3 Keys: Avalanche @ Kings

The Colorado Avalanche will take on the Los Angeles Kings on March 9, 2020, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The Avalanche are right in the middle of the Western Conference playoff race, while the Kings look like they will have an extended offseason. Even though the Kings won’t be making the playoffs, the Avalanche can’t take this team lightly since they have won five straight games. The Kings have been enjoying playing the spoiler role of late.

Los Angeles needs to get off to a fast start in this game since the Avalanche played in San Jose last night. The Avalanche are going to have to roll all four lines and hope to get some production from them despite potential weariness from last night’s game. The Kings and the Avalanche both need to get some decent goaltending to have a shot in this game. Anze Kopitar and Gabriel Landeskog look to have a big game and lead their team to a victory. Here are three keys to this Western Conference match up.

1) Kings Fast Start

The Kings should look to get out to a fast start and test the Avalanche’s fatigue factor early in the game. The Avalanche are coming off of playing the previous night so the Kings should look to set the pace early in this one. The Kings need to get in on the forecheck and set up their cycle game to get some chances and force the opposition to defend their own zone. The Kings might want to be a little physical to try to tire out the Avalanche even more. The best way to get off to a fast start is to get the first goal of the game and keep attacking for the rest of the game.

2) Avalanche Depth

The Avalanche will need the depth players to have a big game for them. They will have to roll all four lines, and hope that they can contribute in more ways than one. Even with all the injuries, the Avalanche’s top nine have kept producing with at least one player with 20 + points on each line. This is what makes them a difficult team to defend and the depth could play a big factor in this game. The depth players need to produce in order for this team to get the two points that they need to keep pace in the Central Division.

3) Goalies Need to Be Big for Both Teams

The goalies for both teams will have to come up big in this one. For the Avalanche, it could be Pavel Francouz or Michael Hutchinson depending on how much work Francouz saw against the Sharks. Hutchinson does have a win in his only start for the Avalanche, but has not been good in his time in the NHL this season. Jonathan Quick has had an average season, but he can still manage to steal a game for his team. No matter who the goalies are, they will have to come up with the routine saves and make some timely ones too.

Players to Watch

1) Gabriel Landeskog- Avalanche

I didn’t want to pick Nathan MacKinnon for the second straight night, so I went with his winger as the Avalanche player to watch in this game. Landeskog is the team’s captain and leads by example. He has been good while the team has been missing key players. In 27 career games against the Kings, Landeskog has eight goals, 11 assists and 19 points.

2) Anze Kopitar- Kings

Anze Kopitar seems to produce every year for the Kings, and this season has been no different. Kopitar leads the team in goals (21), assists (41) and points (62). He is the team’s captain and brings it every night even if the team is not expected to do anything. In 46 career games against the Avalanche, Kopitar has 17 goals, 30 assists and 47 points. He will likely be going up against Landeskog so this will be a good matchup to watch.