NHL: Avalanche down Kings, close in on series sweep

Artturi Lehkonen scored one goal and added an assist to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 road victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, putting the Avalanche on the brink of sweeping their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, and Brock Nelson also contributed goals for Colorado, who will aim to close out the best-of-seven series in Game 4 on Sunday in Los Angeles. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves in the win.

Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe scored for the Kings, who have struggled offensively throughout the series, managing just four goals over the first three games. Los Angeles goalie Anton Forsberg stopped 19 shots, while Alex Laferriere recorded two assists.

Makar broke a 1-1 tie in the second period, firing a wrist shot through a screen to give Colorado the lead at 12:12. Lehkonen extended the lead in the third period with a short-handed goal. Taking advantage of a missed one-timer by Kempe, Lehkonen broke free on a 2-on-1 rush and capitalized when his pass deflected off a defender’s skate and trickled through Forsberg’s legs with 12:21 left in the game.

Kempe responded for the Kings with a power-play goal at 4:03, redirecting a shot from Quinton Byfield past Wedgewood. However, Nelson sealed the victory for Colorado with an empty-net goal just two minutes later, pushing the Avalanche’s lead to 4-2.

The loss leaves the Kings on the verge of elimination, as they now face the prospect of being ousted in the first round of the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year. Los Angeles has lost six straight opening-round series since their last Stanley Cup win in 2014.

Landeskog opened the scoring for Colorado at 5:29 of the first period. His shot, which missed the net, caromed off the end boards and went in off Forsberg’s skate, giving the Avalanche an early 1-0 lead. The Kings tied the game at 5:55 of the second period, when Moore redirected Byfield’s shot into the net to make it 1-1.

In addition to the win, the Avalanche were dealt a blow when defenseman Josh Manson left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury.

With the victory, Colorado has one foot in the next round as they look to complete the sweep on Sunday in Game 4. -Field Level Media/Reuters