National Hockey League
Colorado 4, Los Angeles 1
When: 9:30 PM ET, Thursday, January 20, 2022
Where: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Referees: Eric Furlatt, Chris Lee
Linesmen: Travis Gawryletz, Derek Nansen
Attendance: 15387

Darcy Kuemper had 40 saves, Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist, and the visiting Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Thursday night.

Kiefer Sherwood, Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Devon Toews also scored and Nathan MacKinnon had two assists to help Colorado win on back-to-back nights in Southern California.

The Avalanche have won five straight and 10 of their last 11.

Anze Kopitar scored and Jonathan Quick stopped 23 shots for the Kings. Los Angeles played without leading scorer Adrian Kempe, who was out due to the NHL's health and safety protocol.

The Kings outshot Colorado 34-15 through the first two periods but still trailed heading into the third.

Rantanen got the first score of the night when he positioned himself next to the crease and redirected a pass from MacKinnon past Quick at 9:43 of the first period. It was his team-leading 21st goal of the season.

It stayed 1-0 after the first period and Los Angeles continued to carry the play into the second, but Colorado struck again. The Kings' Brendan Lemieux tried to get the puck to the center of the defensive zone, but it went to Sherwood in the right circle, and he beat Quick to make it 2-0 at 3:06 of the second.

It was his first goal of the season.

The Kings finally broke through later in the second. With Toews off for delay of game, Los Angeles swarmed in the offensive zone and cashed in when Kopitar knocked in a loose puck from the top of the crease at 8:58.

It was his 13th of the season.

The Kings got a chance to tie it on the power play early in the third but Colorado killed it off. As Aube-Kubel came out of the box, Logan O'Connor hit him with a pass at center ice. Aube-Kubel skated in alone on Quick and beat him high to the stick side at 4:11.

It was his sixth of the season.

Quick came off for an extra skater with 3:30 left, but Toews scored into the empty net.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Colorado   Los Angeles
Mikko Rantanen 2 Points Anze Kopitar 1
Mikko Rantanen 1 Goals Anze Kopitar 1
Nathan MacKinnon 2 Assists Drew Doughty 1
Mikko Rantanen 1 Power Play Goals Anze Kopitar 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Darcy Kuemper .976 Save Percentage Jonathan Quick .885
Darcy Kuemper 40 Saves Jonathan Quick 23
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Colorado 27 4 1-1 4-5 10 26
Los Angeles 41 1 1-5 0-1 2 30
Upcoming Games
  • Los Angeles will play their next game on the road against New Jersey. The Kings have a W/L % of .550 after a win and .429 after a loss.
  • Colorado will play their next game at home against Montreal. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .704 after a win and .727 after a loss.