Toronto Maple Leafs center John Tavares, left, and Kings defenseman Matt Roy vie for the puck during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Kings goaltender Cam Talbot, right, stops a shot as defenseman Mikey Anderson, left, defends against Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Tyler Bertuzzi during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Kings right wing Carl Grundstrom, right, and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Timothy Liljegren reach for the puck during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Matthew Knies, center, puts Kings right wing Carl Grundstrom into the boards during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson, left, and Toronto Maple Leafs center Max Domi battle for the puck during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mitchell Marner (16) fends off the Kings’ Drew Doughty, left, during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ William Nylander, left, takes a shot in front of the Kings’ Trevor Moore during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Kings’ Andreas Englund reacts to a check from the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Calle Jarnkrok during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Tyler Bertuzzi, center, skates after the puck between the Kings’ Alex Laferriere, right, and Vladislav Gavrikov during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Tyler Bertuzzi plays the puck in the air in front of the Kings’ Phillip Danault, left, during the first period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Kings center Jaret Anderson-Dolan, right, goes after the puck along with Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Mark Giordano during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ William Nylander celebrates with the bench after he scored to give his team a 1-0 lead over the Kings during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Kings’ Trevor Moore, left, skates after the puck with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Bobby McMann during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Toronto Maple Leafs center Calle Jarnkrok, right, scores past Kings goaltender Cam Talbot during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Calle Jarnkrok, left, celebrates with Timothy Liljegren after scoring a goal to give his team a 2-0 lead during the second period of their game against the Kings on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Kings’ Trevor Moore plays the puck off the boards in front of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Timothy Liljegren, left, during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Kings’ Adrian Kempe, right, reacts as he skates in front of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Jake McCabe during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Martin Jones makes a save on a shot by the Kings’ Anze Kopitar, left, during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander, right, passes the puck after falling while under pressure from Kings defenseman Matt Roy during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Kings left wing Trevor Moore, left, moves the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs center Bobby McMann reaches in during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Kings right wing Alex Laferriere moves the puck as he drags along a stick that Toronto Maple Leafs right wing William Nylander lost during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
The Kings’ Alex Laferriere, top, shoots the puck in front of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Jake McCabe during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Toronto Maple Leafs’ Jake McCabe, right, plays the puck away from the Kings’ Alex Laferriere during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The Kings’ Carl Grundstrom, center, attempts a deflection between Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Martin Jones, right, and Toronto’s Mark Giordano during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Kings center Anze Kopitar skates during the second period of their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Martin Jones, right, makes a save in front of the Kings’ Carl Grundstrom during the second period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly, center, shoots the puck as Kings center Jaret Anderson-Dolan, left, defends and goaltender Cam Talbot sits in goal during the third period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Kings defenseman Andreas Englund, left, and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Simon Benoit fight during the third period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Kings center Blake Lizotte, right, passes the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs center David Kampf reaches in during the third period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Toronto Maple Leafs center Bobby McMann, left, battles for the puck with Kings right wing Carl Grundstrom during the third period on Tuesday night at Crypto.com Arena. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
LOS ANGELES — Kings coach Todd McLellan has resisted the temptation – and the suggestion – to tinker with his forward lines significantly this season.
But even he could wait no longer than the middle of Tuesday night’s 3-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs at Crypto.com Arena to make wholesale reconfigurations, and to little avail.
“I thought we played better after that, but it was too late,” McLellan said.
Cam Talbot continued to pull his weight, denying 26 of 28 Toronto shots, but the Kings were shut out for the first time this season and have lost three straight games for just the second time this season. Both slumps were part of their past 11 games, of which they’ve won just four. That timing has been inopportune since second-place Vegas has lost five of its past six, with its lone win in that span coming against the Kings.
William Nylander opened the scoring and capped it with an empty-net goal. In between, Calle Järnkrok also scored. Tyler Bertuzzi had two assists. Goalie Martin Jones made 31 saves and earned his 23rd career win against his one-time club, nine more than he has against any other franchise. It was his second shutout of the season for Toronto, the fourth organization with which he has faced his former cohorts, whom he said taught him a lot about “how to carry (himself) and how to be a pro.”
At times on Tuesday, the Kings could have used a refresher course.
“One team was fast and one team was slow, for sure in the first half of the game. … Our passing was very erratic, in (skates) and behind people,” said McLellan, who critiqued his team’s alertness and pointed out that they allowed two goals off blown faceoff coverage “again.”
“Toronto caused a lot of our problems, but L.A. contributed to them as well,” he added.
In the final 20 minutes, the Kings got a jolt from Andreas Englund’s fight against Simon Benoit, but they couldn’t seize on that or any other momentum. They ultimately built a shot advantage and reclaimed some territory, but never recovered from a vast disadvantage in the quality of chances through the first 40.
Nylander sealed their fate with an empty-net goal in the final minute, giving him two goals in the game and 50 points for the campaign to move him into a tie for fifth in the NHL.
With 13:59 to play, the Kings appeared to halve their lead thanks to the persistence of Quinton Byfield, but his swiping goal was nullified because the officials determined that the stick of a Kings player had pushed the pad of Jones and the puck into the net, constituting goaltender interference.
“The puck was covered and it was jammed in. They really don’t explain that to us, we get to decide whether or not we want to challenge it,” McLellan said.
The second period saw the Leafs find their game and the Kings lose their way, finishing with a 2-0 count in favor of the visitors and with the hosts’ lines pureed, chopped, mixed and blended.
In the most drastic shuffling of his forward lines this season, McLellan made sweeping changes, even breaking up his top line to drop Adrian Kempe onto Pierre-Luc Dubois’ flank. Each of the first three lines had at least one new member after the Leafs scored twice in a tick over three minutes.
“We had nothing going. Throughout the lineup, we had nothing going,” McLellan said. “So, it was blender time, and it was probably the first time this year that we’ve really done that, to that extent.”
At the 8:14 mark, the Leafs stretched their advantage, instants after the Kings technically killed their second penalty. As with their first goal allowed, a defensive-zone draw win gave way to a failed breakout and a giveaway. As a vigorous puck battle unfolded at the right-wing wall, the Kings lost coverage completely in the slot, where Järnkrok awaited the puck between the circles before finishing with a backhand goal.
On Toronto’s first goal, the Kings won a defensive-zone faceoff but heavy forecheck pressure on Kevin Fiala and Vladislav Gavrikov made their breakout effort labored and ultimately forced a turnover. Bertuzzi and John Tavares went to work low, setting up Nylander’s driving finish from just above the blue paint.
“It was the same thing, it was a little disconnected with the passing and completion of plays,” said Mikey Anderson, urging heightened awareness. “Those are mistakes. If we win a faceoff, we’ve got to be able to get it out or at least not let it go in.”
The first period was sluggish for the Kings, who were being out-attempted by roughly double when they drew the game’s first penalty. They frittered away more than a minute of their power play just trying to get set up and failed to hit the net once they did.
“Today we didn’t get down in the first but still, we had momentum coming at us a little bit,” Anderson said. “Obviously, we’ve got to find a way to put a few in and score a couple goals.”
Arthur Kaliyev was a healthy scratch for the Kings. The Russian forward is in a 10-game goal drought.
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