Tuesday night the Los Angeles Kings dispatched the Colorado Avalanche 5-2 at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
The first seven-minutes of the game were quiet.
The next seven-minutes saw the goal horn go off four times.
7:45 into the game, with Colorado Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla in the penalty box for hooking Nick Shore, Kings forward Marian Gaborik opened the scoring. In his usual spot in front of the net Gaborik deflected a point-shot from Brayden McNabb past Colorado goaltender Calvin Pickard.
4:11 later Trevor Lewis picked-off a pass in the neutral zone and moved the puck over to Jeff Carter. Carter brought the puck into the zone, made a nifty drag-move around a Colorado defensmen and dished the puck to Jordan Nolan. As Nolan was pursued he passed it back over to Carter who had positioned himself all alone in the slot. Carter ripped a wrist shot for his team leading 23rd goal of the season.
Tic. Tac. Toe. Beauty.
55-seconds later Colorado defensemen Tyson Barrie put the Avs on the board by picking up a pass at the point, cutting around the boards and into the slot, and putting a shot through traffic past Jonathan Quick.
Puck Prose
Brayden McNabb finished the scoring for the period with a blast from the point at the 14:15 mark.
At that point Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy decided Pickard had enough. Pickard was pulled for backup Reto Berra.
Kyle Clifford picked up his second point of the night in the second period. Clifford was able to swat a rebound off an Anze Kopitar shot into the back of the net with one hand on his stick and his other arm fighting off a defender in front of the net.
It was Clifford’s 5th goal of the season and his 13th point of the season.
In the third period Alex Tanguay picked up his 18th goal of the season. The Kings were hemmed in their own zone and the puck kicked out to Marc-Andre Cliche who moved the puck cross-crease to Tanguay who slapped it into the open net.
Jake Muzzin picked up his 7th of the season to cap the scoring. A wide shot by Nick Shore sent the puck into the corner and ricchoted out to Muzzin breaking into the zone. Muzzin one-timed a lazer into the back of the net.
It was Brayden McNabb’s first career 3-point game. McNabb had 1 goal and 2 assists on the night.
McNabb is now 3rd among all Kings defensemen in points, with 22. McNabb ranks 9th on the team in points with 2 goals, 22 assists, +7 plus/minus, and 1 game-winning goal in 60 games.
Marian Gaborik has 3 goals in his last 3 games, and 4 points in his last 4. Gabby is 2nd on the team in goals, netting his 20th of the season tonight. In 53 games Gaborik has 37 points, a +6 rating, and a team leading 10 power-play goals.
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Jeff Carter has been tearing it up. Carter has 5 goals in his last 5 games. Leading the Kings in goals and points, Carter has 23 goals, 51 points, and 7 power-play goals in 66 games.
The Kings were 1-for-3 on the power-play while killing off all 3 penalties of their own.
L.A. outshot the Avalanche 30-23. Though after 40 minutes the shots were 25-13.
After the NHL trade deadline, when the Kings had 20 games left, RinkRoyalty said it would take at least 13 wins or getting to 96 points to get into the playoffs. Since that point in time the Kings have gone 3-0-1. L.A. only needs 10 more wins, and they’ve moved from 70 to 77 points in the standings.
The Kings next game is Thursday night in Vancouver against the Canucks. It’s a huge, inter-Pacific Division, game. Puck-drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PST.
Next: Kings: Luc Robatille's Unveiling Scene
Mar 10, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Los Angeles Kings right wing Marian Gaborik (12) and defenseman Jake Muzzin (6) and right wing Dustin Brown (23) and defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) celebrate a goal in the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports