Denver, CO (SportsNetwork.com) - Anze Kopitar had two goals and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings beat the Colorado Avalanche, 6-4, in the first game back from the Olympic break for both teams.
Justin Williams and Jeff Carter each had a goal and an assist for the Kings, who played their first game since Feb. 6. Robyn Regehr and Jarret Stoll also lit the lamp.
Martin Jones stopped 25-of-29 shots in the victory.
Jamie McGinn and Ryan O'Reilly each had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who played their first game since Feb. 8. PA Parenteau and Andre Benoit also scored.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere turned aside 22-of-27 shots in defeat.
"No one is perfect after two weeks off," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said. "But we've been working hard and you don't want to let a game like this affect you, especially because I think there are a lot of positives. I think we need to come back on Friday (against Phoenix) with the same attitude that we had today."
Trailing 4-2, Kopitar and Carter scored 2:04 apart late in the second period to tie the game.
Kopitar lit the lamp at 16:49 after his wraparound attempt went to Williams. Kopitar took a pass from Williams for an easy tap in.
Carter deflected Mike Richards' shot from the right circle at 18:53 to make it 4-4.
Kopitar scored a power-play goal at 3:13 of the third period to give the Kings a 5-4 lead. Carter deflected a shot by Tyler Toffoli and the puck went straight up in the air. Kopitar batted the disc past the goal line.
"Those two quick (goals) at the end of the second were huge and we carried that momentum into the third," Kopitar said. "It's nice to start off the third with a power play."
Williams scored an empty-net goal with 11.1 seconds remaining.
Regehr opened the scoring at 5:48 with a shot from the left point. O'Reilly beat Jones from in close at 11:17 to make it 1-1.
Parenteau gave Colorado the lead at 16:32. Matt Duchene carried the puck around the net before finding Parenteau in front.
Stoll tied the game 2-2 just 24 seconds into the middle stanza.
But the Avalanche went ahead 4-2 on power-play goals by McGinn and Benoit. McGinn redirected O'Reilly's pass past Jones at 8:57 and Benoit scored on a rebound at 15:42.
Game Notes
Los Angeles took two of three from Colorado this season ... Colorado defenseman Erik Johnson served the first of a two-game suspension ... Avalanche forward Maxime Talbot (personal) missed the game ... The Avalanche went 3-for-5 on the power play, while the Kings went 1-for-3 on the man advantage.
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