In Denver, Nathan MacKinnon scored a power play goal early in the third period to get the Avalanche within 3-2 of the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
The Kings replied to that pressure with a pair of goals from Phillip Danault for a 5-2 win.
Danault’s second was into an empty net with less than three minutes left on the game clock.
Joonas Korpisalo made 28 saves in his second win with LA.
“I thought we were resilient,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Everybody found a way to contribute. We played with a high level of pace, which you have to against this team. Got outstanding goaltending when we needed it and some timely scoring. So, as we leave here, we’re happy with the group as a whole; not just two or three players, but the whole group.”
The Kings improved to 38-20-8 off their fifth straight win.
Adrian Kempe and Gabriel Vilardi scored in the first period to give the Kings a 2-0 lead.
“He’s been hot for the majority of the season,” Kopitar said. “He’s [hit] a couple bumps in the road, but always a safe bet to give him the puck.”
Evan Rodrigues scored off a tip-in in the middle frame to get the Avs within one at 2-1.
It was the fourth loss in five games for Colorado who dropped to 35-22-6.
“I think that we have another level yet against these good teams that we have to get to,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “With the passion of our game, the intensity of our game, the competitiveness in those important areas, net front, we weren’t good enough. We played pretty smart. The scoring chances against weren’t real high. I just didn’t like a couple of the ones we gave up. They just seemed too easy.”
Kempe scored his second of the match with 24 seconds of fresh ice used in the third period to restore the two-goal lead for LA at 3-1.
“That’s huge because you’re back on your heels a little bit. They’ve got some energy, a clean sheet, their building, their fans behind them,” McLellan said of the fast goal. “So, to quiet things down a little bit was a benefit to us quickly in that third.”
The Kings are tied with the Vegas Golden Knights atop in the Pacific Division,.
“It’s huge, obviously. (The) other team scores, so obviously it’s a big momentum change,” Kempe said. “When we can get a goal back right away, it’s huge. ‘Phil’ got a big one there for the team that we’re all pumped [about] on the bench. That was huge, and it shows that all four lines can play against anyone.”
Alexandar Georgiev made 26 saves in the Avs loss.
“Just feel like every mistake we made, they scored on. I thought we actually created a fair amount of chances,” MacKinnon said. “It’s not fun, for sure. You get one and then, I don’t know how long after that, they made it 4-2. So it’s kind of out of reach [at] 4-2 halfway through the third.”
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