LOS ANGELES—Ryan Smyth broke open a tie game with a pair of third-period goals, and T.J. Hensick scored his first in the NHL, leading the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.
Paul Stastny and Jaroslav Hlinka also scored and Jose Theodore made 17 saves for the Avalanche, who came in with the worst road record in the Western Conference and outshot the Kings 34-19.
Raitis Ivanans and Anze Kopitar scored for Los Angeles. The Kings haven’t scored more than three goals in their last nine games after coming back from four down in the third period against Dallas to win 6-5 in overtime on Nov. 10.
Avalanche captain Joe Sakic didn’t play because of a sore groin, ending his streak at 232 games. Right wing Marek Svatos missed his second straight game with a groin injury.
Kings center Michael Cammalleri was back in the lineup after sitting out Wednesday’s shootout win at San Jose due to a pulled groin. Defenseman Jaroslav Modry also returned after missing a game to be with his ailing father in the Czech Republic.
But goalie Jason LaBarbera sustained a rib injury during a goal-mouth scramble and was replaced by Jean-Sebastien Aubin with 14:40 remaining after stopping 26 of 29 shots. Left wing Alexander Frolov missed his fourth straight game because of a groin injury.
Colorado took a 3-2 lead just 19 seconds into the second period on Smyth’s first of the game. Kings rookie defenseman Jack Johnson failed to put a body on Smyth after he got the puck behind the net from Milan Hejduk, and in a flash, the puck was in the net after Smyth’s intended centering pass for Stastny banked in off a Kings player.
Smith added his eighth goal with 8:35 remaining, beating Aubin from short range. Hlinka made it 4-2, converting a rebound with 5:37 left.
The Avalanche spotted the Kings a 2-0 lead, but Stastny got Colorado back in the game just 55 seconds before the first intermission. He flipped a bouncing puck over LaBarbera’s glove for his 10th goal after Smyth outworked Modry behind the net.
Hensick, playing in his second game, tied it at 11:12 of the second period while referee Dan O’Rourke had his hand raised to call a delayed penalty against the Kings. The rookie got a lead pass from Tyler Arnason as he approached the Kings’ blue line and left Modry behind before beating LaBarbera with a short wrist shot.
Notes:@ Hensick, who turns 22 on Dec. 10, was a third-round draft pick by the Avalanche in 2005 after playing four seasons for Michigan. … Avalanche C Ian Laperriere was sidelined for the eighth straight game with a knee injury. It’s the first time he’s missed a game against the Kings in Colorado’s nine meetings with them since he left Los Angeles after eight-plus seasons to sign with the Avalanche as a free agent in 2004. … The Avalanche need two more wins for 1,000 as a franchise. … Colorado has connected on only two of 37 power-play opportunities in eight games, and own the worst percentage on the road (4-for-57).
