Darcy Kuemper, Cup winner with Avs, returns with Kings

The Los Angeles Kings sit atop the Pacific Division early in the season but have been consistently inconsistent for the past month.

Los Angeles started the campaign by dropping three of four games, but since then, it has not won or lost more than two in a row. If the up-and-down play continues, the Kings could be in line for a victory when they visit the Colorado Avalanche in Denver on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles is coming off a 3-1 loss against the Calgary Flames on Monday night to kick off a quick two-game road trip. The Kings and Avalanche will now meet for the first of three matchups this season, and for Los Angeles goaltender Darcy Kuemper, it's a reunion with his former team.

Kuemper, who backstopped Colorado's 2022 Stanley Cup title, made 25 saves on Monday but came out on the losing end.

Los Angeles wasn't happy with its play against the Flames, who scored twice in a span of 36 seconds in the second period to grab a 2-0 lead. The Kings couldn't generate enough offense to pull even.

"It was just one of those games where we didn't connect, we didn't play well enough, we didn't have the energy that you need," Kings captain Anze Kopitar said. "We're playing catch-up for the better part of half of the game and yet we were still in it until the very end. Everything has to be better."

Coming off a 3-2 overtime victory against the Nashville Predators on Monday, the Avalanche have won the first two games of a four-game homestand that wraps up on Friday night. By then, Colorado could nearly have its full complement of forwards.

Jonathan Drouin, who has been out since sustaining an upper-body injury in the Avalanche's season opener back on Oct. 9, is close to returning, as is Miles Wood. Wood has missed the past six games with an upper-body injury, but both players were skating in regular jerseys during practice on Tuesday.

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said that he would talk to team trainers before making a final decision on the duo. Colorado assigned forwards T.J. Tynan and Nikita Prishchepov to the AHL, which could indicate that Wood and Drouin will be in the lineup on Wednesday.

Valeri Nichushkin, who has been suspended since this past spring, is eligible to return on Friday and is expected to be in the lineup. He was placed in Stage 3 of the Player Assistance Program during last season's playoffs.

That leaves Ross Colton (foot) and captain Gabriel Landeskog (knee) as the only top-six forwards on the shelf for the Avalanche.

The Avalanche have stayed above water despite all the injuries largely due to the performances of stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, who are among the NHL's point leaders. Makar's defensive partner, Devon Toews, has struggled a bit, but Bednar said he has not felt fully healthy all season.

"(Toews) at 80 percent is still better than lots of other players in the league," Bednar said.

--Field Level Media