Kings Move Back Into Third Place With 3-1 Victory Over Avalanche

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dustin Brown's short-handed goal helped the Los Angeles Kings move back into third place in the Pacific Division with a 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night.

Torrey Mitchell and Kyle Clifford also scored for the Kings, who are one point ahead of Anaheim. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves and the Kings won their third consecutive home game.

Alexander Kerfoot had a power-play goal and Jonathan Bernier stopped 22 shots for the Avalanche.

Colorado leads St. Louis by one point for the second Western Conference wild card, but the Blues have a game in hand. The Avalanche host the Blues on Saturday in the final game of the regular season for both.

The Kings took a 1-0 lead at 9:29 of the first period thanks to an opportunistic goal by Mitchell. Bernier was caught by surprise when Nate Thompson's shot hit the boards and bounced into the crease, jumping into the air to avoid sending it back into his own net. Mitchell charged in to score his sixth of the season.

Drew Doughty extended his point streak to three games with the secondary assist. It was Doughty's 59th point, matching his career high set in 2009-10.

Brown made it 2-0 at 12:32, scoring his 24th on a wrist shot from the edge of the left circle.

Anze Kopitar and Alec Martinez had assists, with Kopitar picking up his fifth point during a four-game streak.

Kerfoot cut the deficit to 2-1 at 4:33 of the second, going top shelf over Quick's glove for his second goal in two games.

The Kings had killed off 22 straight penalties before Kerfoot scored the fifth power-play goal of his rookie season.

Clifford scored on a wraparound two minutes into the third period to restore a two-goal lead for the Kings.

NOTES: Kings D Derek Forbort left early in the first with a lower-body injury. Forbort was injured when he was checked into the boards by Gabriel Bourque. ... Avalanche forward Colin Wilson had an assist after missing the previous five games with a lower-body injury.

UP NEXT

Avalanche: Visit the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night.

Kings: Host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night.

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