Kings know they need to generate more offense in Game 2 of Western 1st Round

DENVER -- The Los Angeles Kings strive to be more aggressive from the start of Game 2 in the Western Conference First Round against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; FDSNSC, ESPN, ALT, SN360, TVAS).

“We need more zone time,” interim coach D.J. Smith said Monday. “We have to hold onto pucks. I think we can forecheck harder. The more we can hold onto pucks the more we can put miles on them.

“Give them credit; they’re the best defensive team in the League. They don’t give you much, but we have to do a better job of creating and holding onto pucks.”

Indeed, the Kings were on the defensive in the series opener here Sunday, a 2-1 loss, especially early. The Avalanche dictated the play and created more scoring opportunities.

But Colorado didn’t take a 1-0 lead until 15:29 of the second period, when Artturi Lehkonen scored on a wrist shot. Goaltender Anton Forsberg, who never played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs prior to Game 1, was busy early and often because his teammates couldn’t sustain time in the offensive zone.

The Kings were kept off the scoreboard for 57:38 until Artemi Panarin’s power-play goal with 2:22 remaining in the third period. Los Angeles finished 1-for-4 with the man-advantage.

According to NHL EDGE stats, the Avalanche spent 44.5 percent of the game in the offensive zone compared to 38.5 percent for the Kings. And most of the shots Los Angeles did manage were mid-range (nine), and Colorado had more of the high-danger opportunities (11-7).

So, the Kings want to be better “in all areas” on Tuesday.

“Keeping them off our net, getting on their net, keeping pucks alive -- all those things,” Smith said. “I think we were good, but in order to beat this team, we’re going to have to be better than good.”

Los Angeles finished 29th in the NHL during the regular season in goals per game (2.68). It fell short in a low-scoring game Sunday, but the players feel comfortable in such scenarios.

Colorado averaged a League-leading 3.63 goals per game. 

“We had a few chances, didn't finish,” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “Maybe be a little bit harder in the (offensive) zone. I mean, we’re comfortable in the low-scoring games.

“I don't think we can outscore them, so we're going to have to keep it like that. Maybe get the power play going. They had a couple good looks; one of those goes in, or another one goes in, (it’s a) different game too. We're comfortable in the low-scoring games. We’ve got to try and keep it tight, try and give them least amount as possible.”

The Avalanche expect a pushback in Game 2.

“It’s definitely part of their makeup/identity, being a hard forechecking team, so we can expect that,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said Monday. “As we saw last night, a lot of their (offensive)-zone play is throwing pucks to the net and crashing the net with a couple of guys, and we did a nice job keeping that puck off our net in a lot of ways.

“I think we had 18 blocks yesterday and made them miss quite a bit by getting out in the shooting lanes, so that helped our net-front play. When they did get it in there, they got a couple of really good chances. Some of the things we did yesterday we just need to continue to improve upon as this series goes on.”

Despite the lack of quality scoring chances in Game 1, the Kings were right there at the end. They’re aware this series wasn’t going to be easy, but they know they can do more.

But the jump has to be there from the start Tuesday.

“I thought we played good defensively,” Los Angeles forward Scott Laughton said. “(Forsberg) was really good in net. We missed a couple of opportunities, but I thought we played a good game overall.

“We can do more offensively, challenging their (defensemen), making it hard on their goalie to make saves. You don’t get the result so it’s disappointing for sure, but (there are) a lot of things to build on here. Long series, so we have to keep going, make it a little harder on their defense and just continue to roll.”