John Tavares scored twice and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Kings3-1 on Saturday.
Auston Matthews had a goal and an assist, Anthony Stolarz made 35 saves, and the Maple Leafs are 5-1-1 in their past seven games.
Alex Laferriere scored, Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves, and the Kings had their franchise-record 15-game home point streak stopped. It was their first regulation loss at home since falling 5-1 to Pittsburgh on Jan. 20.
Laferriere ended a 17-game goal drought dating back to Feb. 22 when he opened the scoring.
Laferriere put the Kings ahead early in the second period, but Matthews tied it up 1-1 early in the third with his second career shorthanded goal.
Tavares then put Toronto in front by putting in Matthews’ rebound during a four-on-three power play with less than eight minutes remaining. Kuemper got a little too active with his stick, tripping Matthews during four-on-four play to set the stage for Tavares’ 12th power-play goal of the season.
Tavarees picked up an empty-netter with 1:35 remaining. He has scored in five straight games and leads the NHL with 13 goals since the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The win put the Maple Leafs atop the three-team race for the Atlantic Division for now, moving them one point ahead of Florida and Tampa Bay. The Panthers do have a game in hand over the other two challengers.
Toronto, which came into the game with the third-best road power play in the NHL, went one for four to turn the game in its favor.