Brown wins it for Kings against Avalanche in 1,000th game

LOS ANGELES -- Dustin Brown scored 44 seconds into overtime in his 1,000th NHL game to give the Los Angeles Kings a 2-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche at Staples Center on Thursday.
Brown beat goalie Semyon Varlamov with a wrist shot over his glove to lift the Kings to a fifth consecutive home victory, their longest streak since winning six straight Nov. 3-26, 2016.

"He's been doing it his entire career, all 999 games, and he did it in his 1,000th tonight," said Los Angeles defenseman Alec Martinez, whose third-period goal tied the game. "And I don't expect anything to change from here on out."
WATCH: [All Avalanche vs. Kings highlights]
Jonathan Quick made 31 saves for the Kings (22-10-4), who have won two in a row after a three-game skid (0-2-1).
Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty had the assists on the 33rd game-winning goal of Brown's NHL career.
Gabriel Landeskog scored, and Varlamov made 25 saves for the Avalanche (16-15-3).
Brown started the night watching teammate Marian Gaborik being honored for playing his 1,000th NHL game at the New York Rangers on Dec. 15. Gaborik has been limited by chronic knee injuries late in his career. Brown is enjoying a resurgence in his 14th NHL season; he has 13 goals through 36 games after he 14 in 80 in 2016-17, re-establishing himself as a top-line contributor.
"The funny thing about it is just how many different roads there are to 1,000 games," Brown said. "[Gaborik] played with four different teams, had a lot of injuries. I played with one team and -- knock on wood -- been relatively healthy."
Martinez tied it 1-1 at 10:36 of the third period. His shot from the blue line appeared to deflect off Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie's stick and went through a Jonny Brodzinski screen.

The Kings have outscored opponents 47-21 in the third. That penchant for late heroics has helped land them atop the Western Conference with 48 points, two more than the Vegas Golden Knights, Nashville Predators, Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues.
"We've been behind a lot this year," Brown said. "Our first periods haven't been our best and our third periods have been really good. It would be nice to play with a lead eventually."
Landeskog put the Avalanche ahead 1-0 at 11:14 of the second period, beating Quick with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle. He has four goals and three assists during a three-game point streak.
The Kings nearly scored less than a minute before Landeskog's goal when Trevor Lewis had a look at an open net, but Avalanche defenseman Patrik Nemeth tied up Lewis' stick and Nikita Zadorov blocked his shot near the goal line at 10:20.
Varlamov made a save against Lewis at 16:20 of the first period, and the rebound hit Kings forward Nicholas Shore and went off the crossbar.
"I think we played good," Zadorov said. "[Varlamov] was unbelievable tonight. We shut it down almost until the end, and they got good goals out there. They're going to get an opportunity every once in a while, and we have to score."

Goal of the game

Brown's goal 44 seconds into overtime.

Save of the game

Varlamov stopping Lewis at 16:20 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Zadorov blocking Lewis' shot at 10:20 of the second period.

They said it

"Had a lot of ups and a few downs, but you know, he never wavered. He's poured his heart and soul into this hockey club, and I guess I'll just say things have their way of working out, and I think tonight was definitely one of those instances." -- Kings defenseman Alec Martinez on Dustin Brown
"They never give up, they play a full game, so they scored the goal to tie the game. I thought we outplayed them today, actually. But two breakaways on the three-on-three was completely unacceptable." -- Avalanche goaltender Semyon Varlamov

Need to know

Brown and Dave Taylor are the only Kings to play his first 1,000 games for Los Angeles. … The Kings have won an NHL-best 10 games after allowing the first goal (10-8-3). … Avalanche forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen each extended a point streak with an assist on Landeskog's goal. MacKinnon has four goals and three assists during a four-game streak. Rantanen has one goal and five assists during a five-game streak.

What's next

Avalanche: At the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; FS-A PLUS, ALT2, NHL.TV)
Kings: At the San Jose Sharks on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, FS-W, NHL.TV)