Avalanche star center Nathan MacKinnon nearly scored twice during his first shift and his line produced the game’s first first goal soon thereafter. When right winger Mikko Rantanen scored his 27th goal of the season at 3:33 of the first period, Colorado was buzzing, outshooting the Los Angeles Kings 5-1.
It was a nightmare the rest of the way for the Avs, who fell 7-1 at the Pepsi Center in a rare loss at home and a costly one in their pursuit of the playoffs.
The Kings, who got four goals from captain Anze Kopitar and two others from Tobias Rieder, climbed to 89 points, a point ahead of Colorado.