Kings at Avalanche
The Los Angeles Kings have struggled to find their offense all season, but they'll likely receive little sympathy from their next opponent in that regard. After being shut out for the third time in six games and eighth time this season, Los Angeles looks to get back into the postseason picture at the expense of the ailing Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday when the clubs meet at the Pepsi Center.
"We're still fully confident we can turn it on now and get back into that playoff spot we want to be in," defenseman Drew Doughty said of the Kings, who reside two points behind Calgary for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference. "The longer we wait, the harder it's going to be." The reigning Norris Trophy winner has been limited to just one point in his last six contests following a seven-game point streak, during which he had an assist in a 5-0 rout of Colorado on Feb. 1. While the Kings' offense has been missing far too often for coach Darryl Sutter's liking, the cellar-dwelling Avalanche know a thing or two about struggling to score as they average an NHL-worst 2.0 goals per contest. Trendy trade target Matt Duchene has upped his potential value with four points in his last four games, including his team-leading 16th goal in Sunday's 3-2 overtime loss to Tampa Bay.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), Altitude (Colorado)
ABOUT THE KINGS (28-26-4): Sutter hasn't been pleased with the compete-level of some of his forwards, and vented a bit more criticism following Sunday's 1-0 loss to Anaheim. "I think you've got to be able to – what's the old saying? – swim the river. Everybody's got to be willing to do that. It’s tough out there," Sutter said. Captain Anze Kopitar has just one assist and a minus-6 rating in the last six games while fellow veteran Marian Gaborik has been held off the scoresheet in each of the last seven contests.
ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (16-38-3): Colorado's painful season took another turn for the worse during Monday's practice as defenseman Nikita Zadorov fell awkwardly to the ice and appeared to injured his leg after becoming tangled up with forward Mikko Rantanen. "He'll have to go get evaluated and we'll see what comes of that," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told the Denver Post of the 21-year-old, who has played in all but one game this season. Veteran blue-liner Erik Johnson completed his first full practice with the team since sustaining a broken leg on Dec. 6, but his return isn't expected until Thursday at Nashville or Saturday versus Buffalo at the earliest.
OVERTIME
1. Los Angeles G Peter Budaj has yielded 20 goals in his last six starts, but turned aside all 22 shots he faced in his last meeting versus his former team.
2. Colorado G Calvin Pickard has a .941 save percentage in his past three starts.
3. The Kings have thwarted 32 of their last 33 short-handed situations and all eight against the Avalanche this season.
PREDICTION: Kings 2, Avalanche 1