The Los Angeles Kings continued their trend of extra-time games on Saturday night, claiming a 7-6 victory versus the Toronto Maple Leafs at Crypto.com Arena while achieving an NHL single-season record with their 31st overtime game, having already set a league high with 19 overtime or shootout losses this season.
Los Angeles (31-26-19) clinched the victory at 2:33 of overtime when Quinton Byfield scored his second goal of the night, finishing a cross-slot feed from Artemi Panarin on a 3-on-2 rush. The sequence came moments after Toronto's William Nylander missed on a breakaway opportunity. Byfield's goal was his 20th of the season and nabbed an important two points for the Kings, who moved into a Western Conference wild-card position, tied in points with the Nashville Predators but trailing in regulation wins (26-19).
Los Angeles erased multiple deficits in a back-and-forth contest that featured 13 total goals. The Maple Leafs built a 2-0 first-period lead on goals from Matthew Knies and Steven Lorentz, capitalizing on turnovers. The Kings responded early in the second period, with Byfield and Adrian Kempe scoring within the opening four minutes to tie the game 2-2.
Kempe continued his hot streak with two goals and two assists, extending his goal run to four games and accumulating 10 points over his last five outings. Panarin had a goal and two assists of his own, while Samuel Helenius and Alex Laferriere also scored as Los Angeles took a fleeting 6-4 lead in the early third period.
Toronto responded again, tying the game 6-6 behind Knies' second goal and Nicholas Robertson's 15th of the season. John Tavares contributed a goal and two assists, reaching 30 goals for the eighth time in his career. Goaltender Joseph Woll made 33 saves.
The Kings improved to 3-1-1 in their last five games, with netminder Darcy Kuemper stopping 14 shots in the high-scoring win.
