LOS ANGELES — Despite controlling the play, often dominating the game, the Los Angeles Kings came up against a white hot goaltender in Semyon Varlamov, who led the Colorado Avalanche to a 2-1 shootout win over the Kings at Staples Center in Los Angeles on January 2.

Dustin Brown scored his tenth goal of the season to give the Kings a 1-0 lead at the 1:34 mark of the second period to give his team a 1-0 lead.

Prior to that, the ice was tilted towards the Colorado net, as the Kings put heavy pressure on the Avs in their own zone, often cycling and holding onto the puck for what seemed like an eternity. But Varlamov was brilliant, making four or five breathtaking saves, robbing the Kings each time.

That set the stage for Avs forward Ryan O’Reilly, who took advantage of a neutral zone turnover by Kings left wing Kyle Clifford to score his tenth goal of the season, tying the game at the 14:17 mark of the third period.

Avs forward Milan Hejduk scored the lone shootout goal to give the Avs their eighth win in their last nine games, and their tenth straight shootout victory, going back to last season.

Early in the first period, Kings right wing Justin Williams deflected a point shot past Varlamov, but the goal was immediately disallowed, with officials ruling that the puck was deflected in with a stick above the height of the crossbar.

Video review at the National Hockey League’s “War Room” in Toronto did not have conclusive evidence to make a ruling on the play, so the call on the ice stood.

NOTES:

The Kings have earned points in nine of their last ten games (6-1-3), and are 4-0-3 under head coach Darryl Sutter .

. The Kings extended their season-long point streak to eight games (5-0-3), and they are 3-0-1 in their last four home games.

The Kings have killed 27 straight penalties and 74 of their last 77 overall.

The Kings have allowed 42 goals in the last twenty games (2.10/game).

The Kings have allowed two goals or less in 23 of 40 games (15-3-5 in those games).

The Kings are 70-0-5 in their last 75 games when leading after two periods (12-0-2 this season).

Jonathan Quick is 5-0-2 in his last seven games with a 1.37 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage (31 saves in this game).

is 5-0-2 in his last seven games with a 1.37 goals-against average and a .951 save percentage (31 saves in this game). Quick is now 7-1-1 in his career against Colorado.

Brown has five goals in the last ten games, and has 68 hits in the last twelve.

Anze Kopitar has seven points in the last eight games (one goal, six assists; one assist in this game).

has seven points in the last eight games (one goal, six assists; one assist in this game). The Kings are 12-2-4 when Mike Richards records a point (one assist in this game).

Raw Audio Interviews

(Extraneous material and dead air have been removed)

Anze Kopitar (2:05)

Rob Scuderi (0:45)

Darryl Sutter (7:01; Edited for language)

Game Highlights From NHL Video On YouTube

Tickets for the Kings’ upcoming games against the Phoenix Coyotes (January 5, 2012, 7:30 PM – Coyotes vs. Kings), the Columbus Blue Jackets (January 7, 1:00 PM – Blue Jackets vs. Kings), as well as for other games on their schedule, are available from Barry’s Tickets, an official partner of the Los Angeles Kings. Use the code, “Royalty010” to get a 10 percent discount on their “Best Value” tickets.

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