LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Fiala scored two goals for the second straight game, and Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere had a goal and two assists apiece in the Los Angeles Kings’ 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Captain Anze Kopitar also scored for the Kings, who have won 10 of 13. Los Angeles is four points behind Pacific Division-leading Vegas and four points ahead of third-place Edmonton with three games to go, likely sending the Kings into a fourth consecutive first-round meeting with the Oilers.
Los Angeles’ Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves against the team with which he won the Stanley Cup in 2022, but his streak of allowing two goals or fewer ended at 15 consecutive starts — one short of matching Miikka Kiprusoff’s 2003-04 expansion-era record.
Brock Nelson scored two goals for the Avalanche to secure his fourth straight 25-goal season, and second-place Colorado nearly won despite resting NHL scoring co-leader Nathan MacKinnon and several other regulars with its playoff seeding already decided.
Valeri Nichushkin and Sam Malinski also scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 28 shots.
Colorado was locked into the No. 3 seed in the Central Division earlier this week, allowing the Avs to sit MacKinnon, Cole Makar, Devon Toews, Jonathan Drouin and others during their final weekend of the regular season in Southern California.
Takeaways
Avalanche: An impressive offensive outing with so much firepower missing.
Kings: Kuemper had a rare dud, but his frequently low-scoring team has 11 goals in the past two games and 31 in the last seven.
Key moment
Laferriere reclaimed the lead for LA with a one-timer set up by Brandt Clarke midway through the second.
Key stat
Fiala extended his own career high to 34 goals this season.
Up next
The Avalanche finish their regular season in Anaheim on Sunday. The Kings still have three more games, starting Monday in Edmonton.
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