King

WASHINGTON — King Charles III will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, becoming the second British monarch in history to do so as the United States commemorates the 250th anniversary of its independence from England.

The king’s address, the centerpiece of a four-day state visit, comes at a moment of unusual strain between Washington and London. President Trump has repeatedly clashed with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the United States’ war with Iran, derided the British government’s refusal to commit forces to the conflict and even mocked the Royal Navy’s battleships as “toys.”

At a welcome ceremony for the king and Queen Camilla at the White House, Trump struck a more appreciative tone, describing the relationship between the two nations as a centuries-old “cherished bond.”

“Long before Americans had a nation or a Constitution, we first had a culture, a character and a creed,” the president said. “Before we ever proclaimed our independence, Americans carried within us the rarest of gifts — moral courage — and it came from a small but mighty kingdom from across the sea.”

Trump said that some may think it is “ironic” to honor the British king during celebrations of America’s independence, but argued the tribute “could not be more appropriate.”

“Americans have had no closer friends than the British,” Trump said. “We share the same root. We speak the same language. We hold the same values. And together, our warriors have defended the same extraordinary civilization under twin banners of red, white and blue.”

Trump said he will not be attending the king’s remarks at the Capitol due to security protocols, but said he planned to watch from afar. He did not elaborate on any security concerns, but the decision comes in the aftermath of a shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner in which authorities said Trump was a likely target.

Following the welcome ceremony, the king joined Trump in the Oval Office for a closed-door bilateral meeting.

The president appeared to be enjoying the visit. He told the crowd at the White House that his late mother “loved” the royal family and watched their events on television. The president even joked his mother had a “crush” on the king when he was younger.

“I wonder what’s she’s thinking right now,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Trump posted on Truth Social that he planned to raise with the king and queen a media report suggesting his family roots may be tied to the royal family, a prospect he appeared to find amusing.

“I’ve always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!!” the president said in the post.

The king is scheduled to address Congress at 3 p.m. EDT. He is expected to delivered prepared remarks about the two nations’ shared history and their enduring diplomatic ties, while offering measured acknowledgment to the tensions defining the current moment.

The only precedent for an address by a British monarch was 35 years ago, when Queen Elizabeth II addressed a joint session of Congress in 1991. The timing of her address came after the end of the Gulf War.

How the king will address the current geopolitical tensions, including the Iran war and Trump’s threats to leave the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, remains to be seen.

But hanging over the king’s visit is the shadow of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), one of the most vocal lawmakers pushing for the release of the Epstein files, last month requested that the king privately meet with some of the women who were sexually abused by the late financier.

The request was made in a letter to Buckingham Palace. In it, Khanna noted that the Epstein scandal extended to Britain, where the king’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was tied to the alleged misconduct.

In February, the former Prince Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his links to Epstein, marking the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal was criminally apprehended.

But the king declined to meet directly with the survivors, Khanna said in an MS NOW interview on Tuesday morning. The California Democrat said he expects the king to address the issue during his remarks to Congress.

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April 27 (UPI) — British King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in the United States for a state visit Monday as President Donald Trump issued public assurances that the monarch would “be very safe.”

The British Ambassador to the United States Christian Turner and U.S. Chief of Protocol Monica Crowley greeted Charles and Camilla after they landed at Joint Base Andrews on Monday afternoon.

President Trump and first lady Melania then welcomed them at the South Portico of the White House, where they posed for photos outside, NBC News reported.

Following discussions between Buckingham Palace and the White House following Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, Buckingham Palace announced Sunday that Charles and Queen Camilla would be going ahead with the visit, with some very minor changes.

The president told CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday that the White House, which King Charles will visit, was “really safe.”

“I think it’s great, he’ll be very safe… the White House grounds are really safe. This area of not very many acres is really safe. And he’ll be staying here, I believe he’s going to a couple of other locations because he’s here for a few days,” Trump said.

“They called him and they are so looking forward to being here. We spoke this morning.”

The palace said in a statement Sunday that the royal couple was eagerly anticipating their trip.

“Following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the day, and acting on advice of the government, we can confirm the state visit by their majesties will proceed as planned. The king and queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the visit getting underway tomorrow.”

