Los Angeles 3, Colorado 2
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, December 31, 2018
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Referees:
Reid Anderson, Tim Peel
Linesmen:
Shandor Alphonso, Pierre Racicot
Attendance:
18017
By Field Level Media
Dustin Brown had scored on a breakaway 54 seconds into overtime as the Los Angeles Kings defeated the host Colorado Avalanche 3-2 Monday night in Denver.
Defensemen Sean Walker and Drew Doughty also scored for the Kings, who won for the fifth time their past six games. Goaltender Jonathan Quick made 22 saves.
Nathan MacKinnon and Carl Soderberg scored in the third period for the Avalanche and goalie Semyon Varlamov stopped 15 shots.
Soderberg's goal at 18:10 of the third period, assisted by Tyson Barrie and Gabriel Landeskog, forced overtime.
Brown's winner came after Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin skated the puck around the back of his own net then made a long lead pass to Brown, who was behind the defense at the Colorado blue line. He skated in on Varlamov, deked once and put a forehand over the goalie's right leg pad to add a goal to his assist earlier in the game.
The Avalanche have lost five straight games and their once high-powered offense has stumbled. Colorado has scored two goals or fewer in six of its past seven games, the lone exception when it scored four times in a 6-4 loss at Arizona nine days ago.
After a scoreless first period, Doughty tallied a power-play goal 22 seconds into the second. Doughty skated the puck from the right point toward the top of the faceoff circle and unleashed a shot that somehow found its way through a maze of players in front of Varlamov. Tyler Toffoli and Anze Kopitar were credited with assists.
Walker, a rookie defenseman playing in his 13th NHL game, made it 2-0 at 12:58 of the second with his first career goal. He joined the rush on the right wing, skated the puck behind the net and beat Varlamov with a wraparound. Kopitar and Brown got assists.
The Avalanche finally got on the board when MacKinnon scored 32 seconds into third to make it 2-1. Mikko Rantanen picked up the puck in the neutral zone to start a two-on-one break with MacKinnon, skated down the left wing and made a pass just before MacKinnon reached the top of the crease. MacKinnon deflected the puck over Quick for his 24th goal of the season.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Los Angeles |
|
Colorado |
|
Dustin Brown 2 |
Points |
Nathan MacKinnon 1 |
|
Dustin Brown 1 |
Goals |
Nathan MacKinnon 1 |
|
Dustin Brown 1 |
Assists |
Tyson Barrie 1 |
|
Drew Doughty 1 |
Power Play Goals |
N/A |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Jonathan Quick .917 |
Save Percentage |
Semyon Varlamov .833 |
|
Jonathan Quick 22 |
Saves |
Semyon Varlamov 15 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| Los Angeles
|
18 |
3 |
1-3 |
4-4 |
8 |
28 |
| Colorado
|
24 |
2 |
0-4 |
2-3 |
6 |
31 |
Upcoming Games
-
Colorado will play their next game at home against San Jose. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .450 after a loss.
-
Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against Vegas. The Kings have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .440 after a loss.
For more information, contact us