Kings Fall in Preseason Finale

The Los Angeles Kings fell to the Colorado Avalanche in a shootout for their final preseason game. After drawing to a 2-2 tie, the game went into the shootout phase, and the Colorado Avalanche’s young star forward Nathan MacKinnon was only one of six shooters to score, leaving the final 3-2 Colorado.

The first period of the game was highlighted by physical play. With 5:24 left in the first period Kings defensemen Brayden McNabb took a penalty for interference. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick stood tall on the penalty kill holding off the Avalanche. With less than two-minutes left Colorado’s Ryan Wilson took an interference penalty, leaving the Kings with just under thirty-seconds on the powerplay to start the second period.

The Kings failed to score on the powerplay, but just over a minute later Kings forward Tyler Toffoli, the preseason MVP, scored on a redirect from a Tanner Pearson pass. Center Mike Richards brought the puck into the Avalanche zone, skating through the neutral zone after the Kings breakout. Richards curled back, looping away from his defender toward the blueline. Richards threw the puck toward the far side of the zone at Pearson. Pearson picked the puck up off a hard bounce against the boards and whipped it back across to the far side of the net, near the post and just above the goal line. That’s where Toffoli was waiting with his stick down to redirect the puck past Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov.

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Just over three-minutes later Toffoli struck again. Pearson stole the puck from Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog along the boards as Landeskog was attempting to pass the puck out of the zone. Pearson quickly fired a pass to Richards, who was hanging deep in the zone behind both Colorado defensemen. As both Colorado defensmen scrambled to get back into position and defend against Richards on the goal line, Richards quickly hit Toffoli on the tape as he skated into the slot. Toffoli fired a sniper shot top-shelf past Varlamov. 2-0 Kings.

It was Toffoli’s second goal of the game, and fourth of the preseaon, in five games played.

The Avalanche answered back with a goal by forward Dennis Everberg. Colorado star Matt Duchene who missed most of last season with an injury, snapped a shot off the post. The Kings were discombobulated, and a pass from Colorado’s Borna Rendulic put Everberg in position to shoot the puck past Quick. 2-1 Kings.

Kings forward Jarret Stoll took a penalty with 50 seconds left in the second period. After an unproductive powerplay the Avalanche cashed in an opportunity at even strength. Colorado came in on L.A. in an odd-man rush, three-on-two. The Kings defenders were able to break up the play, but after the puck had been poked away it came right to the area where Matt Duchene happened to be skating. Duchene flipped a quick shot past Quick to tie the game, 2-2.