The Colorado Avalanche knew it might not be a pretty effort against the Los Angeles Kings, but this team has proven it can win the ugly ones too. Martin Necas and Brock Nelson scored during one strong surge late in the second period, and the defensive work remained strong as the Avs fended off the L os Angeles Kings, 5-2, on Monday night at Ball Arena. “There’s obviously a lot of positives, but also some learning things,” Nelson said. “The (penalty kill) gives one up and you can learn from that. The power play, obviously there’s more to be had there. I think it’s a good sign for us to find different ways to win. “I feel like every night we can grind it out and find ways to win.” Nathan MacKinnon scored into an empty net for his league-leading 32nd goal of the season, and Cale Makar added one in the final minute to break open what had been a tight contest. Colorado has now won eight games in a row, and ran its record to 29-2-7. The Avs are 16-0-2 at home this season, and now an absurd 24-1-3 since Oct. 28. That’s 51 points in 28 games, which ties the most in league history in that span. They are the first team to collect 51 points in 28 contests since the Montreal Canadiens did during the 1977-78 campaign. While the Avs keep winning, special teams were a problem as the Kings scored a goal when both teams were on the power play. “Yes,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said when asked about rising concern with the power play. “It’s because it’s been too long without us figuring it out. There’s concern for sure, but I still have lots of belief.” Necas scored for the third time in two games to give Colorado the lead in the second period. It was a long shift in the offensive zone after Kings’ forward Trevor Moore lost his stick. The Avs hit the post at one point, then Moore got away with an obvious penalty to interfere with Makar, but their persistence paid off. Necas wheeled around in the right circle to put the puck towards the net. It hit a body in front and then the left post. Gabe Landeskog dove head-first at the rebound, and the puck trickled along the goal line to the right post, where Necas met it for an easy tap-in at 13:21 of the second. Nelson made it a two-goal lead with a wicked wrist shot at 17:30. Joel Kiviranta sent him the puck on the right wing during a rush, and Nelson whipped a shot from inside the circle into the top corner of the net for his 15th goal of the season. Samuel Girard started the sequence with a pass to Kiviranta, giving him at least one point in four straight games and nine in his past eight contests. While the Avs’ 26th-ranked power play did not get on track in this game, Los Angeles came into this contest even worse but did manage to score on the best penalty kill in the league. The Kings’ first power play of the night looked like one from a team 13.9% for nearly two minutes, but right at the end, Kevin Fiala found Corey Perry for a tap-in at the edge of the crease 5:15 into the second period to make it a 1-1 contest at the time. Colorado’s power play trouble has been a talking point all season, and this was yet another night where the Avalanche was clearly the superior team at even strength, but playing with an extra skater flummoxed them. Not only did the Avs not score on four opportunities, but the Kings got back to within a goal early in the third while shorthanded. Joel Armia collected the puck in the Colorado offensive zone and took it nearly the full length of the ice before surprising Blackwood with a shot from the high slot with two defenders still in front of him at 4:58 of the third. The Avs have now scored two power-play goals and allowed two shorthanded goals over the past five games. During this eight-game winning streak, Colorado has outscored its opponents 32-11 at even strength, but only 3-2 while on the power play. “I didn’t think the top unit was in sync,” Bednar said. “I thought we had some guys on that unit that didn’t have a great night when it came to their offensive touch, so it sort of us struggled for us today. Then I think the frustration built up and it got worse.” Jack Drury had the lone goal of the opening period. Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty tried to make a cross-rink pass during a Kings breakout, but Ross Colton deflected it with one hand on his stick off the right boards to himself and then fed Drury in the middle of the ice for his sixth goal of the season at 9:24 of the first. Drury’s shot fooled Anton Forsberg, who was playing in part because No. 1 netminder, ex-Avs goalie Darcy Kuemper, is out with an injury after his former teammate Mikko Rantanen collided with him two weeks ago. “No matter who you’re playing with here, you’re playing with good players and Ross is definitely one of those,” Drury said. “He plays with so much speed, he’s a hard forechecker, and has a ton of skill on top of that. So anytime you’re playing with him, he makes it easy out there.” ...read more read less