Kopitar Misses Second Straight Game As Avalanche Beat Kings, 4-1
DENVER (AP) — Semyon Varlamov had 32 saves, Patrick Wiercioch and Rene Bourque scored 22 seconds apart and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Tuesday night.
Gabriel Landeskog and Blake Comeau also scored for Colorado, and Wiercioch added an assist.
Dustin Brown scored for Los Angeles and Peter Budaj stopped 26 shots. It was the Kings' fourth straight loss after opening their five-game trip with a win in Toronto.
The Avalanche had not scored a regulation goal for more than five periods before getting two quick ones at the start of the second period.
Wiercioch broke through when he stuffed the puck between Budaj's skate and the post at 1:10 for his second goal of the season.
Bourque then put his stick on Mikko Rantanen's shot from the blue line and redirected it past Budaj at 1:32. It was his fifth of the season and third in three games.
The Kings had several chances to get back into it before Brown scored. With Tyson Barrie off for hooking, Nic Dowd backhanded the puck to the front of the net and Brown knocked it in to make it 2-1 with 31 seconds left in the period. It was his third of the season and just the second power-play goal in the last 33 chances for the Kings.
The Avalanche made it a two-goal game at 11:32 of the third when Comeau beat Budaj with a shot from between the circles. The Kings challenged play, claiming Jarome Iginla interfered with Budaj, but the goal was upheld upon review.
Landeskog scored an empty-net goal at 18:23 to make it 4-1.
NOTES: Kings C Anze Kopitar missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury but is expected to skate Wednesday when the team returns to L.A. ... Avalanche C Matt Duchene will make the three-game road trip with the hope of playing as early as Thursday. He was on the ice for Tuesday's morning skate and could be a full participant at Wednesday's practice. He has also missed two straight games.
UP NEXT:
Kings: Host Edmonton on Thursday to start a stretch of four of the next five at Staples Center.
Avalanche: Begin their three-game road trip in Dallas on Thursday night.
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