Preparations for the visit, which is in reciprocation for Trump’s state visit to Britain in September and to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary, were at an advanced stage when Saturday’s incident occurred, with Britain’s Union Jack flag flying alongside the Stars and Stripes in the streets around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Turner said Prime Minister Keir Starmer called Trump on Sunday to wish him well following the shooting and that the visit would go ahead largely unchanged.

Charles and Camilla also contacted the Trumps privately following Saturday’s attack to express their sympathy.

Turner said the focus of the visit would be “renewing and revitalising a unique friendship.”

The “shared history, shared sacrifice and common values” of the two countries would be on display, highlighting a partnership that made the people of both the United States and Britain “safer, richer and happier,” he added.

After an official welcoming ceremony and events at the White House on Tuesday, Charles is expected to then head to Capitol Hill to address both houses of Congress, before Trump and first lady Melania Trump host an official state dinner for the royal couple in the East Room of the White House in the evening.

On Wednesday, the royal couple will go on to New York where Charles will be hosted by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani for a wreath-laying ceremony ​to commemorate the 67 British victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

Charles and Camilla return to Washington for their formal parting with their hosts on Thursday before heading to Virginia and then onwards to the British overseas territory of Bermuda.

The visit comes at a time when trans-Atlantic relations have been strained over the United States’ war with Iran, with Trump angered that Britain has not supported it, although it has allowed U.S. military aircraft to use British air bases in Britain and in Diego Garcia.

Trump has repeatedly attacked Starmer over his refusal to back the U.S. military offensive but the pair are also at odds over “opening” North Sea oil and gas fields, with Trump saying it was imperative Britain resumed drilling and extraction, and immigration, where he said Starmer needed to emulate the “strong” policies of the United States.

London is hoping the royal visit will go some way to smoothing over the difficulties, particularly given Trump’s well-known admiration for the British monarchy.

Asked by the BBC on Thursday whether the king coming to the United States would heal the rift, Trump said it was very likely to.

“Absolutely. He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes. I know him well, I’ve known him for years. He’s a brave man, and he’s a great man. They would absolutely be a positive.”

However, he was less positive regarding his relationship with Starmer but said he still had a chance to recover from a domestic crisis over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington if he changed direction on energy and immigration.

WASHINGTON — Two and a half centuries after the American colonies declared independence from Britain under King George III, his descendant King Charles III lands in Washington on Monday with trans-Atlantic ties under strain and security in the spotlight.

A shooting at a Washington dinner attended by President Trump on Saturday sparked a last-minute security review of the four-day state visit, intended to celebrate the United States’ 250th anniversary, and the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship.”

Buckingham Palace said the king “is greatly relieved to hear that the president, first lady and all guests have been unharmed.” After a security review, the palace said the trip “will proceed as planned.”

Trump praises the king but derides Starmer

A rift between the U.K. government and Trump over issues including the Iran war had already raised the political stakes for the British monarch’s visit.

In recent weeks, Trump has lambasted Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his unwillingness to join U.S. military attacks on Iran, dismissing Britain’s leader as “not Winston Churchill,” the World War II prime minister who coined the phrase “special relationship” for the U.K.-U.S. bond.

It’s part of a wider rift between Trump and the United States’ NATO allies, whom he has called “cowards” and “useless” for not joining action against Iran. A leaked Pentagon email suggested the U.S. could reassess support for the U.K.’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the south Atlantic. Britain and Argentina fought a 1982 war over the islands, also known as the Islas Malvinas.

The president insists the political chill won’t affect the royal visit. Charles “has nothing to do with that,” Trump said in March, meaning NATO.

The president has spoken in glowing terms about Charles, repeatedly referring to the monarch as his “friend” and a “great guy.”

He also continues to mention his “amazing” trip to the U.K. in September with first lady Melania Trump for an unprecedented second state visit. Starmer hand-delivered the invitation from the king in the Oval Office five weeks after Trump returned to office, in a very public attempt to woo the Republican president.

The U.K. royal family laid on pomp and pageantry for the Trumps, with scarlet-clad guardsmen, brass bands and a sumptuous banquet at Windsor Castle.

