James Reimer leads Leafs to win over Kings

Since being walloped 9-2 by visiting Nashville almost a month ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been flying high.

A 4-3 shootout win Sunday over the Los Angeles Kings improved Toronto's record to 9-1-1 since the Predators' debacle. The Leafs (18-9-3) have won five straight, lead the league in scoring with 3.37 goals a game and are 13-0-0 when they score first.

Still head coach Randy Carlyle isn't popping the champagne, despite back-to-back wins over Detroit and the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings. He believes the streaking Leafs have more in them.

"We think this group's got more to give," he said. "We think we still have some areas we definitely need to clean up and work on. And we're going to continue to be a work in progress, I think as every team is."

The road will also get tougher. Toronto has played 20 games at home so far and, after one more Air Canada Centre date Tuesday with Anaheim, faces eight of nine games away from home.

"We have to skate, we can't turn that puck over and we have to establish that forechecking game," Carlyle said, detailing his recipe for success. "That's when we're most effective."

Carlyle has seen his team ride peaks and valleys. He knows things can go south quickly.

"There's always danger. Pro sports is about danger, you're always living on the edge ... If you look at the schedule we have and the opponents we have coming, it can have a snowball effect. We'd like to keep this snowball rolling in our direction and not allow it to go in any other direction."

After going up 2-0 in the first period on goals by Mike Santorelli and Cody Franson, Toronto wobbled late in the second period as Justin Williams and Dwight King scored three minutes 44 seconds apart.

The Kings pulled ahead 1:02 into the third when Marian Gaborik, taking a slick pass from Williams, beat James Reimer on the second try after the goalie stopped the first shot. The Leafs answered on the power play with James van Riemsdyk redirecting a Franson pass past Jonathan Quick at 6:49 for his 13th goal, making it 3-3.

Reimer had the last laugh in the shootout, stopping Gaborik, Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar. He is now 9-9 in shootouts, having stopped 41 of 60 attempts

Joffrey Lupul scored the lone goal for Toronto in the shootout, beating Quick. Tyler Bozak and Santorelli missed.

"They're a good team," said Kings defenceman Drew Doughty. "I think maybe we could have deserved a little bit better if we had got off to a better start. But we didn't and that's why we lost."

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