LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ryan O'Reilly scored the tying goal with 5:43 left in the third period, Milan Hejduk got the only goal in a shootout and Semyon Varlamov made 31 saves to lead the surging Colorado Avalanche to a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.
Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, trying for his NHL-leading sixth shutout, finished with 20 saves. He stopped Colorado's first 19 shots before O'Reilly carried the puck into the Kings' zone off a turnover by Kyle Clifford and scored on a 30-foot wrist shot that beat Quick to the stick side.
Colorado has won eight of its last nine games.
The Avalanche are 7-0 in shootouts and have won their past 10 tiebreakers, one shy of the NHL record for consecutive shootout wins set by the Dallas Stars - all during the 2005-06 season. Quick is 3-4 in shootouts, after going 10-0 last season.
The Kings found themselves on a power play just 20 seconds after the opening faceoff, as O'Reilly received a 4-minute high-sticking penalty for cutting defenseman Jack Johnson. But Mike Richards got an interference penalty just 7 seconds later, and Los Angeles had a power-play goal disallowed with 44 seconds left on O'Reilly's double-minor.
Justin Williams had his stick above the crossbar when he redirected Johnson's long, off-balance wrist shot between Varlamov's legs on a bounce, and referee Stephen Walkom waved it off immediately. Video replays upheld the decision.
The Kings opened the scoring at 1:34 of the second period. Richards passed the puck around the boards to Anze Kopitar behind the net, and he made a backhand wraparound attempt that hit Varlamov's stick as it was flat on the ice. Dustin Brown was right there to convert the rebound with a backhander for his 10th goal.
The Avalanche had only one power-play opportunity the entire game, after Clifford was sent off for kneeing former Kings defenseman Kyle Quincey with 11:12 left in the third period. It was the third time in four games that the Avs had the man advantage fewer than three times.
(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)