Maple Leafs lose to Kings in double shutout, fail to gain in Atlantic

LOS ANGELES -- Jonathan Quick made 36 saves for his first shutout of the season, and the Los Angeles Kings won their season-high fourth straight game, 1-0 in the shootout against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Staples Center on Thursday.

Adrian Kempe scored the deciding goal in the fourth round for the Kings (26-35-6), who are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games.
"We're just kind of sticking with it," Quick said. "I think guys are playing a little bit more confident after getting (some) wins. It's good to see the hard work we're putting in get rewarded."
WATCH: [All Maple Leafs vs. Kings highlights]
Frederik Andersen made 30 saves for the Maple Leafs (35-24-9), who have lost two in a row (0-1-1) following a three-game winning streak and remained five points ahead of the Florida Panthers for third place in Atlantic Division.
It was Andersen's third shutout of the season.
"Just looked like two elite goalies on their game, and we needed Freddie to be that good tonight, and he was," Maple Leafs backup goalie Jack Campbell said. "And Quickie was outstanding as well at the other end, so definitely a goaltending battle, for sure."
William Nylander extended the shootout with Toronto's only goal in the bottom of the third round after Anze Kopitar scored for Los Angeles in the top half.
Mitchell Marner lost control of the puck and failed to get off a shot with a chance to send it to the fifth round.
The Maple Leafs were shut out for the first time this season despite several quality scoring chances, including Kasperi Kapanen hitting the crossbar on a shorthanded breakaway at 15:19 of the first period.

Quick, who got his 52nd NHL shutout, made the save against Nylander on a breakaway at 1:11 of the third period and on three shorthanded shots by Zach Hyman in 15 seconds in the first minute of overtime after John Tavares was called for hooking Alex Iafallo.
"[Quick] played incredible down there too, so I don't think that's on (our) offense," said Andersen, who got his 19th NHL shutout. "That's one of the best in the League when he's on his game. Yeah, he pulled out some great saves when we had the chances."
The Kings have allowed three goals during their winning streak and have not allowed more than one in any of the four games. Coach Todd McLellan said the play of Quick and backup Cal Petersen is responsible for the improved results.
"We feel like we can make the odd mistake and have them cover for us, and for quite a while we've got real, real good goaltending," McLellan said. "Both of them have played exceptionally. … We're going to need that down the stretch. We believe we can keep that up and carry it on."

It was the first game between the Maple Leafs and Kings since Los Angeles traded forward Kyle Clifford and Campbell to Toronto on Feb. 5 for forward Trevor Moore, a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Clifford, Campbell and defenseman Jake Muzzin, who was traded from Los Angeles to Toronto on Jan. 28, 2019, each received a video tribute during the first TV timeout in the first period.
Campbell will start the second game of a back-to-back at the Anaheim Ducks on Friday. Muzzin missed his fourth straight game because of a broken hand.
Moore, who had 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 52 games for the Maple Leafs, played 15:18 for the Kings.
Each team was 0-for-3 on the power play.

They said it

"Definitely, we've been playing better. Shots-against number, I don't really care about. It's useless to look at, but the chances we're giving up is less, which is important. In that department, we've been pretty good." -- Maple Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen on their defense
"Their power play is one of the best in the League, so we did a great job of limiting their chances." -- Kings goalie Jonathan Quick

Need to know

It was the first 1-0 game for each team this season. ... The Kings had not played a 1-0 game decided in the shootout since defeating the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 16, 2014. ... It was Andersen's second shutout in six games (24 saves in 4-0 win against Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 20). ... Hyman played his 300th NHL game, and Kapanen played his 200th.

What's next

Maple Leafs: At the Anaheim Ducks on Friday (10 p.m. ET; PRIME, TSN4, NHL.TV)
Kings: Host the Minnesota Wild on Saturday (4 p.m. ET; FS-W, FS-N, NHL.TV)