Byfield finished off Artemi Panarin’s cross-slot pass on a 3-on-2 break after William Nylander whiffed on his breakaway shot at the other end.

Adrian Kempe had two goals and two assists and has six goals on a four-game goal streak for the Kings (31-26-19), who are 3-1-1 in their past five games and set an NHL record with their 31st overtime game of the season. Panarin had a goal and two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 14 saves.

Los Angeles is two points ahead of the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Predators and Sharks play in San Jose on Saturday night.

Matthew Knies had two goals and an assist, John Tavares had a goal and two assists, and Joseph Woll made 33 saves for the Maple Leafs.

Kempe’s second goal tied it 4-4 at 5:46 of the third period. He scored on a wrist shot from the high slot through traffic.

Samuel Helenius gave the Kings their first lead at 6:14, going ahead 5-4 on a wrist shot from above the left circle.

Alex Laferriere made it 6-4 at 7:22 on a wrist shot from the left circle.

Nicholas Robertson cut it to 6-5 at 9:37 on a one-timer in the slot, and Knies tied it up 6-6 at 13:29 on a wrist shot from the right circle.

Knies put the Maple Leafs up 1-0 at 4:19 of the first period. Max Domi poke-checked the puck away from Joel Edmundson in the neutral zone and came in on the rush before making a drop pass to Knies, who scored his 22nd goal on a wrist shot from the high slot.

Steven Lorentz made it 2-0 at 13:42, forcing a turnover by Anze Kopitar at the Kings’ blue line and scoring short-handed with a wrist shot from the slot.

The Kings cut it to 2-1 1:11 into the second period when Byfield tipped in Jared Wright’s pass on a 2-on-1 rush created by overloading the right side on an effective zone entry.

Kempe tied it 2-2 at 3:55 finishing a 3-on-1 break started by Mikey Anderson as he came out of the penalty box.

Toronto looked to have reclaimed the lead at 4:37 when Morgan Rielly’s centering pass went in off Edmundson’s left foot, but Los Angeles successfully challenged for an offside in the buildup.

Robertson scored at 5:34, but the Maple Leafs had too many men on the ice, resulting in a penalty.

Tavares did put the Maple Leafs back up 3-2 at 9:18 on the power play when he was at the right post to put in Nylander’s rebound after hitting the crossbar.

Panarin tipped in Brandt Clarke’s pass at 14:53 to tie it 3-3.

Easton Cowan put Toronto in front 4-3 at 19:47 by sweeping in Tavares’ pass at the top of crease on the power play.