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 Center Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal at 10:35 of the
third, and the Avalanche rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Kings on
Wednesday night at Staples Center.
Avalanche left winger Gabriel Landeskog scored his second goal of
the game on a power play at 7:38 of the third to knot the score at 3
before MacKinnon delivered the game-winner almost three minutes
later.
"It takes some special effort to beat them here, and we had that
tonight," said Avalanche center Matt Duchene, who also scored a goal
in the win.
Kings left winger Dwight King, who had a goal and an assist, gave
Los Angeles a 3-2 lead late in the second period, but Colorado came
back.
"There have been some times getting on the score sheet lately for me
personally, and it feels good to contribute," said Landeskog, who
has 13 goals this season.
Goaltender Calvin Pickard stopped 35 of 38 shots for the Avalanche,
who won for the fifth time in six games and took two of three in the
season series with the Kings.
Los Angeles had a six-on-four advantage in the final 30 seconds of
the contest after a hooking penalty was called on left winger Cody
McLeod and the Kings pulled their goalie, but Pickard and the
Avalanche held on.
Goaltender Jonathan Quick saved 15 of 19 shots for the Kings, who
have dropped three of four.
"We didn't play a full 60 minutes. If you want to win in this
league, you have to play a full 60," Kings defenseman Alec Martinez
said. "We had a good start, but we didn't maintain it."
Los Angeles lost despite outshooting Colorado 38-19.
"It was a good effort," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "They scored
one more goal. We outshot them ... and should've won."
Duchene said the Avalanche made adjustments after the opening
period, in which the Kings scored twice and outshot them 18-5.
"The thing that was missing in the first period was we were terrible
in their end and terrible on forechecking," Duchene said. "We
couldn't sustain anything, and they were just coming at us like
wildfire in the first period."
Defenseman Drew Doughty put the Kings on the board with his 10th
goal of the season and the first short-handed goal of his career.
Doughty gathered a pass near the blue line from forward Anze Kopitar
and rushed past Avalanche defenders before dropping a backhanded
winner at 9:31 of the first period.
Doughty is the first Kings defenseman to produce a short-handed goal
since Willie Mitchell scored one Oct. 28, 2010, against the Dallas
Stars.
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Los Angeles center Trevor Lewis made it 2-0, getting a stick on a
pass from center Vinny Lecavalier just outside the crease with 1:20
remaining in the first period. It was Lewis' fifth goal of the
season.
Colorado took advantage of a turnover by Los Angeles defenseman
Brayden McNabb to slice the lead in half to open the second period.
Duchene squeezed a shot past Quick 42 seconds into the period for
his 23rd goal this season.
The Avalanche (27-22-3) tied the score as Landeskog cashed in a
rebound off a miss by left winger Blake Comeau at 7:10 of the second
period.
King gave the Kings the lead again with his fourth goal this season,
scoring on a pass from center Jordan Nolan for a 3-2 advantage at
15:13 of the second.
However, the Kings (30-16-3) will be forced to try to rid themselves
of the sour ending during the All-Star break.
"No matter what time of year, when you have two leads in a game, you
should be able to close it out," King said. "We let it slip tonight
and that's something we can think about over the next four days."
NOTES: Colorado LW Cody McLeod leads the team with 96 penalty
minutes, four shy of becoming the first player in
Avalanche/Nordiques history to record 100 penalty minutes in eight
difference seasons. Steven Finn, Dale Hunter and Randy Moller also
hit the century mark in seven seasons. ... Los Angeles F Anze
Kopitar ranked second in the NHL in scoring with 34 points (eight
goals, 26 assists) and was tied for first in assists from Nov. 20
through Tuesday. ... The Avalanche scratched D Nate Guenin, D Zach
Redmond and LW Alex Tanguay. D Jamie McBain and C Andy Andreoff were
unavailable for Los Angeles. ... With the All-Star break starting,
both clubs are off until Tuesday. The Avalanche will host the
Chicago Blackhawks, while the Kings visit the Arizona Coyotes.
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