Colorado @ Los Angeles preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 15, 2020 ) Los Angeles 3, Colorado 1

The Colorado Avalanche will be looking for revenge Saturday when they visit the Los Angeles Kings, less than one week after falling as the host team of the 2020 Stadium Series. The Kings squad will look quite different this time around as Saturday’s outdoor contest was the final game with the team for defenseman Alec Martinez and forward Tyler Toffoli, who provided a hat trick in the 3-1 victory, as the pair were traded this week to Vegas and Vancouver, respectively.

An upper-body injury to Kings veteran Jeff Carter opened the door for the debut of Gabriel Vilardi on Thursday against the Panthers and the 20-year-old wasted no time making his mark as he set an NHL record by scoring 10 seconds into his first shift. “It was pretty crazy, honestly,” Vilardi told the media after also chipping in with an assist during the 5-4 victory Thursday. “It wasn’t a great shot, but it went in and that’s what matters. It was really exciting.” Colorado began its two-game Southern California road trip with a 1-0 victory against Anaheim on Friday as 20-year-old rookie Martin Kaut, in his second career game, picked up his first NHL point with the assist on J.T. Compher’s ninth of the season. After finalizing a two-year extension with the Avalanche earlier in the day, goaltender Pavel Francouz went out and stopped all 26 shots he faced against the Ducks for his first NHL shutout.

TIME: 10:30 p.m. ET. TV: Altitude, FS West

ABOUT THE AVALANCHE (35-18-7): After playing five seasons with the Capitals, forward Andre Burakovsky has excelled in his first season in Colorado as he’s set career highs with 20 goals and 25 assists while leading the team with six game-winning goals. Nathan McKinnon sits third in the league with 84 points (33 goals, 51 assists) and was held off the scoresheet Friday for only the second time in his last 10 games. Defenseman Cale Makar continues to make a strong case for the Calder Trophy as the 21-year-old sits second is rookie points with 45 and has three goals and nine assists in his last 14 games.

ABOUT THE KINGS (22-34-5): Captain Anze Kopitar has recorded two assists in each of the last four games and has 12 helpers since recording his last goal Jan. 16 - a span of 12 games. Defenseman Drew Doughty scored on the man advantage against the Panthers on Thursday - his first goal and power play point in 16 games this calendar year. Jonathan Quick won consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 10-12 as the netminder was 0-7-1 with an .8995 save percentage and 3.05 goals-against average over his prior eight starts.

OVERTIME

1. Kings RW Martin Frk scored for the second straight game Thursday and has five goals in eight games this season.

2. The Avalanche have won five straight road games and their 40 points away from home are third-most in the league.

3. Vilardi finished with two shots, a plus-2 rating, and won 13-of-16 faceoffs in his debut.

PREDICTION: Avalanche 6, Kings 3