LA Kings defeat the Avalanche: Top three moments

The LA Kings hosted the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night. Los Angeles was able to pull away with a collective 3-1 victory.

The Los Angeles Kings faced off against the Colorado Avalanche in the biggest game of the year. Ahead by just a mere point in the playoff standings, the Kings needed a win to creat some distance between the two teams. Additionally, the LA Kings would leapfrog their arch-rivals the Anaheim Ducks into third place of the Pacific Division.

The LA Kings were able to beat the Avalanche 3-1 in what was another playoff type effort as early in the game defenseman Derek Forbert went down in a heap. Losing Forbert meant the other Kings defenders would see increased playing time. Defenseman Alec Martinez set a personal record playing a team-high 30 minutes of the game.

Despite the injury setback the Kings were composed on the defensive side and put increased pressure on the offensive side for timely goals.

These are the top three moments of the game.

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Lucky Bounce

The Kings were aggressive from the start and they were quickly rewarded.  10 minutes into the game forward Nate Thompson drove towards the Avalanche net and missed wide with his shot, luckily for the Kings the puck bounced toward the middle of the net where Torrey Mitchell pounced and put the puck in the net.

Mitchell’s goal gave the Kings an early 1-0 lead and highlighted the secondary scoring from the bottom six forward group. After waiting all season for the role players to shoulder some work, in their biggest game, the Kings got a huge lift.

Special Teams

Boasting the leagues best penalty kill unit, the Kings got more than just sustained defense, they also got offensive help thanks to Dustin Brown. Still in the first period, while the Kings were trying to kill off a penalty, Brown broke in on a rush down his left side.

With enough room to operate Brown was able to snipe a shot that beat Avalanche goalie and ex-King Jonathan Bernier high on the glove side. The goal gave the Kings a 2-0 advantage after one period, for Brown it was his 24th goal his most since 2012.

Wraparound

At the beginning of the third period with Kings up 2-1 one of their unsung heroes, Kyle Clifford made a play that he is usually known for. Clifford went after a rebound that went behind the Avalanche net and took back in front to score on a wraparound and give the Kings another two-goal cushion at 3-1.

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With the win, the Kings inched closer to a playoff spot and can clinch their place in the postseason with a win or OT loss on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.