Kings prepare to host Avalanche

The Kings own the Pacific Division’s best points percentage and they’ll confront the Central Division’s pace car, the Colorado Avalanche, at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday.

Colorado cruised past the Kings 5-2 in the Kings’ season opener on Oct. 11. Prior to last year, when the Kings won two of three meetings with the Avalanche, Colorado had reeled off nine consecutive head-to-head victories.

Just two years ago, the Avalanche hoisted the Stanley Cup in a season wherein the Kings shocked the hockey world simply by making the playoffs after three futile campaigns and a spate of injuries. This season, it’s the Kings who sit atop the NHL in goals per game, goals allowed per game and penalty-kill percentage. They also own the league’s second-best goal differential, three behind Vancouver’s plus-31 mark.

The “but this” and “but that” analyses have rapidly receded from most discourse about the Kings, as their third pairing has found its stride, their goaltending has remained sharp and there has been little to complain about around Anze Kopitar and company’s castle.

But as the Kings take on one a Western power, a former champion like defending champion Vegas with a blitzkrieg style attack like contemporary archrival Edmonton, they may be looking for a bit more from the crown jewel of their offseason, Pierre-Luc Dubois.

“I think he’s come in and it’s taken him some time to adjust. I think he’s been better of late, which tells me he’s starting to adjust,” Coach Todd McLellan said after a 2-1 loss to Washington. “He’s very bold and strong with the puck … without the puck, I think he’s still trying to read and react to what we’re doing as a group and it’ll take some time, but I think his game is going up.”

Dubois told LA Kings Insider Zach Dooley that his transition to LA had certainly been easier than the midseason trade he went through in a COVID-fettered campaign that saw him transferred from dreary Columbus to drearier Winnipeg. Nevertheless, Dubois acknowledged he was still getting in where he fit in with the Kings.

“I think a lot out there. I try to process the game a lot out there, especially as a centerman,” Dubois told Dooley. “I think to be able to play at the fast speed that I want to play at, I’m not 100 percent there yet, but I’m getting there. Everybody here has been doing a really good job of helping me out and making it as easy as possible for me.”

Entering Saturday’s games, the Avalanche had gotten 92 points in 66 games combined from Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, who also combined for a plus-33 aggregate rating. They’ve continued to hold down the fort as captain Gabriel Landeskog has been sidelined for all of last season and this campaign with knee injuries.

Eight of Makar’s 14 games in November were multipoint efforts, including three consecutive three-point games and four overall as part of a 25-point month. He was beaten narrowly for first star of the month by former Hart Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who poured in 28 points in 14 matches.