In Denver, Dustin Brown scored with just 54 seconds gone in the extra period Monday, to give the Los Angeles Kings a 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
“The puck got kicked into our zone and they were trying to get a change,” Brown said. “I was coming out of the blue line door, so that’s 30 or 40 feet for them to change and I got in behind them.”
Drew Doughty scored off a shot from the right point in the second period to give the Kings a 1-0 lead.
“It was a huge game for us, a big win, a great game by everyone, really,” Doughty said. “We worked, we stayed positive on the bench, we said, ‘Hey, let’s just go win this one in OT.'”
Jonathan Quick made 22 saves and was busy in the third period as the Avs rallied to get the game tied.
Carl Soderberg forced the extra session when he scored on a deflection off his leg with less than two minutes left in regulation.
Nathan MacKinnon got the rally started when he broke through in the third.
“We fought back and clawed our way back so hard, it’s tough to swallow,” Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson said. “It was looking like we weren’t going to come up with anything. We need these two points. We’ll take the single one right now, but it certainly stinks not to get the extra one. I think it’s time to wake up and take care of some of these wins.”
The Avs dropped to 19-13-8.
Sean Walker scored his first career NHL goal after having his first strike waved off earlier in the game.
“You want to get your first one out of the way,” Walker said. “I got the puck on the first goal and when they disallowed it, I threw that puck into the crowd. I have the one that counted.”
Colorado is 2-6-3 in their last 11 games and have won only once in nine games that have gone beyond regulation.
“That can be the difference between getting into the [Stanley Cup Playoffs] and not getting into the playoffs,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “They’re big points. I give our team all the credit in the world for fighting back again tonight. It’s not easy for us. It hasn’t been an easy stretch for us to stay with it and come back from 0-2. It starts to show you a little bit about what we can do, but we have to find a way to close out the games.”
[WATCH: All Kings vs. Avalanche highlights]
Semyon Varlamov made 15 saves in the loss.
“It’s not to me a structural issue (in overtime), it’s the commitment to check. You can’t hide 3-on-3. You can’t let guys get in behind you 3-on-3 or they’re going to score, that’s it. There’s nowhere to hide,” Bednar said of the Avs’ futility in overtime. “You make a mistake or you let somebody go in behind you, the chances are they’re going to score. You can’t poach passes, you can’t hope for offense. If you want offense, go steal the puck from someone, outwork him and then go to work in the other end. It’s that simple to me.”
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