Eurolanche

Still alive Avs visit Kings

Season series: The Los Angeles Kings have won four in a row against the Colorado Avalanche, including two games this season. Los Angeles has outscored Colorado 9-3 in the two victories.

Avalanche (36-30-12) team scope: Colorado will be trying for a sweep of its two-game swing through Southern California after defeating the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Friday. Backup goaltender Reto Berra made 35 saves, and Matt Duchene scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period. The Avalanche are six points behind the Kings and the Winnipeg Jets in the race for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Berra made his second consecutive start, but coach Patrick Roy indicated before the game that No. 1 goaltender Semyon Varlamov will play against the Kings.

Kings (38-25-14) team scope: Los Angeles hopes to ride the momentum of an 8-2 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday that saw the Kings score eight times in a game for the first time in more than five years. "Colorado is another skilled team. So if we play into their hands, we'll probably lose," forward Jordan Nolan told LAKingsInsider.com on Friday. "If we play our Kings hockey -- big, strong, physical and move the puck forward -- we'll probably get the win." The best news for the Kings was that they got goals from captain Dustin Brown and All-Star defenseman Drew Doughty, who each had been mired in a long scoring drought. The Kings trail the Calgary Flames by one point for third place in the Pacific Division. They will again be without defenseman Andrej Sekera (right knee), who's sidelined indefinitely.

by -nhl.com-

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