Game report: Avalanche 4, Kings 3

Key play: Nathan MacKinnon scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period and the Colorado Avalanche rallied for a 4-3 victory Wednesday over the Kings at Staples Center. MacKinnon scored just after an Avalanche power play expired.

Pivotal performer: Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog scored two goals to help Colorado rally from deficits of 2-0 and 3-2. His second goal, a power-play strike on a 4-on-3, tied the score at 3-all at 7:38 of the third period.

Quote, unquote: “I think our first was strong, pretty slow to start the second, got a little better maybe the last five minutes or so and the third wasn’t very good at all,” said Kings winger Dwight King, who had a goal and an assist. “It was one of those things where we’ve got to be a lot sharper.”

Milestone moment: Drew Doughty scored the first shorthanded goal of his career in the first period and the first by a Kings defenseman since Willie Mitchell on Oct. 28, 2010 against the Dallas Stars. Doughty’s goal gave the Kings a 1-0 lead 9:31 into the game.

Between the pipes: Jonathan Quick returned to the Kings’ net after Jhonas Enroth started in a 3-2 overtime victory Sunday over the San Jose Sharks. Quick appeared Wednesday in his 41 st game of the season. Enroth has played in only nine of 49 games.

Game report: Kings 3, Stars 2

Key play: Milan Lucic drifted into the slot, accepted a centering pass from Anze Kopitar and scored the tiebreaking goal 6:17 into the third period and the Kings went on to a 3-2 victory Tuesday over the Dallas Stars at Staples Center. Jake Muzzin had the second assist on Lucic’s 12th goal of the season.

Pivotal performer: Kings center Vincent Lecavalier scored his third power-play goal in as many games. Lecavalier has three goals in six games since the Kings acquired him and defenseman Luke Schenn from the Philadelphia Flyers for forward Jordan Weal and a third-round draft pick.

Quote, unquote: “The standings show we’re playing better than them, but there’s so much that can happen,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said of the team’s lead over the rest of the Pacific Division, which grew to 12 points. “There are almost 40 points left. … You can never be comfortable. All those other guys, all those teams are going to want to catch us and they’ll do whatever it takes.”

Line shifts: Kings coach Darryl Sutter shifted center Jeff Carter to right wing for Tuesday’s game against the Stars. It fueled speculation was suffering from an unspecified upper-body injury and would enable him to avoid taking faceoffs, which could cause him pain.

Breakaway move: Stars defenseman John Klingberg skated ahead of the pack on a second-period breakaway, but was denied on a vintage Peter Forsberg-like move by Kings goalie Jonathan Quick at the moment of truth. Klingberg faked Quick to the ice, but couldn’t slip the puck by him.

Kings and Ducks make All-Star rosters with Darryl Sutter selected to coach the Pacific Division team

Kins coach Darryl Sutter talks to players during practice at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Tuesday, June 3, 2014. The New York Rangers will face the Los Angeles Kings for the Stanley Cup. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Kings coach Darryl Sutter (Photo by Hans Gutknecht/Los Angeles Daily News)

Kings coach Darryl Sutter will coach the Pacific Division All-Stars, the NHL announced Wednesday. And that ought to make the new 3-on-3 tournament format all the more lively. Kings defenseman Drew Doughty and goalie Jonathan Quick will play for Sutter, as will Ducks right wing Corey Perry and goalie John Gibson. Arizona Coyotes tough guy John Scott will serve as captain after the fans voted to select him in an organized campaign.

Here’s the link to the rosters: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=796221&navid=DL|NHL|home

 

Game report: Kings 2, Flyers 1

Key play: Dwight King played give-and-go with Marian Gaborik and then scored a first-period goal that propelled the Kings to a 2-1 victory Saturday over the Philadelphia Flyers at Staples Center. King’s goal was his second in his third game since returning to the lineup from a broken foot.

Pivotal performer: Jonathan Quick made 29 saves, stopping all but Brayden Schenn’s power-play goal in the third period. He continues to seek the 41st shutout of his NHL career, which would move him past John Vanbiesbrouck and Frank Brimsek for the most by an American-born goaltender.

