Kings can't do much against the Avalanche
Playing with a makeshift defense against the team with the NHL's best record, the Kings avoided outright embarrassment but couldn't take any points or even a goal from the Colorado Avalanche, which left Crypto.com Arena with a 3-0 victory on Tuesday night.
Jonathan Quick made 24 saves in a losing effort. The Kings were shut out for the sixth time this season.
Colorado winger Valeri Nichushkin scored one goal and assisted on another by forward J.T. Compher. Right winger Mikko Rantanen set up Nichushkin's tally and added one of his own. Darcy Kuemper turned away 22 shots in his fifth shutout of the season.
The Kings are not down to their last defenseman but are past him; Tobias Bjornfot missed Tuesday's game after sustaining an injury in overtime on Sunday. He joined five other Kings defensemen in the press box, meaning the Kings dressed more rearguards from their minor-league affiliate, the Ontario Reign's openingnight roster (4), than their own (0) Tuesday night.
The Avalanche had some new faces as well, including one on the blue line. In less than 24 hours, they acquired Ducks defenseman Josh Manson, who made his Avalanche debut Tuesday, and Minnesota Wild forward Nico Sturm, who was still in transition.
Regardless of roster composition or lineups, the Avs have owned the
The Kings' Arthur Kaliyev, left, moves the puck against the Avalanche's Nico Sturm during the second period of Tuesday's 3-0Colorado victory.
THE SCORE AVALANCHE 3, KINGS 0
Up next: Sharks at Kings, Thursday, 7 p.m., ESPN+
Kings of late. They have won both meetings this season by a combined 6-1 score, and they won seven of eight matchups last year, including an 11-1 aggregate drubbing in the final two games of the season.
The Kings nearly averted a shutout when they appeared to score with 12:50 to play off a shot by defenseman Christian Wolanin. But the play was reviewed and the goal was nullified due to an offside zone entry.
Colorado put the game away in the third period when winger Andre Burakovsky fed Rantanen for a onetimer that became his 29th goal of the campaign.
The waning moments of the second period were unkind to the Kings. First, center Anze Kopitar's shorthanded partial breakaway was thwarted by the swift skating of Colorado defenseman Cale Makar, who helped induce Kopitar into sending
the puck wide of the net.
Colorado went the other way with a power play that concluded when Makar's long shot through traffic was deflected past Quick by Compher. An uncharacteristically frustrated Kopitar was spotted throwing a water bottle from the bench and down the tunnel after the goal.
With around six minutes remaining in the second period, Quick turned in a bit of vintage “Quickie” as he battled and contorted his body into more positions than a yoga instructor during a goal-mouth scramble. He made a pair of stops on Rantanen, with Jordan Spence blocking another shot attempt during the sequence.
Colorado nearly opened the scoring four minutes into the game when defenseman Ryan Murray rang the post with a shot. At the 6:36 mark, they did get on the board with a powerplay goal. Center Nathan MacKinnon moved the puck from high to low, finding Rantanen behind the net. He surveyed the ice and set up Nichushkin's tap-in for his career-best 15th goal of the year.