The Los Angeles Kings were finally able to raise their Stanley Cup banner Saturday. Now they must find the form that helped them win a championship. After a less than inspiring performance in the opener, the Kings will visit the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.
Los Angeles at Colorado
When: 9:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS West (Los Angeles), Altitude (Colorado)
Los Angeles allowed four goals in the first 22 minutes of the 5-2 loss against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. Top center Anze Kopitar missed the opener with a knee injury, but said he’ll play Tuesday. The Kings didn’t give up more than three goals in a game during their Cup run. Defenseman Rob Scuderi said the Kings were physically ready, but made mental mistakes. Los Angeles should turn it around on defense, but must be better than it was on offense during the 2011-12 regular season (29th). Mike Richards, Simon Gagne and Dustin Brown were all minus-3 against Chicago. Forward Kyle Clifford had seven hits in 8:52 of playing time in the opener.
Despite ending 2011-12 by hoisting the Cup, the Kings ranked near the bottom of the NHL with 194 goals and averaged 2.9 while going 16-4-0 in the playoffs. Los Angeles managed 21 shots and went 0 for 5 on the power play in the opener.
Colorado scored only 17 goals in its last 10 games last season. The Avalanche hope free-agent acquisition PA Parenteau will help improve the offense, but others will have to step up with O’Reilly still in Russia. Landeskog returns after scoring a team-high 22 goals and leading Avalanche in plus-minus (plus-20). Paul Stastny, David Jones, Milan Hejduk, Steve Downie and Duchene will all be expected to contribute. Defenseman Erik Johnson, 24, could be ready to raise his game to a new level. The Avalanche had 19 penalty minutes against the Wild, allowing two power-play goals.
25% Bonus via Western Union
