LAS VEGAS — It took the Avalanche more than 12 minutes to register its first shot on goal in its final NHL preseason game Saturday.
So it’s little wonder the Avs managed to score just twice against Jonathan Quick in falling to Los Angeles, 3-2, in front of a sellout crowd of 11,464 at the MGM Grand Garden.
Colorado wrapped up its preseason 2-5, and part of the reason for the team’s losing record was the struggle on offense. The Avs managed just 11 goals in seven games, never scoring more than three in any one contest. And that came in the opener, a 3-1 win over St. Louis on Sept. 21.
Coach Joe Sacco didn’t seem overly concerned about his team’s lack of offense in the preseason.
“You always want to score more,” Sacco said. “I think it’ll come around. You do the right things and good things will happen.”
Sacco said in his attempt to take a look at certain players and juggle his lineup at times, some of the continuity on offense may have been sacrificed.
“For me, it’s an evaluation process,” Sacco said. “You want to give players a chance to show the organization what they can do. I think that’s an important part of the preseason.”
Avs right wing David Jones said the lack of scoring can be alleviated by being more aggressive and using the team’s quickness to its advantage.
Sacco said he’s not discouraged.
“We’ve got a hard-working group of guys, and we’ll get it together,” he said. “Defensively, we were consistent, and our goaltending is solid.
“As for our offense, I believe that when you do things the right way, you’ll get your chances to make something good happen.”
Kings win.
Ryan Smyth’s goal with 1:34 remaining in regulation broke a 2-2 tie as the Kings’ good luck in Vegas continued.
Los Angeles is 10-2-2 in the Frozen Fury series, which began in 1997, while the Avalanche fell to 4-7-1.
The Kings led 1-0 after one period as Anze Kopitar put home the rebound of Dustin Brown’s point-blank shot past Craig Anderson. Jones got the Avs even 1:40 into the second period as his wrist shot from just inside the left faceoff circle beat Quick over the right shoulder.
Drew Doughty’s power play goal 23 seconds into the third period with Scott Hannan sitting for crosschecking put L.A. back in front. But Doughty took two penalties shortly after his goal, the second of which led to Jones’ second of the night, tying it at 2-2 at 6:19.
The Avs put pressure on Quick but he stood up to the challenge, and the Kings eventually got the game-winner as Smyth’s wrist shot from the left side kissed off the right post and past Anderson.
Lots of work.
Anderson got the start Saturday in Vegas and he’ll get the majority of the work once the season begins Thursday. But Sacco said not to read too much into it. He intends to not let Peter Budaj go stale on the bench.
Steve Carp, Special to the Denver Post
