A few years ago the Los Angeles Kings were celebrating their second

A few years ago the Los Angeles Kings were celebrating their second Stanley Cup title in three seasons and looking like a budding dynasty.The once-formidable franchise is occupying the basement of the NHL these days and thinking more about positioning for the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft than winning another title. At least that was the narrative a few weeks ago.The Kings have shown life lately Martin Frk Jersey , winning four straight — three against teams in playoff position — before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night. Los Angeles will try to keep its momentum going when it plays at the struggling Colorado Avalanche on Monday night.Article continues below ...The Kings (15-21-3) are still eight points out of the second wild card in the West with half the season left. How thing unfold over the next couple of weeks could determine if the franchise becomes a seller before the trade deadline. The players are just focusing on what is happening on the ice.“I think we’re trying to just take it one game at a time, quite honestly,” Los Angeles forward Dustin Brown told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday. “We have a lot of new guys with not a lot of experience of what it takes to win at this level.”The Kings are surging as the Avalanche are stumbling. Colorado has lost four in a row, including an overtime setback to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night. Scoring has become an issue after the Avalanche were one of the top offensive teams through the first two months of the season.In five of the last six games, Colorado has scored two goals or fewer and the one contest it had four goals was a loss at Arizona.The struggles led to coach Jared Bednar shaking up his top two lines to create a spark. Despite the trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog combining for 160 points before Saturday’s game Bednar moved Landeskog to the second line and put Matt Nieto with MacKinnon and Rantanen.By the second period, Landeskog was back on the top line. He played well but his double minor late in the third period led to a Chicago power-play goal in overtime.“Landy is a heck of a player,” Colorado forward Alexander Kerfoot told HockeyBuzz.com about the team’s captain. “Whatever line’s he’s playing on, he’ll help them produce and help them be consistent. We’re lucky to play with him tonight. He’s very consistent in what he brings every night. You know what you’re getting out of him.”Colorado (19-13-7) has three games left on this homestand and needs to turn things around. Despite going 3-7-2 in the last 12 games the Avalanche are still in third place in the Central Division.They will try to shore up some of their defensive issues, which may help get the offense going.“We want to be dangerous offensively http://www.redwingsshoponline.com/authentic-mike-green-jersey , but we’ve got to be better on the defensive side, both on the rush and in our zone,” Bednar said Saturday night. DALLAS (AP) The Dallas Stars needed a big performance from goaltender Ben Bishop to maintain their position in the playoff race, and they got one.Bishop made 38 saves, and Dallas blanked Calgary 2-0 on Tuesday night for his 24th career shutout and fifth this season.”Ben was great, and he did an outstanding job,” Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said. ”Held us together and it’s two points.”Those points allowed the Stars to remain in the first Western Conference wild card spot and prevented Calgary, which sits just outside the second wild card position, from moving ahead of them.”There were some chances,” Bishop said Womens Nick Jensen Jersey , ”but I think the guys did a good job of just a one and done. There (weren’t) too many sustained chances there where they were getting two, three whacks. Sometimes you’ve got to come up and make the saves.”Bishop made 17 of them in the second period, when Dallas increased its lead to 2-0 on a power-play goal by Tyler Seguin, his 32nd.Devin Shore scored the first goal with just 39 seconds left in the first period. He skated past Calgary’s Dougie Hamilton to the left faceoff circle and lifted a wrist shot over goalie Jon Gillies.Bishop’s best work was during a Calgary 5-on-3 power play that lasted 1:55 midway through the first period. The Flames managed only two shots on goal but had other good chances.Calgary came into the game with nine power-play goals in the previous six games but missed on all six man advantages.”We had to get something on the power play, especially that 5-on-3,” Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said. ”I saw what it did to their bench. Their crowd obviously recognizing a good kill, and I thought they got a little energy from it when it didn’t happen.”Bishop was really good tonight. We had a lot of chances. We just couldn’t get anything by him.”Midway through the second period, Seguin scored on the power play, taking a cross-ice pass from Jamie Benn low in the right circle. Seguin beat goalie Jon Gillies with a wrist shot into the upper right corner.Gillies took his first loss in six NHL games. He stopped 24 shots.”He gave us a chance,” Gulutzan said. ”I thought they made a real nice play on the first goal Thomas Vanek Jersey , and even the second goal, if Seguin gets a shot from there on the east-west pass like that he’s not going to miss too many times.”On the Stars’ third power play of the second period, Bishop stopped 3-on-2 and 2-on-1 short-handed rushes by the Flames.”What did we give up?” Hitchcock said. ”Thirty scoring chances?”We need a lot better play by a lot more people.”Shore’s goal was his first in 11 games.”The puck was coming up the wall and it kind of seemed there was nobody on Dan Hamhuis’s side. Remi Elie won his battle in their zone and it was a nice pass by him to come right out to me,” Shore said. ”I was gonna shoot and did a quick fake, and it went in.”NOTES: Bishop’s 38 saves were his most in a shutout this season. His best save total for any game this season is 39. … Dallas LW Antoine Roussel went off for interference in the first period, bringing his penalty minutes over 100 for the fifth time in seven seasons. Five seconds later, D Marc Methot joined Roussel in the penalty box. … Gillies had won his first three decisions, including the two games before Tuesday. … The Stars had been 1 for 20 on the power play over eight-plus games before Seguin’s goal. … Calgary was 9 for 21 with a man advantage in the previous six games. . Each team had seven minor penalties.UP NEXTFlames: Complete a two-game trip on Wednesday at Colorado.Stars: Play the third in a five-game homestand on Thursday against Tampa Bay.—