#LAKings Kings take four-game winning streak to Colorado (Daily News)
In the short term, the Kings will seek to extend their winning streak to a season-high five games, and, in the long run, theyd love to unseat the defending Stanley Cup champions.
To accomplish either goal, theyll have to get past the Colorado Avalanche, their opponent Thursday and last years title winner.
So what will coach Todd McLellan say to his club to emphasize the importance of the Kings lone road game amid a stretch of 10 matches at home?
Probably not a lot, theyll know, he said. They know who theyre playing against and how tough that building is to play in, so theyll know.
The Kings won in Colorado on Dec. 29, a 5-4 shootout victory that was their first one in Denver in four years and their first win over the Avalanche in 10 meetings. Presently, they ride a four-game wave, with a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Monday in their rearview mirror. It was a contest where it felt like the Kings might have been able to pull away sooner, instead finding themselves tied in the third period and in a one-goal game late.
Where we got ourselves in trouble was taking penalties at ill-advised times, McLellan said. The number of minutes weve lost on the power play over the last two weeks because of those penalties is far too many.
Mondays victory may have come at a cost, as defenseman Sean Durzi was evaluated for a head injury after receiving a thunderous hit from T.J. Oshie. Durzi did not return to the ice and on Wednesday the Kings recalled another right-shooting defenseman, Jordan Spence, from their American Hockey League affiliate. Spence has eight points in 27 games over the past two seasons with the Kings, and he has been one of the top scoring defensemen on a per-game basis over the past two seasons in the AHL.
The pace of play Thursday projects to be swift with two of the top-10 teams in terms of shots per game squaring off, something that didnt seem to bother new Kings winger Zack MacEwen. Whether he or Arthur Kaliyev will play Thursday remains to be seen, but McLellan liked MacEwens debut Monday.
I thought he had an impact on the game, McLellan said. Big, fast, in on the forecheck, managed the game well. Really good on the bench, thats something thats important too.
Thursday’s matchup features two of the top-10 power plays as well. Thatll place even greater scrutiny on avoiding untimely and unnecessary penalties for the Kings.
Its a problem. And its been ongoing for a little while. There are some people who can fix it, theyre the ones who keep taking the penalties, and if we continue on, it will cost us in the long run, McLellan said.
For Colorado, even as theyve continued to battle a torrent of injuries captain Gabriel Landeskog and former Ducks defenseman Josh Manson remain sidelined the Avs have managed to climb above the wild-card race. Of their core players, only winger Mikko Rantanen has not missed significant time this season.
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Colorado has grown healthier with the return of top defenseman Cale Makar (March 4) after leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon returned New Years Eve. The Avalanche pieced together six consecutive wins and an eight-game points streak to close February. Even in the loss that snapped that string, they rallied from a 5-1 deficit to twice get within a goal of New Jersey. Colorados most recent match saw it pummel the Sharks 6-0 in San Jose.
Kings at Colorado
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Ball Arena, Denver
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeart Radio
https://www.dailynews.com/2023/03/08...k-to-colorado/
To accomplish either goal, theyll have to get past the Colorado Avalanche, their opponent Thursday and last years title winner.
So what will coach Todd McLellan say to his club to emphasize the importance of the Kings lone road game amid a stretch of 10 matches at home?
Probably not a lot, theyll know, he said. They know who theyre playing against and how tough that building is to play in, so theyll know.
The Kings won in Colorado on Dec. 29, a 5-4 shootout victory that was their first one in Denver in four years and their first win over the Avalanche in 10 meetings. Presently, they ride a four-game wave, with a 4-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Monday in their rearview mirror. It was a contest where it felt like the Kings might have been able to pull away sooner, instead finding themselves tied in the third period and in a one-goal game late.
Where we got ourselves in trouble was taking penalties at ill-advised times, McLellan said. The number of minutes weve lost on the power play over the last two weeks because of those penalties is far too many.
Mondays victory may have come at a cost, as defenseman Sean Durzi was evaluated for a head injury after receiving a thunderous hit from T.J. Oshie. Durzi did not return to the ice and on Wednesday the Kings recalled another right-shooting defenseman, Jordan Spence, from their American Hockey League affiliate. Spence has eight points in 27 games over the past two seasons with the Kings, and he has been one of the top scoring defensemen on a per-game basis over the past two seasons in the AHL.
The pace of play Thursday projects to be swift with two of the top-10 teams in terms of shots per game squaring off, something that didnt seem to bother new Kings winger Zack MacEwen. Whether he or Arthur Kaliyev will play Thursday remains to be seen, but McLellan liked MacEwens debut Monday.
I thought he had an impact on the game, McLellan said. Big, fast, in on the forecheck, managed the game well. Really good on the bench, thats something thats important too.
Thursday’s matchup features two of the top-10 power plays as well. Thatll place even greater scrutiny on avoiding untimely and unnecessary penalties for the Kings.
Its a problem. And its been ongoing for a little while. There are some people who can fix it, theyre the ones who keep taking the penalties, and if we continue on, it will cost us in the long run, McLellan said.
For Colorado, even as theyve continued to battle a torrent of injuries captain Gabriel Landeskog and former Ducks defenseman Josh Manson remain sidelined the Avs have managed to climb above the wild-card race. Of their core players, only winger Mikko Rantanen has not missed significant time this season.
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Colorado has grown healthier with the return of top defenseman Cale Makar (March 4) after leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon returned New Years Eve. The Avalanche pieced together six consecutive wins and an eight-game points streak to close February. Even in the loss that snapped that string, they rallied from a 5-1 deficit to twice get within a goal of New Jersey. Colorados most recent match saw it pummel the Sharks 6-0 in San Jose.
Kings at Colorado
When: 6 p.m. Thursday
Where: Ball Arena, Denver
TV/Radio: Bally Sports West/iHeart Radio
https://www.dailynews.com/2023/03/08...k-to-colorado/