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Phillip Danault leads Kings to 5-1 win over Maple Leafs

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The Los Angeles Kings won their fifth straight game, going into Toronto and downing the Maple Leafs, 5-1. That snapped Toronto’s own five-game winning streak.

Kings centre Phillip Danault scored a pair of goals and added an assist to lead the attack. Goaltender Jonathan Quick stopped 33 of 34 shots for the win.

The Kings played with good speed throughout the game, pressuring Toronto’s defence, both during the attack and on the forecheck.

Former Maple Leafs winger Trevor Moore opened the scoring at 10:52 of the first period. He raced down the right wing, past Timothy Liljegren and Rasmus Sandin before driving to the net and lifting a shot over Jack Campbell’s glove. It was Moore’s first goal and first point of the season.

Woodbridge native Andreas Athanasiou made it a 2-0 game at 14:21 of the first period. The play started when he received a pass off his skate in neutral ice. Athanasiou then beat Jake Muzzin wide and tucked the puck under Jack Campbell’s blocker arm. Athanasiou, playing his second game of the season, had several more quality scoring chances. His speed was difficult for the Maple Leafs to handle.

With Moore in the penalty box, Toronto scored on the power play at 1:51 of the second period to cut in the lead in half. Following some sustained pressure, Mitch Marner was below the goalline and took a pass from William Nylander. Marner then found John Tavares in the slot and his one-timer beat Kings netminder Jonathan Quick high to the glove side.

The Kings regained a two-goal lead when Phillip Danault re-directed a puck with his skate (some might say kicked) at 13:56 of the second period. The puck trickled through Campbell, across the crease and just over the line. After review, it was determined there was no kicking motion.

Finishing Touch

Although the Maple Leafs were generating some chances in the third period, they could not beat Quick. Then, at 15:30 of the third, Danault scored his second of the game, grabbing his own rebound after a glaring John Tavares turnover deep in the Maple Leafs’ zone.

Toronto then pulled goaltender Jack Campbell. They promptly surrendered an empty-net goal to Adrian Kempe at 16:13 of the third period.. That put the finishing touches on a strong road effort from the Kings and an uninspiring performance from the Maple Leafs.

Auston Matthews did launch 13 shots towards the Kings goal though only four ended up on net. Pierre Engvall led the Maple Leafs with six shots on goal.

Phillip Danault led the Kings offence with seven shots on goal, in addition to his three points.

Toronto’s line of Alexander Kerfoot, John Tavares, and Mitch Marner, along with defenceman Travis Dermott, were on the ice for three goals against during 5-on-5 play. Marner ended up on the ice for four goals against in the 5-1 loss.

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