Rob Scuderi’s postgame thoughts… (on maintaining composure in a wild game…) SCUDERI: “Gameplan wise, it certainly wasn’t a perfect game for us, but sometimes that’s going to happen and you’ve got to find a way to win a game. It was pretty crazy in the first two periods. I think, in the third period, we [...]

Anze Kopitar’s postgame thoughts… (on winning a wild game…) KOPITAR: “It was just one of those games where it seems like whichever goalie is going to make a few more saves, that’s going to be the key. It’s not who is going to score more goals. We obviously got six tonight, but in this rink, [...]

Brad Richardson’s postgame thoughts… (on whether it means more to get a hat trick against his former team…) RICHARDSON: “I would say so. That was the first time I got traded, but yeah, it does feel good to get it against your former team, for sure. There are obviously no hard feelings. It was great [...]

The Kings were very lucky in the third period tonight, when Wayne Simmonds got a five-minute major penalty for butt-ending, and a game misconduct, with the Kings leading 4-3. The Avalanche tied the game before Brad Richardson scored a game-winning shorthanded goal. Replays were inconclusive, but Simmonds appeared to jam TJ Galiardi below the belt [...]

It was a wild one, but Brad Richardson’s first career hat trick helped the Kings pull through. More from the locker room to come…

The Kings benefited from another Colorado turnover, and it led to a two-goal lead and a hat trick for Richardson. Richardson picked off a pass in the Colorado zone and beat Anderson with a medium-range shot for an unassisted goal with 2:55 remaining, giving the Kings a 6-4 lead.

In another bizarre twist, the Kings got the lead back with a shorthanded goal, with Simmonds’ penalty still on the board. Anderson came far out to play the puck, but Richardson deflected it. Jarret Stoll picked it up near the left boards and with Anderson still far out of position, passed to Richardson, who scored [...]

The game took a significant turn when Wayne Simmonds got a five-minute major penalty for “butt ending” on TJ Galiardi. The Kings killed off nearly the first three minutes, but after a scramble in front of the Kings’ net, Hejduk scored on a wrist-shot from close range for his second goal of the game to [...]

The Kings lost their breathing room with Stastny’s late goal but are able to take a lead into the third period for just the second time this season. Shots are 22-19 in favor of Colorado.

The Kings took a two-goal lead with their second power-play goal of the game. Anderson tried to play the puck into the corner, but Justin Williams stopped it up for the Kings and centered it. Brown was there, in the slot, to beat Anderson with a quick wrist shot with 2:45 remaining in the second [...]

The back and forth continued into the second period, as the Kings took a 3-2 lead 4:58 into the period. Willie Mitchell tossed the puck toward the net, and it hit Brayden Schenn’s skates in front. Brad Richardson came in and scored on a close-range wrist shot.

After the Kings’ early lead, the Avalanche mostly were in control of the period and outshot the Kings 12-8. The Kings took three penalties in the final eight-plus minutes of the period, but it’s all even going into the second period.

The Avalanche tied the game with a power-play goal of their own, with 4:57 remaining in the first period. Hejduk shot from close range, and Quick made the save by Paul Stastny picked up the rebound and shot while nearly even with the goal line. The shot squeezed through Quick to the short side to [...]

The Kings got a power-play goal. Really. Andrei Loktionov shot from close range, from the right side of the net, and with traffic in front, Anze Kopitar crashed the net and knocked in the rebound with 8:45 remaining in the first period.

After the Kings’ goal, the Avalanche controlled the pace of the game, and got the game-tying goal at the 9:17 mark. Matt Duchene beat Jack Johnson to the front of the net, and Duchene’s backhand shot got deflected, right to Milan Hejduk, who beat Quick with a sharp backhand from close range to make it [...]

Before the Avalanche could even get the puck across the red line, the Kings scored. After a long cycle in the Colorado zone, Michal Handzus pushed the puck to the front of the net. Alexei Ponikarovsky was there and slipped a backhand shot past Anderson at the 1:12 mark. Wayne Simmonds also got an assist.

Here’s the pregame view from the Pepsi Center press box…

The Kings did not put Drew Doughty on injured reserve because they believe there’s an outside chance that he might be able to return for Wednesday’s game at Chicago. If Doughty goes on IR, he would not be able to play until Thursday. Plus, with the Kings playing in the Midwest, Jake Muzzin won’t be [...]

The big winner of the day, other than Matt Greene, is Peter Harrold, who played well enough in Thursday’s loss to Phoenix to earn another game tonight. Terry Murray chose to keep Harrold in the lineup over Jake Muzzin in part, as Murray says below, because of the experience factor, but Murray is also betting [...]

The Kings have assigned defenseman Jake Muzzin to Manchester of the AHL to make room for Matt Greene on the active roster, rather than putting Drew Doughty on injured reserve.