The Los Angeles Kings were on the road in what was clearly going to be a tough game against the Colorado Avalanche. They entered this game with a 10-game win streak at home and are one of the highest scoring teams in the NHL.
Unfortunately, it wasn't relatively close after the first period for the Kings as they would lose 4-0 and it would be the first time they were shut out since January 30th against the Tampa Bay Lightning. These are some of the takeaways from that game on Thursday night.
Special teams had a big role in the outcome
Over the past few weeks the LA Kings have been much better on the power play as well as on their penalty kill. However, neither seemed to work very well against the Avalanche on Thursday night.
The Kings would have three power play opportunities and came up empty on all three with only one shot on goal on those power plays. Meanwhile, the Avalanche had three power play opportunities of their own and were able to score on two of them.
The first one came with about five minutes left in the second period and really decided the game as it was 2-0 at that point. If the Kings could have scored and cut the lead to 2-1, it might have been a different game but it was unlikely they would overcome a three goal deficit in the third period to Colorado.
Jeff Malott was a bright spot for the LA Kings
There wasn't much that went right for the Kings against the Avalanche and they entered the game without two players in Alex Turcotte and Tanner Jeannot, who were missing due to injuries. The Kings would call up Jeff Malott, who would appear in his first NHL game with the Kings and only his second career NHL game.
After the game, Jim Hiller was asked about Malott's performance and according to Zach Dooley said:
"He was the bright spot in the game for me, I really, really liked his game. Didn’t have a chance to be that physical, which I know is part of his game, but he’s got good hockey sense. Yeah, I really, really liked his game. He was really, really impressive."
He would finish the game with two shots on goal and three hits in 9:19 of ice time. It remains to be seen at this point how long Turcotte or Jeannot will be out but if they do miss any time this weekend, Malott has clearly earned himself some more ice time with the Kings.
LA Kings need to quickly put this game behind them
It is a long season and teams are always going to have games like this but the great ones can put it behind them and not let it linger. This is what the LA Kings need to do as they are heading into a stretch with three home games in four nights.
On Saturday they play the Toronto Maple Leafs followed by the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. They will have Monday off before playing the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night. The Maple Leafs and Jets are currently leading their respective divisions and these will not be easy games.
The good news is that they will be at home where they are the best team in the NHL and that certainly gives them an advantage. However, they will need to be sharper than they were against the Avalanche.