Offense Comes Alive as Toronto Maple Leafs Down L.A. Kings 6-2

The goal operator had a busy night in Toronto as the Toronto Maple Leafs extended the Kings' defensive woes with a 6-2 beatdown on Wednesday, bringing their winning streak to three in a row. Auston Matthews finally made his way onto the scoresheet with a goal and two assists. Mitch Marner also had three points, while five other Maple Leafs had two points. The next game for the Toronto Maple Leafs is Saturday night in Toronto against the New York Rangers.

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Matthews Scores First Goal Of Season In Winning Effort

Through the first three games, Matthews had 15 shots, hit a couple of posts, and had zero goals to show for it. He hit a post early on Wednesday as well, and it was a matter of time before the two-time Rocket Richard winner (most goals in a season), and former MVP, scored his first of the season. His lack of scoring was a big topic in Toronto, considering he had two hat tricks in the first two games of the year last year. However, a few years ago, when he scored 60, he didn't score in the first few games of that season either, so maybe it's a good omen.

Bobby McMann scored the opening goal of the game at 6:54 of the first period. A few minutes later, at 8:49, Matthews finally broke through with a snap shot over Rittich's blocker to put the Toronto Maple Leafs up 2-0 and get his first of the season. With that goal, Matthews became the fourth player in franchise history to score 200 goals on home ice, joining Darryl Sittler, Dave Keon, and Mats Sundin. Not bad company.

Toronto Maple Leafs Happy With Team Performance

"I think just a good start, solid throughout, Stolarz made some big saves," Matthews said of the team's performance. "I thought we defended pretty well and just contributions from all four lines. We were able to roll four lines throughout the game and when you roll them over like that, I think it can make it pretty hard on the opposition."

McMann would score his second of the game, third of the season, with a few minutes left in the first, giving the Toronto Maple Leafs a comfortable 3-0 lead after the first 20 minutes. McMann finished the game with two goals and two shots, while Matthews finished his night with one goal, three points, and four shots.

Leafs' Break Power-Play Slump

The Toronto Maple Leafs' power play was brilliant last year, finishing the regular season at 23.9%, which was seventh-best in the NHL. In the playoffs, however, it was abysmal. They scored only one goal on over 20 chances. That is why, after starting the season 0-9 with the man advantage, the power play was a hot topic in Toronto. Finally, that topic can be put to rest, at least for now, thanks to a PP goal off the stick of William Nylander at the end of the second period.

After the Kings scored two goals at the beginning of the third, making the score 5-2 and the game a little more interesting, John Tavares scored the second power-play goal of the night for the Leafs, putting the game to bed. The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't looked great with the extra skater, and they didn't look much better Wednesday before the two PP goals in the third. It's a theme with the Toronto Maple Leafs' offense in general so far, and it's no different with the power play. Coach Berube and his new coaching staff are implementing systems and new strategies and it's obvious that it is taking some time for the players to adjust.

Final Thoughts

Goaltender Anthony Stolarz continued his excellent start to the season, stopping 32 of 34 shots, bringing his record to 2-1 on the young campaign. A conversation for another day is whether or not Stolarz keeps his number one job when the injured Joseph Woll comes back from an injury he suffered before the season started. Between Stolarz and Hildeby, the Toronto Maple Leafs have allowed only seven goals through four games.

Max Pacioretty was a healthy scratch and Timothy Liljegren had his season debut on the blue line. For Pacioretty, Berube chalked it up to having "extra players." Pacioretty has had many injuries over the last few years, and giving him a night off here and there is not a bad thing. Especially when his replacement, McMann, scored two goals on the same night.

For Liljegren, his orders from Berube heading into Wednesday night were simple. "It's about him managing his game and managing his puck movement and making good decisions with it, not risky ones," Berube said. "It's important you're defending well and you're strong in your net-front and winning those board battles, corner battles and things like that. He has to do that." Many think he's auditioning for a trade elsewhere. For right now, he's in Toronto, and he's looking to make the most of it.

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Article originally written by Marc Sautter