Kings ‘have to find a way to win’ after valiant effort comes up short in Game 2

DENVER -- Once again, the Los Angeles Kings played a tight game.

Once again, they held the mighty Colorado Avalanche offense in check.

Once again, they got a power-play goal.

But once again, when it was all over, it was the Kings going back to their dressing room after a 2-1 loss while the Avalanche celebrated on the ice at Ball Arena on Tuesday.

This time, however, Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round, seemed to sting a little more. Los Angeles trailed 2-0 in Game 1 before a late goal Sunday, but this time it held a lead late in the third period before allowing the tying goal with 3:35 left in regulation and Nicolas Roy’s goal at 7:44 of overtime.

“We had some good looks," Kings coach D.J. Smith said. "We had guys who were in alone. I thought we had the momentum in overtime. We were out-chancing them at that point and then maybe a bad bounce or a turnover, whatever, it ends up in your net. To a man, this team ‘s playing hard and we have to find a way to win, though.”

And to do that when the series resumes for Game 3 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, FDSNSC, truTV, TNT, ALT, SN360, SN, TVAS), the Kings have to find a way to score more than one goal.

For a team that had five power-play opportunities, a penalty shot and several Grade-A chances, it was another frustrating end.

Game 2 truly had a little bit of everything -- great defense and goaltending, big hits, a penalty shot, a puck that got caught on the side of the net that was originally thought to be an Avalanche goal. To top all of that, the Kings were showered in broken glass at 3:12 of the second period.

A jubilant Avalanche fan, celebrating goaltender Scott Wedgewood’s save on forward Quinton Byfield’s penalty shot, broke the glass and sent the Kings skating from the bench. It took approximately 17 minutes for the ice crew to clean the mess and replace the glass.

“It was weird, challenging for both teams so, you try and stretch and just keep moving, but it was a lot longer break than I thought it would be,” Los Angeles forward Trevor Moore said. “But I will say they did a great job. That was a lot of glass on the ground and the staff there was working really hard and did a really good job.”

Even shattered glass didn’t get the Kings off their game. It certainly didn’t faze goalie Anton Forsberg, who was outstanding in his second career start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, making 34 saves.

“I mean, at the end of the day we have to look at how we’re playing,” Forsberg said. “We believe in our way of playing and I mean, we’re right there with one of the best teams in the League. You just have to stick with it and find a way here.”

Yes, there’s no doubt the Kings have plenty of fight. What they’ve lacked is finish. For the second consecutive game, Artemi Panarin, their big in-season acquisition in a trade from the New York Rangers, scored a power-play goal. That gave Los Angeles a 1-0 lead with 6:54 remaining in regulation.

For the second consecutive game, however, Panarin was the only one to score.

Still, the Kings, the second wild card in the West, appeared poised to even the series against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche, but that hope, their slim lead, their first lead of the playoffs, lasted just 3:21.

That’s when Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, wide open on Forsberg’s stick side, tied it 1-1 at 16:25.

The Kings did look like the better team at the start in overtime, something that shouldn’t be surprising, considering they played an NHL-record 33 overtimes during the regular season. But as they did in 20 of those regular-season overtimes, they lost.

This time, it was Roy banging home a loose puck in the crease, starting Colorado's celebration and sending Los Angeles back to its dressing room and back home trailing 2-0 in the best-of-7 series.

The Kings are frustrated but not totally deflated. They’re hoping being back in front of their fans will help them gain an edge. One location or another, however, they need more players to finish those opportunities.

“I mean, we did play really well, and we’ll get last (line) change and we can get our matchups a little bit better," Smith said. "And we’re going to have to roll four lines over and be physical again. We have to find a way to win. Clearly, good isn’t enough. But we have to win a game and keep taking a piece of them and keep playing physical, but within the rules and give ourselves a chance to keep lengthening the series.”