Gabriel Landeskog scored a first-period goal, assisted by Brent Burns, as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Kings 2-2 in a game that saw a flurry of penalties and a debut goal for Los Angeles defenseman, Booth.
Landeskog put the Avalanche ahead 2-0 at 10:13 of the opening frame, capitalizing on a feed from Burns with a one-timer that beat the Kings’ goaltender blocker side. Colorado coach Jared Bednar praised the performance of the line featuring Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Martin Necas, stating, “I liked our game a lot tonight…didn’t really let up the entire night.”
The Kings responded with a power-play goal from Brandt Clarke at 17:20 of the first period. Clarke’s shot, deflected off the stick of Burns, found the back of the net through a screen. Anze Kopitar earned the primary assist, bringing his career point total to 1,302 (446 goals, 856 assists in 1,499 games) and moving him within five points of Marcel Dionne’s franchise record.
Los Angeles tied the game at 2-2 midway through the second period when Booth scored in his NHL debut. The 21-year-old defenseman tipped in a backdoor pass from Brian Dumoulin at the top of the crease. Dumoulin lauded Booth’s performance, noting his poise with the puck and ability to find open ice. “It was a decent read by him finding open ice,” Dumoulin said. “I thought he played really well tonight.” Booth finished the game with a plus-1 rating in 12:18 of ice time, becoming the fourth defenseman in Kings history to score in his League debut.
The game was marked by a significant number of penalties, with Colorado receiving six infractions. Bednar expressed his frustration with the team’s discipline, stating that six penalties were “too many, especially against a power play like theirs.”