“President Trump has always had great respect for King Charles, and their relationship was further strengthened by the president’s historic visit to the United Kingdom last year,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Associated Press. “The president looks forward to a special visit by Their Majesties, which will include a beautiful state dinner and multiple events throughout the week.”

Trump, meanwhile, told the BBC that the king’s visit could “absolutely” help repair the trans-Atlantic relationship.

“He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes,” the president said.

Some have called for the trip to be canceled

Kristofer Allerfeldt, a University of Exeter professor specializing in American history, said the two governments have very different objectives for the trip.

He said that for Charles, the trip is about “reinforcing long-term ties, showcasing the monarchy’s soft power and reminding the world that Britain still carries diplomatic weight.”

For Trump, it’s more about “a media event,” with emphasis on the optics of a visit that resembles a meeting of “two gilded monarchs.”

Some U.K. politicians worry that the trip is fraught with opportunities for embarrassment. Trump’s recent broadsides at Pope Leo XIV have heightened those concerns.

Ed Davey, leader of the U.K. centrist opposition Liberal Democrats party, earlier this month called Trump “a dangerous and corrupt gangster” and implored the government to cancel the trip.

“I really fear for what Trump might say or do while our king is forced to stand by his side,” Davey said in the House of Commons. “We cannot put His Majesty in that position.”

Starmer defended the visit, saying “the monarchy, through the bonds that it builds, is often able to reach through the decades” and bolster important relationships.

Andrew and Epstein cast a shadow

Raising the stakes is the shadow of the king’s younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who has been stripped of his royal title of Prince Andrew, exiled from public life and put under police investigation over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He has denied committing any crimes.

Epstein victims have urged the king to meet with them and other sexual abuse survivors. It’s unlikely he will do so.

Charles has visited the U.S. 19 times, but this is his first state visit to the country since becoming king in 2022. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, made four state visits to the U.S.

The king, who is 77 and was diagnosed in early 2024 with an undisclosed form of cancer, will spend four days in the U.S. accompanied by Queen Camilla.

In Washington, the king and queen will have a private tea with the Trumps and attend a garden party and a formal White House state dinner. The president and the king will also have a one-on-one meeting.

The royal couple will also visit the Sept. 11 memorial in New York and attend a 250th birthday block party in Virginia, where Charles will also meet Indigenous leaders involved in nature conservation — a favorite cause of the environmentalist king.

Three centuries after Britain’s kings and queens gave up any real political power, the royals remain symbols of soft power, deployed by elected governments to smooth international relationships and send messages about what the U.K. considers important.

A key moment will be the king’s speech to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday. It’s only the second time, after Queen Elizabeth II in 1991, that a U.K. monarch has addressed a joint meeting of both houses.

Elizabeth praised liberalism on that trip, spoke against the idea that “power grows from the barrel of a gun” and praised the “rich ethnic and cultural diversity of both our societies.”

The king’s treasured causes, including the environment and harmony among religious faiths, are in contrast to Trump’s. He’s unlikely to accentuate differences, but Allerfeldt said that, in the monarch’s subtle way, the king could use his speech to send a message.

“He does have an unorthodox way of looking at the world, and I think maybe he can actually have something valid to say when he addresses Congress,” Allerfeldt said.

Superville and Lawless write for the Associated Press. Jill Lawless reported from London.

LONDON — The challenge for King Charles III as he arrives in the United States this week is, as always, to live up to his mother’s example.

The late Queen Elizabeth II wowed Congress in 1991 with a speech that celebrated the shared democratic traditions of Britain and the United States, quoted Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and highlighted the deep bonds between the two nations.

Those themes will also be at the top of Charles’ agenda as he celebrates America’s 250th birthday and seeks to calm tensions surrounding Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s refusal to support President Trump’s war against Iran, said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University in Texas.

“We’ve got to always make the distinction that there’s a difference between the government of the U.K. and the kings and queens of Great Britain, who are really always coming to try to put [on] a good face,” Brinkley told the Associated Press. “Politics come and go; prime ministers, presidents, come and go; but there’s something deeper about the special relationship between the United States and the U.K.”

Charles and Queen Camilla begin a four-day trip on Monday, when they will have tea with the president and First Lady Melania Trump, then tour the White House beehive, in a nod to the king’s focus on the environment.

The formal arrival ceremony will take place Tuesday, with a 21-gun salute, brass bands playing the national anthems of both countries and a contingent of U.S. service members passing in review. The ceremonies will be followed by a meeting between Trump and Charles.

Behind the scenes

But beneath the pomp and pageantry will be a carefully choreographed diplomatic event staged, like all royal visits, at the request of the British government. Starmer resisted pressure to cancel it after Trump belittled the British military’s sacrifices in Afghanistan and criticized him personally for failing to back the U.S. in its war alongside Israel against Iran.

Despite those tensions, Trump has continued to speak warmly about Charles.

“History has shown that President Trump really tries to be impressive whenever he’s dealing with British royalty,” Brinkley said. “And I’m sure it’ll be the same this time around.”

Ever since 1939, when King George VI became the first British monarch to set foot on the soil of the country’s former colony, there’s been a special sort of excitement whenever the royals come to the United States.

Take that first visit, which took place as World War II loomed over Europe. The royals toured the East Coast and attended a picnic at President Roosevelt’s private home in Hyde Park, N.Y. “King tries hot dog and asks for more,’’ declared the New York Times.

But the big moment was when the royals traveled to Mount Vernon to lay a wreath at the tomb of George Washington. It showed respect at a time of isolationism.

“People could see the handwriting on the wall and know that it was going to be important for the United States and Britain to stay strong for fighting against Hitler,” said Barbara Perry, a presidential scholar at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.

But bonding over sausages had broader benefits, helping the royals build links to the general public as well as its leadership. After war broke out in September 1939, Queen Elizabeth, the wife of George VI and mother of the future Elizabeth II, wrote to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to say how moved she’d been by letters from Americans who enclosed small sums for British forces.

“Sometimes, during the last terrible months, we have felt rather lonely in our fight against evil things, but I can honestly say that our hearts have been lightened by the knowledge that friends in America understand what we are fighting for,’’ she wrote.

The queen’s connection

Queen Elizabeth II built on those relationships, making four state visits to the U.S. during her 70-year reign. She joined President Ford in celebrating America’s bicentennial in 1976 and met with President George W. Bush in 2007 as British and American forces fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Smoothing turbulent waters and reminding both sides about their common bonds were what those trips were all about.

Charles’ visit will be no different. It includes a commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a ceremony honoring fallen service members and an event to be attended by Queen Camilla to mark the 100th anniversary of Winnie the Pooh stories by British author A.A. Milne.

Certain events will be avoided.

The royals won’t meet with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, despite calls for the king to address his accusations related to his brother Andrew’s links to the convicted sex offender. Nor are there plans for Charles to meet with his son Prince Harry, who has been a critic of the monarchy since giving up royal duties and moving to California.

Those issues aren’t the priority, said Robert Hardman, author of “Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story.”

“He’s going because 250 years ago the Founding Fathers of the USA kicked out his great-times-five grandfather, and he’s going to say, `No hard feelings, it’s been a great divorce, we’ve had a lovely 250 years and let’s reflect on the high points,’’’ Hardman said. “I mean, there are going to be some very, very large elephants in the room during that visit … but, you know, there are plenty of other things for the king to focus on.”

History, not politics

Charles’ speech to a joint session of Congress offers the chance to deliver the message that long-term friendship is more important than transient disputes.

He is also likely to offer a bit of humor, as his mother did when she addressed lawmakers in 1991.

Wearing soft peach amid a sea of gray suits, the diminutive monarch began her remarks with a joke about an earlier blunder at the White House when her lectern was so tall it obscured the audience’s view of her.

“I do hope you can see me today from where you are,’’ she deadpanned.

The chamber erupted in laughter. A standing ovation followed. Then she launched into a speech about democratic values, the rule of law and the Atlantic Alliance — the foundation of NATO.

Those are values that critics of the current U.S. administration say it has retreated from in recent years. But Charles will offer his own take on those ideas, Brinkley said.

“The theme of the speech is going to be American exceptionalism, American history, the importance of U.S.-British alliance, and some memories from the past,” he said. “But also about the love affair the two countries share with each other, even though it goes over rocky rapids from time to time.”

Kirka writes for the Associated Press.

Lionsgate’s “Michael” is on track to unseat “Straight Outta Compton” as the king of musical biopics.

Early returns suggest the Antoine Fuqua-directed film will surpass the $60-million opening weekend box office record set by the N.W.A biopic in 2015, with the studio expecting an opening that could reach $70 million.

“Michael Jackson is one of the most influential artists in human history. His impact on music, fashion, dance, film and business has withstood the test of time,” said Adam Fogelson, the chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.

“All of those things together seem to have created a profound response from audiences of all ages,” he added.

“Michael,” starring the legendary pop star’s nephew Jaafar Jackson, hits 3,900 screens nationwide on Friday.

The film marks the first time the story of Michael Jackson’s life and career are back in movie theaters since 2009’s “This Is It.” That posthumous documentary followed the rehearsals for his London residency, which was canceled after he died, just 18 days before the first of 50 scheduled shows.

That film remains the highest-grossing documentary of all time with nearly $270 million in global ticket sales.

The stakes may be higher for “Michael,” not just because of its roughly $200-million cost, but also its circuitous journey to the big screen.

Early development on the motion picture began in 2019, but frequent changes — both in the storyline and production — forced delays. The original idea was to encapsulate Jackson’s life from childhood fame with the Jackson 5 to his solo commercial peak during the ’80s and end with the child sex abuse allegations he faced in 1993.

That version of the film was well underway when the production was forced to go back to the drawing board due to a legal issue. The Jackson estate, which is in support of the project, reportedly discovered the early draft of “Michael” violated a $15-million settlement with the accuser in that case. Part of the agreement stipulated that the alleged victim would never be pictured or mentioned in a dramatization of Jackson’s life.

Production reconvened for 22 additional days and the Jackson estate took on tens of millions of dollars in additional reshoot costs.

The current version of “Michael,” hitting theaters this weekend, is set between the 1960s and 1988. It closely follows the controlling relationship between Jackson and his father, Joe Jackson, played by Colman Domingo, and tracks the king of pop’s peak stardom. Janet Jackson is notably absent from the storyline.

Depending on how the movie performs, there are plans for a potential sequel. The follow-up would tell the second half of Jackson’s career, where much of the scrapped footage could be used. Lionsgate has done advanced work to ensure that a significant amount of the previously captured footage could be included.

So far, the movie is receiving mixed reviews. As of Friday morning, the critic’s consensus on Rotten Tomatoes was less than favorable, with a score of 40%. But Lionsgate remains confident the film will resonate positively with average moviegoers and Jackson fans, both domestically and globally.

“The audiences that are now starting to watch the movie in early previews have been euphoric,” Fogelson said. “Audiences are speaking loudly and clearly about how much they appreciate the final product.”

Even outside of theaters, Jackson’s story continues to find success. “MJ,” the jukebox musical based on his life, is in its fourth year on Broadway and has had both national and international showings. Michael Jackson’s estate has also collaborated with Cirque du Soleil for several acrobatic productions since 2011. The “Michael Jackson ONE” show, which first premiered in 2013, recently extended its run on the Las Vegas Strip until 2030.

Tiffany Naiman, the director of music industry programs at UCLA, said the sustained interest in the pop icon speaks to his loyal fan base and place in American cultural history.

“He represents not only extraordinary artistic achievement, but also the contradictions of fame at its most amplified,” Naiman said in a statement. “That tension — between brilliance and controversy, innovation and scrutiny — is precisely what continues to draw audiences back, and what will likely shape both the film’s reception and its broader cultural impact.”

Seeing Tripp King flick a rubber ball toward the net with his stick is like spotting an unidentified flying object and wondering if you missed it because the shot happens faster than the blink of an eye.

His lacrosse coach at Loyola High, Jimmy Borell, brings out one of those baseball radar guns twice a year to clock how fast his players can send that ball through a net.

King’s right hand delivers the ball at 100 mph and his left hand at 90 mph.

“I pray he doesn’t cut the net,” Borell said.

In a sport that’s beloved on the East Coast, King is helping bring respect to lacrosse players learning the game on the West Coast.

He started lacrosse in kindergarten, showing up to participate in South Bay Lacrosse Club. By first grade, he was wearing lacrosse pads. He also played football and basketball. When he reached Loyola as a freshman, he was still a three-sport athlete, but he had become so talented in lacrosse that it became his focus.

“I always loved the speed of lacrosse,” said the junior. “I see that similarity in basketball. It’s always pulled me knowing you have to be good at everything instead of one particular skill.”

At 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds with the thick calves of a football player, he’s an attacker that every opponent must track. He’ll stand behind the net ready to receive the ball and make a pass to teammates who will quickly get the ball back to him for a goal with one flick of his wrist.

He had 102 points during the regular season (65 goals, 37 assists) for a Loyola team seeded No. 1 for the seven-team Southern Section Division 1 playoffs that begin this week. Loyola has a bye in the opening round and won’t play until May 9.

“He’s pretty special,” Borell said. “He’s got the tangibles, very skilled, can use both of his hands and has a very quick step.”

He’s committed to North Carolina, which is a dream come true since he was born to be a Tar Heel. Both of his parents went to North Carolina.

Tripp King, wearing No. 11, is an attacker for Loyola’s No. 1-ranked lacrosse team.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

“I’ve grown up a Tar Heel,” he said.

He’s also a kind, friendly future Tar Heel, something you can’t always say about lacrosse players who often feel they are either entitled or frustrated when people don’t pay enough attention to them.

Classmates swear by King.

“Nice,” is what several told me.

He returns to the South Bay Lacrosse Club to give back, working with young players just like when somebody helped him as a 5-year-old.

He’s someone ready to head to the East Coast determined to be proof of how determined West Coast players have become.

“A lot of the stereotypes of the West Coast are surfer boy or doesn’t take it seriously,” he said. “We’ve made it an atmosphere at Loyola where every day we’re waking up at 5 o’clock for 6 a.m. practices. We’re getting in extra work before and after practice. I think that lazier, not tough stereotype isn’t true. The West Coast is growing.”

King lives in Manhattan Beach, where celebrities and pro athletes can be seen walking or riding bikes on any given day.

King is only 17, but if he’s taking a walk or riding a bike, pay attention, because one day, he’s going to be recognized as lacrosse trendsetter from the West Coast.

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CITY SECTION

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San Fernando 4, Monroe 2

SOUTHERN SECTION

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INTERSECTIONAL

Anaheim Canyon 5, Wilmington Banning 0

Culver City 10, Venice 4

Esperanza 8, South East 7

Trinity Classical Academy 8, Fresno Christian 0

Golden Valley d. Arleta, forfeit

Granada Hills 15, Hart 12

LACES 8, St. Bernard 5

Sylmar 5, Valencia 2

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Eagle Rock 7, Arleta 6

Torres d. Elizabeth, forfeit

Venice 12, Verdugo Hills 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Bethel Christian 22, Packinghouse Christian 4

Flintridge Sacred Heart 8, Village Christian 2

Highland 7, Hart 3

HMSA 19, Gardena Serra 1

Mira Costa 12, Irvine 8

Moorpark 8, Saugus 6

Rio Hondo Prep 11, Sacred Heart of Jesus 1

Saugus 2, Moorpark 0

Sonora 11, Bishop Montgomery 1

Village Christian 6, Vasquez 2

INTERSECTIONAL

Arleta 8, Viewpoint 5

Burbank Providence 7, Eagle Rock 2

Burbank Providence 11, Sylmar 6

CSDR 11, Model Secondary School (D.C.) 2

Granada Hills 16, West Torrance 4

Long Beach Poly 9, Carson 7

Venice 12, Flintridge Sacred Heart 2

Verdugo Hills 3, Vasquez 3

Viewpoint 9, Sylmar 6

Westlake 14, Granada Hills 2

The best way to climb a mountain is one step at a time.

Especially when you’re wearing skates.

And the Kings will be wearing skates and staring at a very large mountain when they take the ice Sunday for Game 4 of their best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series with the Colorado Avalanche, a loss away from elimination.

“You’ve just got to start with the first one,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said after a fast-paced 45-minute practice Saturday. “You try to win the first one, and then reset and go from there.”

Since the Kings trail 3-0 a win in Sunday’s matinee at Crypto.com Arena will do little more than extend the series one game, sending the teams back to Denver. To advance to the second round, the Kings need to win four in a row against the team that posted the NHL’s best record in the regular season.

How big a mountain is that? Well, the Avalanche haven’t lost four in a row since October and the Kings haven’t won a first-round playoff series since 2014.

One step at a time.

“You just have to win one, that’s first off. And then the hardest one will be the next one,” Kings interim coach D.J. Smith said. “And then, you know, it’s just momentum changes. But you can’t think about that without winning one, and you can’t think about winning one without winning the first period.

“You’re up against it, but I don’t think you can think about winning the series. You just got to think about winning one game.”

The series has been a lot closer than the deficit would indicate. The Kings have won the battle of the special teams, with their penalty kill shutting out the NHL’s highest-scoring team on nine chances. They’ve also scored a power-play goal in each of three games and held Nathan MacKinnon, the league’s top goal-scorer, to one assist in three games.

MacKinnon didn’t even take a shot in Game 3, yet Colorado won 4-2 with two goals bouncing in off the skates of Kings forward Adrian Kempe and goalie Anton Forsberg while another was scored into an empty net.

“You still lose the game,” Anderson said. “This time of year doesn’t really matter. You can say it feels good, you do all these good things. But if you don’t win the game, it’s kind of it’s the only thing that matters right now.”

ings center Scott Laughton (21) checks Avalanche defenseman Sam Malinski (70) into the boards during the second period of Game 2 in Denver.

(Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)

Added forward Scott Laughton, “Sometimes you get the bounce, sometimes you don’t. You have to have a very-narrow minded focus. We’ve got to stick to the process.”

The Kings have only four goals in the series and have scored just once at even strength, so Smith scrambled his bottom two forward lines in practice Saturday in a search for speed in the offensive end. But he said he doesn’t plan any major changes for Game 4, adding the Kings just need to check harder, move the puck better and get to the net more.

“I think that the game plan is correct,” he said.

However the Kings have taken just 76 shots in the three games, making things far too easy for Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood, who has been brilliant.

“We’ve got to find ways to put the puck in the net, whether that’s crashing the nets, making the play for an empty netter. It doesn’t matter at this point,” said Kings’ captain Anze Kopitar, whose 20-year NHL career ends when his team’s season does. “We’ve got to find a way.”

Smith, who rallied the Kings into the playoffs after taking over for Jim Hiller with 23 games left in the regular season, is making his Stanley Cup playoff debut as a head coach. But he’s been in this position before. As an assistant with Windsor in the Ontario Hockey League, Smith coached a team that overcame a 3-0 deficit and went on to win the league title.

That was a big mountain. And they climbed it one step at a time.

“We’ve just got to play our best game one time, and then we’ll worry about the next game,” Smith said. “But we have to find a way to score more while playing the exact same defense.

“Is it hard? Yes. Are we going to give it everything we got? Yes. I think you’re going to see our best game in the series.”

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Animo Venice 9, Animo Robinson 7

