It wasn’t an outdoor game, but the Colorado Avalanche exacted some measure of revenge against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday with a 2-1 win on the road after penalties.
The Avs played a tough game as a MASH unit.
Joonas Donskoi scored the deciding goal in the skills for the Avalanche – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
“Just with all the guys we have out of the lineup, we have to check hard,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I just don’t see us putting up a lot of goals with a bunch of the key guys missing. But you just got to stick with it. Stick with it, be a resilient team, and that’s something we’re going to need here down the stretch.”
Austin Wagner scored the Kings only goal in regulation in the first period, for a 1-0 lead.
“It was a tough game to play,” LA head coach Todd McLellan said. “They really did a good job of checking, they got their sticks in lanes, deflected a lot of our shots, blocked a lot of our shots. Ended up being a bit of a frustrating night for us offensively.”
Ryan Graves scored for the Avs in regulation, in the second, to tie the game.
“Just not enough offensive chances or time sustained in their end,” McLellan said. “It wasn’t because we didn’t have the puck, we just didn’t do good, smart things with it offensively tonight.”
Joonas Donskoi had the only strike in the penalties phase of the game.
“It’s the result of the team game,” Francouz said. “We’re really playing well now, and I’m just trying to help the guys, but we just didn’t allow much chances these last couple games.”
[WATCH: All Avalanche vs. Kings highlights]
Jonathan Quick made 30 saves in the loss.
LA was assessed five minors in the game, including an abuse of officials against McLellan.
“It started with the goaltender. [Quick] was outstanding in that situation,” McLellan said. “Give him a ton of credit. We kept it fairly tight in the areas that we needed to and got the saves. Fortunate enough to get some clears when we were tired because we were tired a few times, so that unit did a good job. Probably on the ice a little too much. Obviously, I played a role in that, so I have to take some responsibility there.”
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