Eurolanche

Avs begin west coast trip in L.A.

The Colorado Avalanche hits the road to take on the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. This will be Colorado's first game on the road following a three-game homestand, and it will be Los Angeles' first contest at Staples Center after a four-city road trip.

Colorado is 36-39-9 against Kings since moving to Denver in 1995 and is 14-21-8 when the away team in the city.

The Avs are 3-2-0 in their last five matchups between the clubs. Thursday will be the first of three games between the squads this campaign, as the teams will meet again twice in a 17-day span in late March and early April.

The Kings are 21-10-0-4 this season, a record that places them fourth in NHL, and are 10-5-2 when the host team. Colorado has a 16-15-2 overall record and is 6-9-1 on the road.

Last Time Out

Colorado Avalanche

The Avs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 at home on Monday behind two tallies from Tyson Barrie. The blueliner opened the scoring five minutes into the match with a slap shot off a pass from Matt Nieto.

The contest was knotted at 1-1 going into the first intermission until Barrie registered a power-play goal with assists from Mikko Rantanen and Sven Andrighetto to give Colorado back the lead. Andrighetto got his second helper of the night on J.T. Compher's goal to extend the lead before the final 20 minutes. Pittsburgh got back within one early in the third frame, but Rantanen found the back of an empty net late to secure the win.

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings outscored the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 Monday night. The Kings were ahead with an early lead of 2-0 but the Flyers registered their only marker of the match before going into the first intermission.

After a scoreless second stanza, Los Angeles sealed the contest with two tallies in the third frame.

Last Time They Met

The two clubs last hit the ice against one another on Feb. 21 when the Kings defeated the Avs 2-1. Both teams were held off the scoresheet during the first 20 minutes before Rantanen lit the lamp 32 seconds into the middle frame.

Tyler Toffoli and Trevor Lewis registered tallies for Los Angeles in the second period, and Colorado was unable to catch up as both teams went scoreless in the final 20 stanza.

What to Watch

Special Teams

L.A. has the best penalty-kill unit in the NHL, as it has held opponents scoreless with the man advantage 86.6 percent of the time.

However, the Kings' power-play unit has only converted 16.2 percent of its chances. Colorado's penalty kill sits in the middle of the pack with an 81.8-percent average of shutting down its opponent on the power play, but it has struggled on the road with a 73.1-percent average.

Colorado has converted 18.2 percent of its man-advantage situations and has found the back of the net in these situation three times in the last two contests.

You Miss 100 Percent of the Shots You Don't Take

Los Angeles has only allowed its opponents to find the back of the net 82 times this season, second fewest in the NHL. Colorado averages 29.79 shots per game and must make the most of its opportunities to get on the scoreboard and to defeat the Kings

Player to Watch

Colorado Center Alexander Kerfoot

After missing three games due to a foot injury, Alexander Kerfoot returned to the lineup against Pittsburgh on Monday and won 5-of-9 faceoffss in 9:47 of ice time. The rookie forward is fifth in team scoring with 21 points (nine goals and 12 assists).

Los Angeles Center Tyler Toffoli

Forward Tyler Toffoli is third on the Kings in scoring with 25 points (16 goals, nine assists) and has two goals and an assist in his last two contests. The forward's 16 goals on the season land him second on the team and 12th overall in the NHL.

Lineup Notes

Semyon Varlamov will make his 21st start between the pipes for Colorado. The Avs will not make any lineup changes, meaning Gabriel Bourque will be the healthy scratch among the forward group. Defenseman Erik Johnson will serve the second of a two-game suspension on Thursday and is eligible to return for the Avalanche's contest on Saturday at the Arizona Coyotes.

The Details

Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m. MT at Staples Center. The game will be televised on Altitude and the radio broadcast can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio AM 950 or online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.

--by Taylor Hodapp / ColoradoAvalanche.com--