Matt Murray has been a Kings fan since the late '80s, when Wayne Gretzky grabbed headlines by defecting to the West Coast. Since then, he has been a card-carrying bandwagon member as the club soared in popularity with their sole Stanley Cup appearance to their position near the bottom of the Pacific. But things are looking brighter, as he is anxious to witness the rise of the new Kings.
L.A. snaps losing streak, tops Toronto
The Kings were unable to build off the power play to start the third. Since Toskala has come in, he has been solid in goal, settling down the visiting Maple Leafs.
Johnson gets two for slashing, as the Leafs try to get something going. But L.A. kills the Johnson penalty, as it seems they are content with sitting back and playing defensively. Not a bad idea, since this is Los Angeles, and they lose big leads like Pam Anderson loses husbands.
LaBarbera has played awesome tonight, really making difficult saves, and looking like the LaBarbera of old.
O'Sullivan had a beautiful chance, but was stonewalled by Toskala. The Leafs' Kubina gets called for holding, as the Kings take the PP-mobile out for a spin. But they barely get a chance to take it out for a spin, before they have to put it back in the garage.
The Leafs score another, when Tucker scores from between the circles to give them two goals. The Kings are still playing conservatively, unless the top line is out there. The Leafs are outshooting the Kings, but aren't getting many good looks at the net.
Kilger gets two minutes for hooking, as the Kings gets yet another chance on the power play. Brown has a golden chance to get a hat trick, but shoots wide.
Kopitar gets a rare penalty, a hooking penalty, his sixth of the season. The Leafs are attacking the goal with wild abondon. But LaBarbera makes save after save. he is a man possessed tonight. He even slides out of the crease and winds up sitting on the puck to stop play.
The Leafs pull Toskala with 1:40 left in the game, and go with six players with the puck dropped deep in the Kings zone. Blake just hip-hammers a Leaf into the boards, much to the delight of the Kings fans in attendance. Johnson shoots wide of the crease, missing his bid to score tonight.
Third period: Kings 5, Leafs 2