Gone streaking: The Kings’ victory was their fifth in a row, all with Quick in goal. Quick has a 1.40 goals-against average, a .954 save percentage and one shutout during the streak. Quick is expected to start Monday against the Colorado Avalanche in Denver.

Quote, unquote: “It feels good winning,” Kings defenseman Drew Doughty said. “When we come to the rink on a winning streak, everything is just so much more fun and we want to continue feeling that way. We don’t want to come to the rink unhappy, so I figure why not just keep winning?”

Milestone moment: Defenseman Jake Muzzin’s assist on Doughty’s power-play goal in the second period was his 100th point in his 246th game in the NHL. It also was his 18th point of 2015-16. He has four goals and 14 assists with a plus-7 defensive rating in 38 games.

Injury update: Kings center Jeff Carter sat out for the fourth consecutive game because of an upper-body injury suffered during the first period of a 4-3 overtime victory Dec. 26 over the Arizona Coyotes. Carter has been skating, but isn’t sound enough to play.

Game report: Kings 5, Penguins 3

Key play: Defenseman Jake Muzzin scored the fourth of the Kings’ four second-period goals to lift them to a 5-3 victory Saturday afternoon over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Staples Center. The Penguins blanked the Kings in two games last season and it was scoreless after one period Saturday.

Pivotal performer: Muzzin scored a goal and added two assists in the second period, helping the Kings take a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes. Muzzin tied his career high with three points, his third three-point game. The last was Dec. 11, 2014 against the Ottawa Senators.

Pivotal (part 2): Left wing Chris Kunitz had a goal and two assists for the Penguins, helping them rally from deficits of 3-0 and 4-1to make it 4-3 with more than 17 minute remaining in regulation. Kunitz’s goal cut the Penguins’ deficit to 3-1 midway through the second period.

Quote, unquote: “We don’t get much respect in terms of our back end,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said of the team’s defense corps, which contributed goals from Muzzin, Drew Doughty and Christian Ehrhoff. “Everyone talks about Drew and it goes down from there. It’s something even after last season, we felt we were in the top 10 in production from our defense, and that’s what we expect.”

Injury update: Kings forward Trevor Lewis couldn’t play Saturday after suffering an upper-body injury during Friday’s practice. Jordan Weal replaced Lewis as the Kings’ fourth-line center, making only his fourth appearance of the season.

LA Kings stat of the night

Kings defenseman Drew Doughty played 31 minutes, 40 seconds during a 2-1 overtime victory over the Vancouver Canucks, a season high. He also scored the tying goal on a power-play in the third period, drew a hooking call on Radim Vrbata that put the Kings on a late power play and then broke up what could have been the winning goal on a breakaway while shorthanded in the closing moments of regulation.

Game report: Kings 2, Canucks 1 (OT)

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Key play: Anze Kopitar scored 2:02 into overtime to give the Kings a 2-1 victory Tuesday over the Vancouver Canucks at Staples Center. Jeff Carter picked off defenseman Alexander Edler’s errant breakout pass and passed from the left wing to the right to Kopitar, who hit the back of the net for his eighth goal of the season.

Pivotal performer: Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 38 saves, including several early in the third period as the Kings buzzed his net in search of the tying goal. The Kings had plenty of shots, but few scoring chances until Drew Doughty’s power-play goal tied the score 1-all in the third.

Quote, unquote: “I think it was Edler (with the puck) and I was just trying to make sure he didn’t jump by me, so there wasn’t an odd-man rush,” Kopitar said of the final play. “I saw the pass wasn’t right on the tape and ‘Carts’ has a really good chance to grab it. Then I just turned right into and made a really nice play. I wanted to get it off as quick as I could.”

Between the pipes: Jonathan Quick started in goal for the Kings for the fifth consecutive game. Markstrom started for the Canucks after relieving Ryan Miller in the third period of Vancouver’s 4-0 loss Monday to the Ducks at the Honda Center.

