Kings let late Game 2 lead slip away and lose to Avalanche in overtime
DENVER — The Kings haven’t won an NHL playoff since the last time they won the Stanley Cup, which means it’s been a long time.
They are halfway to another early elimination after a 2-1 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, a result that gave the Avalanche a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The winning goal came from Nicolas Roy at 7:44 in overtime.
The Kings’ lone goal came from Artemi Panarin while captain Gabriel Landeskog scored Colorado’s other goal.
“We played really well,” interim coach DJ Smith said. “We’ve got to find a way to win a game. Obviously, good isn’t good enough. We’ve got to win a game and continue to take a piece of it, continue to play physical and give ourselves a chance to continue to extend the series.”
Panarin gave the Kings a 1-0 lead on a wrist shot from the inside edge of the right circle with less than seven minutes left in regulation. It was his second power play goal of the series and it was the Kings’ fifth power play of the night.
This also happened after the Kings had a lucky break, with a Colorado clear pass hitting a linesman, leading to a faceoff in the Kings’ offensive end.
Landeskog tied things up for Colorado 3 1/2 minutes later, eluding Kings forward Scott Laughton to skate on a pass from Martin Necas in the slot before pushing the puck inside the left post to send the game into overtime.
For the Kings, it was their 34thth extension in 84 games this season, an NHL record. They lost 21, but Tuesday’s was the most painful, when Roy scored on a deflection in the territory.
“We had every opportunity,” Smith said. “You have to be able to close it.”
The teams now head to Crypto.com Arena for games on Thursday and Sunday, with the Kings needing at least one win to extend their season.
“I expect us to be better at home,” Smith said.
To get there, the Kings will have to stop wasting the kind of chances they had in Denver, where they converted just two of nine power play opportunities and failed to score on a penalty shot in the first two games.
The physical series became heated at the end of the first game and that continued until the start of Game 2 with two scuffles, each involving more than a half-dozen players, breaking out 12 seconds apart midway through the first period. The teams combined for seven penalties in a fast-paced 20-minute first period played with plenty of open ice.
Quinton Byfield had two chances to score for the Kings just over three minutes into the second period, but Colorado goaltender Scott Wedgewood scored both times.
Kings goalie Anton Forsberg makes a save during overtime in Game 2.
(Jack Dempsey/Associated Press)
The first came when Byfield charged Wedgewood on a breakaway, only for the goaltender to stop his wrist shot from close range. But Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar was called for hooking Byfield from behind during the play, setting up a penalty shot. Wedgewood stopped that too.
A group of excited fans celebrated the two saves by smashing a window behind the Kings bench, sending coaches rushing in and halting play for several minutes while workers repaired the damage. But 16 seconds after play resumed, the Avalanche received another penalty, their sixth of seven on the evening.
Colorado’s penalties left the Kings with a power play for nearly a quarter of the game’s first 25 minutes, but their power play couldn’t take the lead against a Colorado penalty that ranked first in the NHL during the regular season.
“Obviously you just want to get opportunities,” forward Trevor Moore said. “We just have to make the most of it.”
Colorado’s best scoring chance in the first two periods came on a three-on-one rush less than five minutes before the second intermission, but Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson tried to break up the play and keep the game scoreless.
Colorado celebrates its victory in Game 2 against the Kings.
(Jack Dempsey/Associated Press)
Sam Malinski appeared to give the Avalanche the lead on a slap shot from above the left circle 10 seconds into the final period, but after the horn sounded and the goal was put on the scoreboard, officials correctly ruled that the puck had hit the outside of the net.
Five minutes later, Byfield unleashed a loose puck in the crease, allowing Wedgewood to turn and clear it in front of the open net.
The Kings now return home, where they have won six of their last seven regular season games, with the only loss coming in a shootout. But they haven’t beaten the Avalanche anywhere this season and if they have to do so at least once in the next two games to avoid their seventh straight elimination in the first round of the playoffs.
“I thought we played better tonight,” Moore said. “So we have to try to take the positives and come to Los Angeles and play a good game.”
