In Los Angeles, the Kings put their defense to work and limited the Colorado Avalanche to 10 shots for the game and Alec Martinez scored the game-winner n the second period to lift the Kings to a 3-1 win.
“[It was] very important because you want to try push them out of a game beforehand, and for us, doing a solid job in every area and not giving them a lot of offensive opportunity or opportunity on the power play [was key],” defenseman Robyn Regehr said. “We were able to control the game for long stretches, which was also important,
Jonathan Quick had a slow night with 9 saves in win over Avs, file photo by Jack Lima
because I think that kind of disheartens the players and the opposition.”
With the Winnipeg Jets winning earlier in the day, the Avs had already been eliminated from the race.
“There were games we lost we couldn’t afford losing and that’s what I mean by shooting ourselves in the foot, so [this] definitely stings and it’s a feeling you just don’t like as a hockey player,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “We play for one reason, and that’s to win. And when you realize you don’t have a chance to go to the dance anymore, it’s certainly tough.”
With the win, the Kings moved back into the second wild card spot, one point ahead of the Jets.
“We know what’s at hand and a lot of us have been through this, this or a similar situation before, so you can tap into that experience, having gone through it,” Martinez said. “But I think that every season kind of has its own story and it’s a little unique. Obviously this is really, really down to crunch time, but I’m confident in the group here. We all know we can do it.”
Jonathan Quick made nine saves for the win.
Ryan O’Reilly scored the lone goal for the Avs.
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