Special teams: The Kings’ Milan Lucic was penalized for high sticking during a faceoff in the offensive end of the ice at 6:55 of the first period. The Canucks’ Daniel Sedin scored a power-play goal at 7:39, off a pass from the center of the ice to the right wing from twin brother Henrik.

Game report: Kings 2, Islanders 1

Key play: Milan Lucic scored the tiebreaking goal in the opening minutes of the second period and the Kings held off the New York Islanders for a 2-1 victory Thursday at Staples Center. Lucic scored his fourth goal of the season, with assists from Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Carter.

Pivotal performer: Kings backup goaltender Jhonas Enroth was sharp in playing in relief of Jonathan Quick for only the third time in 16 games this season. Enroth made a number of fine saves and was aided by the goal post, a goalie’s best friend, on a third-period bid by Brock Nelson. Enroth made 31 saves to improve to 3-0-0 this season with a 0.34 goals-against average and a .979 save percentage.

Quote, unquote: “Just got in on the forecheck, the puck went toward the net and I tried to handle the puck and kind of went down and all of a sudden the goal horn went off, and I didn’t know what happened,” Lucic said of his go-ahead goal. “I thought ‘Tof’ or ‘Carts’ jumped on the rebound. Nice to have one go off me and in.”

Lineup change: Kings defenseman Christian Ehrhoff returned to the lineup after sitting out for two games as a healthy scratch. Ehrhoff, who had four assists and a minus-7 defensive rating going into the game, replaced Derek Forbort in the lineup.

Milestone moment: Drew Doughty’s first-period power-play goal was the 32nd of his career, moving him past Lubomir Visnovsky into third place on the Kings’ all-time list for defensemen. It also was Doughty’s second goal overall this season.

Special teams: The Kings killed off a 5-on-3 situation that lasted 45 seconds during the third period, after Brayden McNabb was whistled for tripping and Drew Doughty followed him to the penalty box with a hooking infraction at 3:50.

Game report: Coyotes 3, Kings 2

Key play: Brad Richardson tapped a centering pass from Jordan Martinook into the net for the tie-breaking goal in the third period to lead the Arizona Coyotes to a 3-2 victory Tuesday over the Kings at Staples Center. Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb lost his stick on the play, allowing Richardson to camp out in front of Jonathan Quick’s net and to redirect the puck into the net at 11:47.

Pivotal performer: Kings winger Tyler Toffoli scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season, a power-play strike early in the second period. After only 15 games, Toffoli is nearly halfway to his career high of 23 goals, set last season in 76 games. Toffoli is tied for the league lead in goals.

Quote, unquote: “We were really sloppy in our own zone,” Kings captain Dustin Brown said. “Our coverage, and normally we’re very good at it, but the wingers need to be better.”

Hall of Fame honor: The Kings honored broadcaster Nick Nickson before the game, one day after he was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. Nickson has worked for the Kings since 1981, a 35-season run that included calling Stanley Cup titles in 2012 and ’14.

Milestone moment: Kings defenseman Drew Doughty earned his career 210th assist on Dustin Brown’s first-period goal, moving past Lubomir Visnovsky for fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list. Steve Duchesne is third with 216 assists.

Lineup changes: Kings coach Darryl Sutter scratched defenseman Christian Ehrhoff for the second consecutive game. Ehrhoff has a minus-7 defensive rating to go with four assists in 13 games. Derek Forbort played in his place, as he did in Saturday’s victory over the Florida Panthers.

LA Kings defenseman Drew Doughty’s quote of the night

The Kings defeated the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on Friday in the first 3-on-3 overtime for each team. Here are Kings defenseman Drew Doughty’s first impressions of the NHL’s new OT format: “It was pretty cool. You saw lots of chances back and forth. I think it will be pretty rare for games to go to shootouts, which I think is a good thing, especially for our team. That was awesome. It was cool. We still have a little bit of a system. It’s basically keep the puck and don’t let them get it. Yeah, I think 3-on-3 is going to be great for the game.”