through the Maple Leafs' goaltender and give the Kings their first lead.
Over a minute later, Los Angeles continued its great passing and movement, getting a lot of open looks. This time, it was Alex Laferriere joining the party after a great setup by Trevor Moore on the left side of the ice to finish the play and let Laferriere score.
Despite holding on to a two-goal lead, the Maple Leafs didn't go away that easily. The Kings started playing like how they did early on, careless turnovers and errors, letting Toronto capitalize and score two consecutive goals, tying the game 6-6 just like that.
Both teams failed to score in the final five minutes of regulation after Toronto tied it up, forcing another overtime for the Kings, who now have the most overtime games played in NHL history with their 31st today.
After a breakaway chance for the Maple Leafs to score and win the game, Darcy Kuemper got a huge stop to set up the 3-on-2 led by Artemi Panarin, who found Quinton Byfield on the rush to score the game-winning goal, lifting the Kings over the Maple Leafs.
Key Stats
Adrian Kempe finished with two goals, two assists, and four points. Artemi Panarin had a great night as well, scoring a goal, assisting on the game-winning goal, and finishing with three points. Quinton Byfield pitched in two goals and two points, while Trevor Moore had a nice showing with two assists and two points.
The Kings are now back in the playoff picture with tonight's win, at 81 points and holding a two-point lead over the Sharks and Predators, who will face off tonight. The winner of that game will tie the Kings for the final playoff spot.
The Kings' next matchup is Monday against the Nashville Predators at 7:30 PM PT, in what will be the biggest game of the season for the Kings to continue to stay in the playoff hunt.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.