Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings
· National Hockey League
Toews scores late winner as Avalanche beat Kings 4-2 in Los Angeles' first game under new coach
Toews got free in the slot and converted Nathan MacKinnon’s pass with 4:55 remaining to help the Avalanche (40-10-9) become the first NHL team with 40 wins this season.
MacKinnon also scored his league-leading 41st goal, and Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists. Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves for Colorado, which has won five of seven.
Brandt Clarke had a power-play goal, Angus Booth scored in his NHL debut, and Anton Forsberg made 35 saves for the Kings, who were playing their first game since firing coach Jim Hiller on Sunday and replacing him on an interim basis with D.J. Smith.
Los Angeles was also missing seven key players because of injury or illness, including medalists from the Olympic hockey tournament at the Milan Cortina Games in defenseman Drew Doughty, forward Joel Armia and goalie Darcy Kuemper. Those absences led to the Kings giving three players their NHL debuts in Booth, center Kenny Connors and winger Jared Wright.
The Avalanche capitalized early, scoring twice in the opening 10:13 on one-timers from MacKinnon and Landeskog, before Los Angeles responded with a power-play goal from Clarke late in the first period.
An early whistle wiped out Necas putting in a rebound early in the second, and Booth got to the top of the crease to tip in Brian Dumoulin’s centering pass to tie it 2-all at 8:32.
Kings: Host the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Regular Season SeriesCOL wins series 3-0
Scoring Summary
 |
Goal | 1st Period 4:27 | Nathan MacKinnon Goal (41) Snap Shot, assists: Martin Necas (44), Gabriel Landeskog (18) |
|
Goal | 1st Period 10:13 | Gabriel Landeskog Goal (8) Slap Shot, assists: Brent Burns (19), Martin Necas (45) |
 |
Goal | 1st Period 17:20 | Brandt Clarke Goal (8) Wrist Shot, assists: Anze Kopitar (18) |
|
Goal | 2nd Period 8:32 | Angus Booth Goal (1) Tip-In, assists: Brian Dumoulin (12), Adrian Kempe (28) |
|
Goal | 3rd Period 15:05 | Devon Toews Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: Nathan MacKinnon (58), Cale Makar (44) |
|
Goal | 3rd Period 19:58 | Martin Necas Goal (26) Wrist Shot, assists: Gabriel Landeskog (19) |
Statistics
 COL |
 LA |
|
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Blocked Shots | 23 |
| 13 | Hits | 36 |
| 2 | Takeaways | 5 |
| 39 | Shots | 21 |
| 1 | Power Play Goals | 1 |
| 1 | Power Play Opportunities | 1 |
| 100.0 | Power Play Percentage | 100.0 |
| 0 | Short Handed Goals | 0 |
| 0 | Shootout Goals | 0 |
| 30 | Faceoffs Won | 26 |
| 53.6 | Faceoff Win Percent | 46.4 |
| 23 | Giveaways | 13 |
| 2 | Total Penalties | 2 |
| 4 | Penalty Minutes | 4 |
Los Angeles Kings Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Adrian Kempe, RW | Day-To-Day | Nov 1 |
| Mats Zuccarello, RW | Injured Reserve | Oct 29 |
| Kevin Fiala, LW | Injured Reserve | Oct 29 |
| Alex Turcotte, C | Injured Reserve | Oct 10 |
| Jakub Dvorak, D | Injured Reserve | Sep 24 |
Colorado Avalanche Injuries
| NAME, POS | STATUS | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Logan O'Connor, RW | Day-To-Day | Nov 1 |
| Josh Manson, D | Out | Oct 30 |
| Zachary L'Heureux, LW | Injured Reserve | Oct 23 |
Game Information
crypto.com Arena
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 15,492 | Capacity:
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Attendance: 15,492 | Capacity:
