Colorado defeated the Kings 4-2 in Game 3 on Thursday at Crypto.com Arena, building a commanding 3-0 series lead. Gabe Landeskog, Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen, and Brock Nelson scored for the Avs, who didnât trail at any point in this game.
Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves, including all 12 he faced in the first period, to win his third consecutive start. Colorado is the only team in the Western Conference with an opportunity to sweep, joining the Eastern Conferenceâs Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes.
They could end the series on Sunday in Game 4 in an early 2:30 p.m. MT scheduled start.
Landeskog scored the opening goal on perhaps the most fortunate bounce of the series thus far. Landeskog, from long range, shot the puck. It missed the net, bounced off the end boards, and came right back to the blue paint. Before Nazem Kadri could get a stick on it, Anton Forsberg inadvertently tracked back and kicked it in off the post with the bottom of his skate blade.
Q&A
What was the score of the Avalanche vs Kings Game 3?
The Colorado Avalanche won Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings with a score of 4-2.
Who scored for the Avalanche in Game 3 against the Kings?
Gabe Landeskog, Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen, and Brock Nelson scored for the Avalanche in Game 3.
How many saves did Scott Wedgewood make in Game 3?
Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves in Game 3, including all 12 he faced in the first period.
What is the current series status between the Avalanche and Kings?
The Avalanche lead the series 3-0, putting the Kings on the brink of elimination.
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The tally from Landeskog, his second of the series, came just 5:59 into the first period. It was the earlier goal, by far, in any of the three games in this series.
Colorado carried that lead into the intermission despite getting outshot 12-7. Both teams looked to be creating more offense than the opening period in the games at Ball Arena.
At 5:55 of the second period, the Kings responded to even the score. Trevor Moore was the scorer on a play that began with a Brett Kulak turnover in the neutral zone.
Just as Moore tallied his first of the series, he took a high stick from Josh Manson that drew blood. What wouldâve been a four-minute double minor was reduced to two minutes because of the goal. The Avs killed off the ensuing Kings power play. They finished XX-for-XX on the penalty kill.
It didnât take long for the Avs to respond. Makar got his first of the series off a beautiful play along the blueline. He walked the line and fired a wrister through traffic that hit the back of the net before Forsberg knew where it was at 12:12.
The goal came while the Avs were in the middle of a line change. Lehkonen held the puck behind the net as some of the Avs skated to the bench. He then fed it low to high to Devon Toews. And he sent it to Makar while Lehkonen got stationed in front of Forsberg to set up a screen.
Lehkonen later added his goal, which came shorthanded on a 2-on-1 play. Kulak was called for an interference penalty at 6:30 of the second period, giving Los Angeles its third PP of the night with an opportunity to even the score.
Instead, Lehkonen skated it out of the zone with OâConnor to his right, while Kings forward Adrian Kempe was the lone Kings skater back trying to defend. Lehkonen sent a pass to OâConnor, but before it got to him, it bounced off the skate of Kempe and slid right past Forsberg, doubling Coloradoâs lead to 3-1 at 7:39 of the period.
L.A. later got another penalty with just over four minutes remaining. They pulled their goalie to play 6-on-4 and it took just 16 seconds to tally a power-play goal.
Panarinâs point shot was perfectly placed on the stick of Kempe at the doorstep, and he redirected it past Wedgewood to make it a one-goal game. The Kings finished 1-for-4 on the power play, but it wasnât enough.
Nelsonâs empty-netter followed suit to put the game away.
Good: Structured Defense
The Avalanche arenât scoring a whole bunch of goals, but they are playing arguably the best structured defense weâve seen from this core in a long time.
For all the deserved praise weâve given the Kings for defending well through three games, the Avs have matched it and more. Thereâs something really special about winning three one-goal games (if you remove the empty netter), and in two of those games, it never felt like the game was ever in danger of getting away.
And even in the game they trailed, the Avs quickly responded after the opening Kings goal in the third period to tie it up, and once again sat in the driverâs seat the rest of the way before winning in overtime.
L.A. had just one high-danger scoring chance at 5-on-5 in a third period that they were chasing the entire time.
Bad: Josh Manson Injury
Manson sustained an upper-body injury in Game 3 and finished with just 4:57 of ice time. During the first period, Manson took a hit along the Kingsâ bench from Joel Edmundson. The hit wasnât particularly dangerous, but Manson struck the end boards awkwardly in his midsection, where there is little padding.
He ended up returning midway through the second to play just the one shift that led to a goal against and a minor penalty. Upon exiting the box for that high-sticking call, he skated right to the Colorado bench and didnât return for the remainder of the night.
Without Manson, the other blueliners had to step up as the team played with just five defensemen the rest of the night.
Toews led the charge at 26:54, followed by Makar (25:58), Kulak (22:03), Sam Malinski (18:51), and Brent Burns (18:40).
