Babcock: Leafs' grind-it-out win vs. Kings 'good for us'

Mike Babcock might not have been too impressed with his Toronto Maple Leafs after they squeezed out two points against the lowly Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, but he saw the game as a stepping stone.

"We need to go through that," the head coach said postgame, according to Yahoo Sports' Justin Cuthbert. "We need to figure out who we are, and the harder the game is for us the better it is.

"Would you like to win by a touchdown and everyone relaxes and all that? Yeah, but we're not getting anywhere like that. This is important to do."

The Leafs mustered just 23 shots on goal and were tied with the Kings late until Auston Matthews and William Nylander scored back-to-back markers midway through the third period to seal the victory.

"You give up one goal, you play well without the puck, goalie makes some saves, we didn't win it on special teams, we had to grind. It was good for us," Babcock added.

The Leafs will face a stiffer test at home on Thursday when they take on the Vegas Golden Knights.