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There’s no stopping John Tavares.
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On Saturday night, not even the Los Angeles Kings, who almost never lose at home, could keep a lid on the Maple Leafs veteran.
Tavares scored for the fifth game in a row, beating goalie Darcy Kuemper on a rebound during a Leafs power play in the third period, sending Toronto to a 3-1 victory.
Tavares sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
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With the two goals, Tavares has 13 in the month of March, making it his most productive month in his National Hockey League career.
The Leafs have 92 points and took over first place in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of both the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Leafs won for the eighth time when trailing after two periods. That tied them with Vegas for most wins in the NHL in that situation.
It was just the fourth time in 34 home games that the Kings lost in regulation. Kuemper was 14-0-1 in his previous 15 games at Crypto.com Arena.
Anthony Stolarz was excellent in the Leafs net, making 36 saves to win his third start in a row.
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Leafs captain Auston Matthews tied the game at the 55-second mark of the third period, firing a low shot past Kuemper while Toronto was shorthanded.
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The Kings challenged for a high stick on the part of Matthews seconds before the goal was scored, but after a review, the goal stood. It was Matthews’ second shorthanded goal in his National Hockey League career.
Not long before Matthews scored, Stolarz made a point-blank save on Kings captain Anze Kopitar to keep his teammates in it.
The lone goal through 40 minutes was scored by Kings forward Alex Laferriere at 1:57 of the second period.
Laferriere caught Simon Benoit flat-footed inside the Toronto blue line and blew past the Leafs defenceman before moving to his backhand to score.
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The highlight of a low-event first period was a fight between Leafs defenceman Brandon Carlo and Kings forward Jeff Malott, who was playing in his third NHL game.
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With Pontus Holmberg back at forward after he was scratched for two games, Nick Robertson was the odd man out.
“I have to make decisions, I want to keep guys going,” Leafs coach Craig Berube told media in Los Angeles before the game. “I thought Nick, in the last few games, lots of penalties and just some turnover things. I had a good talk with him and he’s in good shape and he’ll be ready to go (Sunday against the Ducks in Anaheim) if needed.”
Robertson took a minor in each of the Leafs’ previous two games. The Sharks scored on the power play with Robertson in the box on Thursday in San Jose.
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