It was a full-ice press. The Avalanche unleashed video-game-like, end-to-end pressure on Wednesday night in overwhelming the Los Angeles Kings 9-3 at Ball Arena.
Colorado was fresh, playing its first game since Saturday, and the Kings were completing a consecutive-night set that began Tuesday in Chicago.
The Avs wanted to skate, skate, skate, and combined with their skill, skill, skill, they took a 4-0 lead out of the first period en route to their seventh straight victory and club-record 53rd of the season.
“We came so strong,” said forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who scored the first and fourth goals in a period that saw the Avs chase starting Kings goalie Jonathan Quick before it even finished.
Quick faced 10 shots, allowing three goals, before Aube-Kubel scored on Cal Petersen just 41 seconds after the goalie change. All four goals came within the first 10:56 of the game.
“They came out strong and we didn’t match their intensity,” Kings center and team captain Anze Kopitar said. “Next thing you know we’re down 4-0, so itap obviously a start that we can’t afford. And thatap the bottom line.”
The Kings, who are teetering on the Western Conference playoff bubble, had more to play for than the Avs, who entered Wednesday night needing just six points in their final nine games to clinch the conference’s No. 1 playoff seed. Colorado can also clinch earlier if Calgary doesn’t finish 9-0.
But the Avs are also playing for the President’s Trophy — the NHL’s best regular-season record that ensures home-ice advantage through the Stanley Cup Final. They won it last year and wouldn’t mind winning it again.
Based on how they came out against the Kings, they want it bad. The Avs entered Wednesday tied with the Eastern Conference-leading Florida Panthers with an NHL-high 110 points.
Colorado capitalized in different ways against L.A., including scoring on both of its power plays. Center Nathan MacKinnon produced the first goal of his hat trick with the man-advantage, giving the Avs a 3-0 lead. MacKinnon then assisted on Cale Makar’s power-play goal late in the second period for a 6-2 lead.
“We didn’t have anything at the beginning of the night,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “You can’t play that way against this team. We found some legs in the second, but then we made a lot of mistakes and it ended up in our net and there is no other way of painting it.”
Despite missing injured forwards Gabe Landeskog and Nazem Kadri — both regulars on the No. 1 power play — the Avs were awesome with the man-advantage. Puck movement was nearly perfect.
“Good bounces, but we were moving it quick, finding good seams,” MacKinnon said. “All five guys involved are reading each other really well. You don’t really have a real answer. It just works, you’re just feeling it.”
Footnotes. The Avalanche played the second leg of its four-game homestand Thursday night against the New Jersey Devils. … Colorado finished 3-0-0 in the season series against the Kings, outscoring L.A. a combined 16-4. … The Avs reached seven goals for the eighth time this season, but the first time since Jan. 6 vs. Winnipeg. Only the Panthers have also scored seven goals in eight games. … It was Colorado’s first nine-goal game since March 31, 2021, vs. Arizona, and the seventh time in club history.
