Kings hold off Avalanche, close in on first-round home-ice advantage

LOS ANGELES –– The Kings made another leap toward home ice in the first round, taking advantage of the Colorado Avalanche’s diluted lineup to prevail 5-4 on Saturday afternoon at Crypto.com Arena.

They took a two-goal lead, retroceded it and then re-established it to ultimately move four points ahead of the Oilers for second place in the Pacific. Those rivals will square off in Edmonton on Monday. The Kings moved four points back of division-leading Vegas, pending the Golden Knights’ result against Nashville on Saturday night.

Colorado was missing at least eight players because of injury or rest, including their No. 1 center and top four defensemen: Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Jonathan Drouin, Josh Manson, Ryan Lindgren, Ross Colton and Miles Wood

Kevin Fiala scored two goals while Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere notched a goal and two assists apiece in a match where their line percolated early and often. Anže Kopitar produced a goal and Andrei Kuzmenko contributed two assists to accumulate 12 points in his past seven appearances. Darcy Kuemper snapped his streak of two or fewer goals allowed at 15, giving up four on 26 shots.

Brock Nelson bookended the scoring for Colorado with a power-play marker and a point-blank tally. In between, Valeri Nichushkin scored a goal and assisted on one by Sam Malinski. Artturi Lehkonen chipped in two assists. Mackenzie Blackwood made 28 of 33 saves.

Kuemper started the Kings off on the right foot by foiling Lehkonen with a fast-switch pad save. Yet the first period was far from a goaltending clinic as 11 combined shots produced three goals, two of them by the Kings.

Consecutive penalties were a theme, with Colorado taking two in a row following the Kings’ opening tally and the Kings being whistled twice in 22 seconds in the middle of the frame. The Kings faced seven shorthanded situations in four periods after facing seven in the previous four games.

Byfield scored 4:03 after the puck dropped, getting the game’s first goal for a third straight contest. As was the case against the Ducks on Thursday, Kuzmenko earned the primary assist, this time with a slick pass that he turned back from below the right circle to Byfield between the hash marks for his career-best 22nd goal.

Kuzmenko would earn his fifth assist in four periods with another primary helper. He found Fiala zooming into the zone and toward the high slot, where his show-and-go move shook Parker Kelly, allowing him to find both a lane and angle for his 33rd goal of the campaign.

Colorado would grab a goal back from its extended two-man advantage. The first of two first-period penalties for Kyle Burroughs and Trevor Moore’s infraction left the Kings vulnerable for three of the Avs’ in-season additions Nelson, Charlie Coyle and Martin Necas. Coyle feathered a pass across the crease for Nelson’s 300th career goal. Burroughs was on the ice for the second goal and the Kings dropped down to five defensemen immediately afterward.

On that play, Nichushkin capitalized on some defensive confusion down low, making a five-on-five situation look similar to the five-on-three one from Colorado’s first goal, sneaking through traffic to find a velvety feed from Lehkonen, 2:13 into the second period.

The Kings would respond with two unanswered goals at 10:57 and 16:02.

Byfield’s faceoff win allowed Brandt Clarke to zip down below the right faceoff circle and send a pass into the slot for a one-timer that became Laferriere’s 18th goal of the season.

Kopitar made it consecutive games with a goal, this time netting his 21st marker of 2024-25 with a backhanded bid to clean up Adrian Kempe’s rebound.

In the third period, the teams traded goals, with Malinski halving the Avs’ deficit off a silky setup from Nichushkin off the rush at 9:18 before Fiala slammed the door 1:53 later.

He swiftly redirected Laferriere’s pass into the low slot. Fiala’s second goal of the game, fourth in two games, sixth in five games and team-leading 34th of the season also set a career high.

Nelson tacked on a late goal for Colorado, which failed to equalize late playing six-on-five.