Kings end losing streak at eight games

DENVER -- Kings Coach Marc Crawford heard a strange sound in the locker room: laughter.

The upbeat mood finally returned as Los Angeles ended a skid at eight games. Derek Armstrong and Scott Thornton scored goals 1:17 apart in the third period, lifting the Kings to a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

“It’s extremely gratifying for our guys,” Crawford said. “You can hear them whooping it up after the game. It’s a nice sound to hear because we’ve been so dejected after most of these games.”

The Kings also picked up their first road win since Nov. 28 at San Jose.

“We’ve been on a little bit of a slide,” Thornton said. “We’ve been close in a lot of games, but obviously that’s not good enough in the NHL.”

The Kings had only 10 shots on goal through the first two periods, but the offense roared to life in the final 20 minutes, peppering Jose Theodore with 13 shots.

Armstrong tied the score, 1-1, midway through the third period, clanging a shot off the post for his third goal. Thornton followed with a slap shot for his third goal.

“We came out a little sluggish the first couple of periods, but we stuck with the system,” Armstrong said. “I think that’s what we’ve got to do a little bit more.”

Colorado pulled Theodore with 55 seconds remaining, but Anze Kopitar secured the victory on an empty-net goal with 16.4 seconds left. It was Kopitar’s 16th goal.

“I thought our guys had a lot of life in the third period,” Crawford said. “After we got the first goal, you could really sense we got a little more at ease.”

Theodore was filling in for Peter Budaj, who was given the day off after making seven consecutive starts. The Avalanche staked Theodore to a 1-0 lead on Jordan Leopold’s goal in the first period, but he couldn’t make it stand up.

“They came out good in the third and had some chances, and they ended up winning the game,” said Theodore, whose team dropped to 15-2-1 when scoring first.

Jean-Sebastien Aubin stopped 29 shots for the Kings, including a skate save on a wrist shot by Jaroslav Hlinka late in the third period.

“We were patient,” Aubin said. “We got our chances in the third and buried them. It’s good to get a win. It feels really good.”

Leopold scored his second goal off a pass from Wojtek Wolski in the first period.

The defenseman has been out the last four games because of a cut on his right leg, the latest ailment in an injury-plagued season. He has also sat out 21 games because of a wrist injury and two more because of hip problems.

“It’s been a challenge,” he said of his battle with injuries. “It felt good [to score]. Obviously, it feels better when you win, but it’s nice to get one.”

The Kings were elated to have the losing streak ended. Of their eight losses, four were by a goal.

“It’s great for them,” Crawford said. “They can now, hopefully, continue that feeling. Confidence comes from results, and we got a result tonight. Hopefully, we can build on the result.”

--

TONIGHT

at Chicago, 4 PST

Radio -- 1150.

Site -- United Center.

Records -- Kings 13-24-2, Blackhawks 19-15-2.

Record vs. Blackhawks -- 0-1

Update -- These two last faced each other on Dec. 12, and the Kings were knocked off, 6-3. That started an eight-game losing streak for the Kings that finally ended with Saturday’s 3-1 victory over the Avalanche. Chicago, meanwhile, has four wins in a row.