Key play: Defenseman Jake Muzzin whistled a shot through traffic and past Toronto goaltender James Reimer less than three minutes into the third period and the Kings went on to take a 2-1 victory from the Maple Leafs on Thursday at Staples Center.

Pivotal performer: Center Vincent Lecavalier made his Kings debut a memorable one with an assist on Muzzin’s goal. Lecavalier and defenseman Luke Schenn were acquired Wednesday from the Philadelphia Flyers and arrived Thursday morning in Los Angeles. Lecavalier played 9:26 in his first game with the Kings.

Quote, unquote: “It feels great,” Lecavalier said after his debut. “Honestly, it was just a good team effort tonight. The way they play, it’s just impressive. So, it was nice to be a part of today. Everybody worked really hard and it paid off. … Great bunch of guys. You can tell already. … Everything was on adrenaline tonight.”

Quote, unquote (part 2): “I just tried to soak a little bit in before the game and just tried to shake hands and get to know a few of the teammates,” Schenn said. “I’m not too familiar with a lot of the guys. It was kind of nice and you don’t over-think things. You just go out there and play.”

Welcome back: Kings center Jeff Carter returned to the lineup after sitting out for five games because of an upper-body injury and scored a third-period goal that made it 2-0. Carter was hurt on the opening faceoff of the Kings’ 4-3 overtime victory Dec. 26 over the Arizona Coyotes.

Game misconduct: Maple Leafs defenseman Roman Polak drew a five-minute boarding major and was ejected from the game after driving Kings winger Tyler Toffoli head-first into the boards at 19:26 of the first period. Toffoli was shaken up on the play, but returned to the game.