Kevin Fiala propels LA Kings past Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2
Kevin Fiala had a goal and an assist, and Adrian Kempe and Viktor Arvidsson scored power-play goals in the second period of the Los Angeles Kings' 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
Gabriel Vilardi also scored during the Kings' three-goal second period, and captain Anze Kopitar had two assists. Cal Petersen made 26 saves in an encouraging bounce-back victory for Los Angeles, which had lost three of four after a solid start to the season.
Captain John Tavares had a power-play goal and Pierre Engvall also scored for the Leafs, who have lost three straight on their West Coast swing. Ilya Samsonov stopped 25 shots.
Fiala came through with another big offensive game in his first season with the Kings. The prolific Swiss scorer has nine points in 10 games for LA, including three multi-point outings so far.
Petersen also had his best performance after yielding 12 goals in his first seven periods of action this season.
But Tavares stuffed home his fourth goal of the season in the first period on the rebound after William Nylander shot the puck off the back boards.
Although Toronto scored a game's opening goal for only the third time in nine games this season, the Leafs struggled to get the puck out of their zone for long stretches of the Kings' strong second period.
Los Angeles claimed the lead with a pair of power-play goals. Kempe, who played his 400th career NHL game, put a one-timer into the top corner off a cross-ice pass from Fiala before Arvidsson cashed in a setup from Phillip Danault exactly six minutes later.
Vilardi then sneaked into the slot and buried a remarkable backhand pass from behind the net by Kopitar, the franchise's career scoring leader.
Engvall trimmed the deficit to 3-2 late in the second with his first goal of the season off a loose puck in front after a Kings turnover.
Fiala pushed the Kings' lead again early in the third when he robbed Rasmus Sandin of the puck the skated in for a breakaway goal.
RECALL
Los Angeles called up F Rasmus Kupari from its AHL affiliate before the game for his NHL season debut. The Finnish first-round pick in 2018 played 57 games for the Kings last season, scoring 13 points.
UP NEXT
Maple Leafs: At Ducks on Sunday night.
Kings: At Blues on Monday night.