The Colorado Avalanche have a chance to take a firm grasp on their first-round series against the team from the city of fallen angels.
Some would argue the Kings have been surprisingly good so far this series, but tonight they hope to walk away with something to show for their efforts.
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The Avalanche won both games at home, but it took some doing, and the victories came on contributions from (mainly) the depth pieces of their lineup.
Is tonight the night the Avalanche stunts their star power, or will the LA Kings make good on an upset where the ocean meets the sand?
Colorado Avalanche: 2-0
The Opponent: Los Angeles Kings (0-2)
Time: 8:00 p.m. MT
Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, TNT
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio, 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
A lot has been made of the Avalanche “playing the Kings game” in games one and two, but it should come as no surprise that this Avalanche team is committed to stout support and defensive structure.
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The Avalanche is perfectly fine with playing low-scoring, tight-checking games. Nathan MacKinnon said so much after the game one victory, stating, “We pride ourselves on our defensive ability. I know that might surprise some people.”
Nonetheless, it’s possible to stay committed defensively and achieve more goals.
I have three keys to a Colorado Avalanche victory:
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Stay out of the penalty box.
The sit-back-and-wait approach only works against the Avalanche when they don’t have a lead, especially in a game where LA should be more desperate than in games one and two.
Martin Necas’ pass to Gabe Landeskog on Colorado’s tying goal in game two was a thing of beauty, but I want him to log a minimum of 3 SOG in the first period.
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He has turned down too many great looks, given his shooting ability.
The Avalanche have a large share of the expected goals in this series, and that advantage is amplified in 5-on-5 situations.
LA has two goals in the series, both from Artemi Panarin and both on the power play.
Stay out of the box, and LA might stay off the scoresheet.
Projected Lineup:
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Parker Kelly — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Gabriel Landeskog — Nazem Kadri — Nicolas Roy
Joel Kiviranta — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Brent Burns — Josh Manson
Brett Kulak — Sam Malinski
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Scott Wedgewood
MacKenzie Blackwood
Note: We still haven’t seen Ross Colton, and given the unbeaten streak, I doubt we do tonight unless someone got banged up beyond our knowledge.
Los Angeles Kings
Apparently, LA should be happy with the first two games of the series despite not winning either.
D.J. Smith asked the media if “they can expect to keep winning games only scoring one goal?” after the 2-1 loss in game one.
A couple of days later, another 2-1 resulting in a loss, this time in OT and after blowing a late third period lead.
They are on pace to score seven goals all series if the series goes on that long.
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I think behind closed doors, LA is likely less satisfied than they lead on in pressers.
Counting on Anton Forsberg to save the day time and time again is bound to break down at some point.
Here are three keys to victory for the Kings:
The Kings have satisfied key number one in both games this series, but haven’t secured number two.
If they had, we’d be having a much different conversation ahead of game three.
Both goalies have arguably been the best players on their sides, and if LA wants to win this game or a series, they will have to humanize Scott Wedgewood, who is on fire to start the playoffs.
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Projected Lineup:
Artemi Panarin — Anze Kopitar — Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore — Quinton Byfield — Alex Laferriere
Joel Armia — Scott Laughton — Jared Wright
Mathieu Joseph — Samuel Helenius — Jeff Malott
Mikey Anderson — Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson — Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin — Cody Ceci
Anton Forsberg
Darcy Kuemper
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