COLORDAO SPRINGS, Col – Kick the tires, and light the fires. The Colorado Avalanche and the Los Angeles Kings faced off in the 2020 NHL Stadium Series at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Some fans got to the stadium early so they could enjoy a little tailgating, a partly frozen, partly muddy parking lot would not deter them. There is just something different with hockey tailgates. I came across a group from Denver who were playing a traditional game of cornhole, but shooting the beanbags with their hockey sticks. They were even nice enough to let me take a couple of shots.
It didn’t take long to run into another friendly fan setting up to pregame. As he was sipping on his beer and talking about the nice weather, he mentioned that he had two nephews who graduated from the Air Force Academy and had seen plenty of events at the stadium. We both agreed that this event would be something special.
The evening’s events started with a flyover by the United States Air Force and their F-35 fighters. A loud roar came from the crowd almost drowning out the sound of the jets as they flew by.
The Air Force Academy marching band was next, sitting in a section on the south side of the stadium. My advise to any of the bleacher creatures out there, if you can sit next to the band or the student section, do so. You will never see a more animated group in the stadium.
One more loud cheer came from the crowd as the lights in the stadium were turned down and the Air Force Academy cadets were introduced onto the field, followed by both the Avalanche and Kings.
Coming into this contest, these two clubs couldn’t be more different. One, on an upward swing, making a push for the playoffs in a very tough division, and the other is the Kings.
Having a taste of success in the past decade, the Kings have come to a crossroads where the organization will need to decide which direction they need to go. With their top three forwards, Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and Jeff Carter, between the ages of 32 and 35, the Kings’ bench seems to lack the youth that other clubs seem to have to spare.
Looking to the draft does not look promising either, as the Kings only have a single pick in the first and second rounds of the 2020 and 2021 draft.
On the opposite side, the Colorado Avalanche. This organization has seen great production from their top three players, Gabriel Landeskog, age 27, Nathan MacKinnon, age 24, and Mikko Rantanen, age 23. On the defensive side, Colorado is lead by one of the best defensemen in the league in rookie Cale Makar, at age 21.
But, there is always a reason the game is played. No outcome is ever a certainty, and player production is hard to predict.
Six in the evening saw the puck drop, we there was a drastic difference in temperature from the first outdoor game four years ago in Denver. A frigid 31 degree start, compared to 2016’s 65 degree start.
There were a couple of penalties in the first. Jeff Carter was called for hooking about seven minutes into the game. Colorado would only see three seconds of the man advantage before captain Gabriel Landeskog was called for tripping. Neither side converted on their very abbreviated power plays.
Los Angeles finally got on the board about 14 minutes into the first. Tyler Toffoli scored his 16th goal of the season, assisted by Joakim Ryan and Anze Kopitar. The Kings would take the 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Colorado outshot Los Angeles 14-7 in the first but were not able to solve the puzzle that was Jonathan Quick.
In the second, play continued to appear to advantage the Avalanche, but Colorado could not take advantage for most of the period. Then, with about a minute left in the period, Colorado’s Samuel Girard, assisted by Rantanen, put one past Quick to event the score at 1. The second period would end with Colorado riding their momentum into the locker room.
A scary moment for the Avalanche early in the third period, when Ian Cole accidentally hit Philipp Grubauer causing the goaltender to leave the game. In the post game interview, coach Jared Bednar told reporters that it was a lower body injury and because Grubauer had to leave the game, there is a chance he could miss additional games.
Another missed opportunity for the Avalanche would come nine minutes into the third period, when Blake Lizzotte was called for hooking J.T. Compher. Colorado would again cut their own power play short when Andre Burakovsky was called for interference 17 seconds into the man advantage.
The Kings would break the tie with less than a minute to go in the game. Tyler Tofoli scored his second goal of the game after missing the puck on his first attempt. When asked about Tofoli’s second goal after the game Kopitar said “If I win a face-off back to him, I just told him to shoot it and preferably score, and he did.”
Tofoli would finish the hat trick on an empty net goal giving the Kings a 3-1 victory over the Avalanche. Colorado will stay at home to host the Tampa Bay lightning on Monday, February 17th, while the Kings travel to Winnipeg to face the Jets on Tuesday, February 18th.
You must be logged in to post a comment.