DENVER — Jarome Iginla became the 19th member of the 600-goal club, scoring a power-play goal in the third period, and the Colorado Avalanche beat Los Angeles 4-1 on Monday night, snapping the Kings’ five-game winning streak.
Iginla sent a wrist shot toward the net that hit off the skate of defenceman Jake Muzzin and bounced past goalie Jhonas Enroth. Iginla was mobbed by teammates near the glass and then he saluted the crowd during an extended standing ovation.
Defenceman Tyson Barrie added two goals and two assists, while Matt Duchene also scored for the Avalanche, who improved to 1-1-1 on a five-game homestand. Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 shots.
Tyler Toffoli scored the lone goal for the Kings on a pass from Anze Kopitar, who has at least one assist in six straight games.
Enroth stepped into the net to give Jonathan Quick a night off. Quick was named the NHL’s first star of the week Monday after going 4-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average.
Duchene added a goal 1:23 in the third period to make it 3-1, which was more than enough of a cushion for Varlamov.
Iginla nearly had a goal early in the second period on a power play, but his wrist shot hit off Enroth’s right shoulder. About 20 seconds later, Barrie scored on a slap shot from the blue line.
After Toffoli tied the game with a power play goal, Barrie scored again with a wrist shot. It was the third two-goal game of Barrie’s career.
Kopitar had an opportunity to get L.A. on the board about a minute into the game, only to have Varlamov stick out his left pad at the last moment to thwart Kopitar’s shot.
The only thing Los Angeles knocked into the goal during the first period was Varlamov himself. Dwight King sent defenceman Zach Redmond sliding into the Avalanche goalie, which dislodged the goal. King drew a penalty for interference, but Colorado couldn’t capitalize.
Recently, coach Patrick Roy had a chat with Iginla about trying to do too much to reach the 600-goal mark. The Hall of Fame goaltender-turned-coach said he knows how Iginla feels, experiencing something similar when Roy chased after his 300th win.
“He knows it will happen naturally,” Roy said. “It’s not something you need to force.”
Iginla scored his 600th in his 1,432nd NHL game.
NOTES: Kings C Jeff Carter missed a fifth straight game with an upper body injury. … Darryl Sutter coached his 300th game with the Kings. … Broncos running back C.J. Anderson had a seat right next to the glass a day after the team clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs. … There were several Nuggets in attendance, including Danilo Gallinari. … D Erik Johnson suffered a lower body injury in the second period.
