YOUNG STARS RALLY
Colorado defeats L. A. Kings 4- 3
los angeles » When Colorado trailed 2- 0 after one period against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night at the Staples Center, it seemed as if the Avalanche was about to be routed for the second consecutive night in California.
Thiswas coming 24 hours after the Avalanche suffered a 6- 1 loss to the Sharks at San Jose, emphatically ending Colorado’s winning streak at four games.
But the Avalanche rallied, refusing to skate quietly into the allstar break.
Their young stars stepped up, with Gabe Landeskog scoring twice and Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon also scoring as Colorado came back to take the 4- 3 victory that was only their second in their past 11 games against the Kings.
The game- winner came when MacKinnon’s shot from the left circle finished off a nifty passing sequence for the Avalanche, breaking a 3- 3 tie at 10: 35 of the third.
With Semyon Varlamov back in Denver attending the trial of his former girlfriend’s civil suit against him, Pickard was in the Colorado net for a second straight night and finished with 35 saves.
Pickard also made a heads- up play on sequence that led to Landeskog’s goal that pulled the Avs into the 3- 3 tie at 7: 38 of the third. With Colorado on a 4- on- 3 power play, Pickard got the puck up ice to Duchene, and Tyson Barrie eventually fed an onrushing Landeskog on the doorstep.
Earlier, the Kings took the 2- 0 lead on goals from Drew Doughty and Trevor Lewis in the first.
Duchene’s 23rd of the season got the Avalanche on the scoreboard against Kings goalie Jonathan Quick 42 seconds into the second period, and then Landeskog tied it at 7: 10.
But with uncontested ease as the Avalanche looked confused and defenseman Andrew Bondrachuk failed to get back, the Kings’ Jordan Nolan chased down the puck behind the Colorado net and fed an onrushing Dwight King, who beat Pickard for his fourth goal of the season.
Yet the Avs had another comeback in them.
Avalanche coach Patrick Roy raised some eyebrows, deciding to make Alex Tanguay, his one former teammate on the Colorado roster, a healthy scratch against the Kings. Tanguay’s Jan. 20 goal against Buffalo was his first since October, and his previous absence from the lineup this season— for 11 games for the final three weeks of November— was because of a knee injury.
Thewin put the Avalanche at 57 points, one ahead of Nashville and two ahead of Minnesota in what is shaping up as a threeteam race among Central Division rivals for the two wild- card playoff spots in the Western Conference.
Duchene is scheduled to be the only Avalanche representative in the all- star festivities at Nashville, Tenn., where he will be on the Central Division squad in the four- team, 3- on- 3 tournament.
The Avalanche will reconvene for a Monday afternoon practice before opening a four- game homestand against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. The other foes in the homestand are Dallas, Winnipeg and Vancouver.