High above Staples Center, I've returned to watch the Kings take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in a rare appearance in L.A. The Kings are sporting the new alternate jerseys, and the first song they play as skaters hop on the ice? That's right, Back In Black by AC/DC.

The starting lineup has Patrick O'Sullivan partnering with Oscar Moller and Derek Armstrong. Armstrong had a great showing last game against the Blackhawks, winning 72 percent of his faceoffs. O'Sullivan has points in two games straight and six points in his last five games.

Alexander Frolov cherry-picks a Matt Greene pass and skates in, backhanding one past Vesa Toskala. That's the second game that the Kings score early, and Frolov seems to be settling into his role as a scorer on this club, potting his ninth goal of the season.

Kyle Quincy gets the gate for tripping, as the Leafs get the man-advantage. O'Sullivan skates in deep, and almost connects to a trailing Frolov, but the puck is knocked away. The penalty is killed, as the Kings allowed only one shot on that PP.

Here's something I never thought I would ever say: I sort of prefer not having O'Sullivan on the top line. I'm not sure if that's heresy, but he makes any line better, and paired with Moller and Armstrong....  it gives the Kings three genuine scoring lines.

O.K., allow me to vent... I have no problem with Ice Girls. Having girls scoop up ice rather that guys... I really don't care. But I do have a problem with the music Staples plays when they skate out to do their one job. Girls by Beastie Boys. Seriously? They found a kick-ass song by The Briggs this season as their official song. Can't they come up with something more... current? That song first came out when I was slam-dancing in junior high. How about

LaBarbera has a nice save on a Toronto drive, which was the Leafs first real threat. Coach Murray has said that he's going to be splitting time between LaBarbera and Ersberg the next 20 games.

Armstrong gets two minutes for hooking, and the ninth-ranked PP matches up against the seventh-ranked penalty kill. There's a pile-up in front of LaBarbera, who holds on to keep the Leafs scoreless. The Kings turns the Leafs away again, and the Kings call a timeout with 2:30 left in the first, probably to calm things down and re-focus the squad.

The Kings played with a lot of intensity, even though they had two penalties in the first. That trend has to stop. Armstrong continues to be effective in the faceoff circle, winning 4-out-of-5 in the dot, as has Handzus. In addition to his assist, Greene has 2 blocked shots.

First period: Kings 1, Maple Leafs 0

The Kings get a power play when Pavel Kubina gets yanked for tripping. And the Kings go against the 29th-ranked PK in the league. They get several chances, but the Leafs kill it off.

Luke Schenn clocks Raitis Ivanans, but it's Ivanans who gets the penalty, giving the Leafs another chance with the man-advantage. Then Lee Stempniak's stick smacks Wayne Simmonds face with 15 seconds left in Ivanans penalty, giving the Kings a power play for close to 2 minutes. But the Kings' hybrid PP unit can't set up and the teams are back to skating full strength.

Toronto's Jeff Finger lays out Moller, and Armstrong comes in and takes exception, as the two tussle. That's a good trade-off. O'Sullivan tees it up for Frolov, who unloads 15 feet from the net, but he shoots it right. He had Toskala beat, and everyone knows it, as Staples erupts in frustration.

Andre Deveaux tries to bait Kopitar into a fight, but Kopi just slides away. Next drop of the puck, it's Ivanans who tries to do a little baiting of his own, which Deveaux politely says no way. Then Simmonds and Kubina find their way to the box again, this time for unsportsmanlike conduct, and we're skating 4-on-4. Hold that... Tomas Kaberle gets whistled for hooking, giving L.A. a 4-on-3 chance.Drew Doughty is out there, and registers several shots, as does Stoll. Brown sets up in front to create havoc. The Kings get numerous chances, but are turned away.

Second period: Kings 1, Maple Leafs 0

Sean O'Donnell gets called for tripping, putting the Kings down a man early in the third. Then, Dustin Brown goes to the penalty box with 13 seconds left, giving the Leafs a brief two-man advantage. With only three Kings on the ice, the Leafs are able to put it past LaBarbera, as Matt Stajan scores his seventh of the season. More importantly, that was the 18,000th goal in the Maple Leafs' history.

Then a minute and a half later, the Leafs score their 18,001st goal in franchise history, as John Mitchell intercepts a clearing pass and sends it to Mikhail Grabovski, who scores to put the Leafs up for the first time in the game. Toronto has caught the Kings in shots, who still haven't had a shot on goal in the third. The Maple Leafs are really forechecking well, not allowing the Kings to get any momentum.

The Kings decide to start playing some defense after Grabovski's goal, as they start locking the Leafs down. Brown gets a stick in the face, then gets hammered by Finger (he got fingered?). Putting the Kings on the PP. The Frolov, Handzus, Moller, Stoll doesn't look as fluid as the Brown, Kopitar, O'Sullivan, Name your Forward line with that hybrid PP lineup.

Brown is getting a lot of attention every time he's on the ice, but the refs have swallowed their whistles.But the Kings are really turning on the pressure, and there's still 6 minutes left in this game.

The Kings pull LaBarbera for the extra man. But to no avail. The Leafs score to make it 3-1 with 9 seconds left. And wouldn't you know, it was Finger who scored.

Barring from the beginning of the third period, where the Kings had a brain-fart, the team played well. It was truly exciting to watch the Kings continue to pressure, way different that last season. If a team scored two goals in quick succession last season, the Kings would've folded up their tents and gone home. Not this team. This team is full of ire and grit and determination, and have continued to surprise many teams. Even though the score read 3-1, that was not indicitive of how the game went down. The Kings lived up to their motto this season by showing more PRIDE (38-28 faceoffs won), PASSION (33-30 shots) and POWER (31-26 hits) than the Leafs. Just two lapses of judgment cost L.A. the chance to go up 2 games over .500

Final score: Maple Leafs 3, Kings 1