LOS ANGELES — The Avalanche cracked the code of the Kings exactly as expected: without a point for Nathan MacKinnon or Mikko Rantanen, and without Cale Makar or Bo Byram even in the lineup.
Denis Malgin scored twice, Brad Hunt netted the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Avalanche overcame ugly stretches of hockey to eek out a 4-3 win over the Kings on Saturday.
The Avs (47-24-6) were outshot 40-23 by Los Angeles, the last remaining team in the Western Conference that they hadn’t beaten this season. But the depth scoring showed up at crunch time in the division race, right after consecutive games in which MacKinnon’s and Rantanen’s individual milestones stole the show.