LOS ANGELES -- A few of the Los Angeles Kings know what it's like to blow a big lead inside Staples Center.

They didn't let that happen again after building a five-goal advantage against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, instead holding on for a 5-3 victory that continued the best start in franchise history.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick was one of the current Kings on the ice for Game 3 of a first-round playoff series against the San Jose Sharks on April 19, 2011, when Los Angeles gave up a 4-0 lead before losing in overtime. The defeat prevented the Kings from taking a 2-1 lead in a series they eventually lost in six games.

Quick sealed the win Thursday with a save on the second penalty shot of the game by Auston Matthews with 1:20 remaining, keeping the score at 5-3.

"I noticed on the first (penalty shot) he kind of steps back in his net, so I tried to catch him by surprise," Matthews said.

Tyler Toffoli scored two goals for the Kings, both late in the second period to give the Kings a 5-0 advantage, but the Maple Leafs came back with two goals in the final 2:10 of the period, the second on a the first penalty shot by Matthews.

Toronto (8-6-0) made it 5-3 with 12 minutes remaining on a power-play goal by Connor Brown, but Matthews couldn't draw the Maples Leafs any closer and they lost for the fifth time in the past seven games.

Tanner Pearson had three assists, Michael Cammalleri had a goal and an assist, and Michael Amadio scored his first NHL goal for Los Angeles (10-2-1). Quick made 33 saves.

"I think we could have played better overall tonight, but that was a great effort by everybody and Quickie was great in the back, so it was good for us," said Kings forward Adrian Kempe, who had an assist to give him 10 points (six goals, four assists) in the past eight games.

The Kings had their highest-scoring first period of the season when they took a 3-0 lead against Toronto backup goalie Curtis McElhinney, who was making his second start of the season. Kings coach John Stevens liked the way his players kept pressure on McElhinney, both with shots and traffic.

"We did that at times, and there were times where we played on our heels," he said.

Amadio provide Los Angeles a 1-0 lead at 2:34 of the first period after Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner fell backward while handling the puck in his own zone. Pearson took possession and passed to Amadio, who shot the puck through the pads of McElhinney (23 saves).

Kings forward Alex Iafallo just missed his first NHL goal on a breakaway about a minute later, but the Kings soon went ahead 2-0 on a power-play goal by Cammalleri at 4:58.

The Maples Leafs missed a good chance to cut into the deficit when Kings center Brooks Laich was penalized for slashing, then was called for interference as he left the penalty box because it was ruled he played the puck before he completely exited the penalty box.

The Kings killed both of those penalties and then tacked on a third goal with 36 seconds left in the period. Nick Shore sent a pass from the right circle to Trevor Lewis in the left circle, and Lewis snapped a one-timer high into the net.

The Maple Leafs, the highest-scoring first-period team in the NHL with 21 goals, were shut out in the opening period for the fourth time this season. The Maple Leafs were playing a night after a 3-1 win at the Anaheim Ducks.

"Shouldn't be any reason for that," Mathews said of the early deficit. "Just because it's a back-to-back, I think it should force us to play smarter."

NOTES: Kings C Nick Shore contributed an assist after sitting as a healthy scratch the previous three games. ... Los Angeles D Oscar Fantenberg re-entered the lineup for Christian Folin after missing the past two games with a back injury. ... Toronto G Curtis McElhinney made his ninth career start against the Kings, matching his most against any NHL opponent. ... Toronto C Auston Matthews had a goal and an assist to give him 10 goals and eight assists. He became the first NHL player age 20 or younger with at least 18 points in his team's first 14 games to start a season since Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning had 24 points in 2010-11.