CALS Early College 9, East College Prep 6

Smidt Tech 16, Alliance Ouchi 7

SOUTHERN SECTION

Aquinas 2, Linfield Christian 0

Alhambra 15, Mark Keppel 1

Arlington 7, Riverside Poly 2

Arrowhead Christian 15, Woodcrest Christian 5

Ayala 1, Diamond Bar 0

Baldwin Park 4, Garey 3

Banning 10, Desert Hot Springs 0

Bishop Amat 9, La Salle 8

Bishop Diego 16, Santa Clara 7

Camarillo 6, Oak Park 4

Canyon Springs 20, Riverside North 4

Capistrano Valley Christian 20, Webb 8

Carpinteria 4, Malibu 3

Castaic 9, Hart 8

Century 12, Westminster La Quinta 0

Cerritos 10, Glenn 1

Chaparral 5, Vista Murrieta 4

Charter Oak 9, Hacienda Heights Wilson 0

CIMSA 13, Silver Valley 3

Corona 21, Eastvale Roosevelt 6

Corona Centennial 11, Riverside King 6

Corona Del Mar 12, Marina 2

Costa Mesa 6, Fullerton 1

Covina 8, Rowland 3

Cypress 8, Santa Ana Foothill 5

Desert Mirage 13, Cathedral City 2

Dos Pueblos 5, Rio Mesa 1

Downey 3, La Mirada 2

Duarte 11, Nogales 1

Dunn 6, Villanova Prep 5

Edgewood 16, Workman 0

El Dorado 8, La Habra 2

El Modena 6, Crean Lutheran 1

Etiwanda 8, Chino Hills 5

Fillmore 6, Santa Paula 2

Gahr 13, Warren 0

Garden Grove Santiago 6, Magnolia 0

Glendora 13, Claremont 2

Golden Valley 3, Saugus 0

Great Oak 7, Murrieta Mesa 3

Hemet 9, Perris 1

Hesperia 4, Oak Hills 3

Hesperia Christian 8, Desert Christian 5

Highland 16, Antelope Valley 0

Hillcrest 11, Lakeside 3

Hueneme 7, Channel Islands 0

Katella 4, Ocean View 2

La Canada 3, San Marino 2

Laguna Beach 12, Irvine University 3

Lakewood 21, Compton 0

Lancaster 14, Knight 2

La Serna 13, Whittier 4

Liberty 4, Heritage 0

Loara 9, Savanna 1

Long Beach Wilson 11, Long Beach Jordan 0

Los Alamitos 7, Huntington Beach 4

Los Osos 5, Rancho Cucamonga 1

Lucerne Valley 11, ACE 0

Mayfair 13, Paramount 1

Miller 5, Loma Linda Academy 3

Mira Costa 10, West Torrance 3

Mission Viejo 4, El Toro 0

Monrovia 4, South Pasadena 1

Moreno Valley 11, Paloma Valley 3

Newbury Park 17, Calabasas 5

Newport Harbor 6, Fountain Valley 0

North Torrance 8, Peninsula 5

Northview 8, West Covina 1

Oaks Christian 11, Agoura 3

Oakwood 3, Santa Monica 2

Orange 15, Anaheim 0

Orange County Pacifica Christian 9, Western Christian 2

Oxnard 10, Ventura 0

Oxnard Pacifica 2, San Marcos 0

Oxford Academy 6, Whitney 2

Palmdale 16, Littlerock 6

Pasadena Marshall 7, Mountain View 5

Placentia Valencia 5, Westminster 2

Pomona 15, Bassett 10

Quartz Hill 26, Eastside 7

Ramona 10, Rubidoux 9

Rancho Alamitos 9, Saddleback 0

Rancho Christian 14, Citrus Hill 1

Rancho Verde 6, Vista del Lago 1

Redondo Union 22, El Segundo 7

Ridgecrest Burroughs 13, Serrano 5

Riverside Prep 16, Excelsior Charter 4

Royal 3, Simi Valley 0

San Bernardino 10, Pacific 8

Santa Ana 9, Godinez 0

Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 6, Buena Park 2

Santa Barbara 4, Buena 1

Santa Clarita Christian 12, Valley Torah 0

Santa Fe 6, California 3

Santa Margarita 10, Orange Lutheran 9

Schurr 5, Montebello 4

Sierra Vista 11, Azusa 1

Southlands Christian 6, Avalon 3

St. Genevieve 7, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 3

St. John Bosco 10, Servite 0

St. Monica Academy 12, Cate 6

Sultana 14, Apple Valley 1

Temecula Prep 19, San Jacinto Leadership 0

Temecula Valley 10, Murrieta Valley 7

Torrance 6, Palos Verdes 1

Troy 10, Sunny Hills 9

Tustin 5, La Palma Kennedy 0

University Prep 14, Big Bear 3

Upland 9, Damien 5

Valencia 3, Canyon Country Canyon 0

Valley View 14, Orange Vista 9

Village Christian 4, Whittier Christian 3

Westlake 14, Thousand Oaks 4

Woodbridge 14, Portola 1

Yucca valley 8, Twentynine Palms 6

INTERSECTIONAL

Campbell Hall 12, Van Nuys 2

SOFTBALL

SOUTHERN SECTION

ACE 17, Lucerne Valley 3

Anaheim 22, Loara 4

Anza Hamilton 21, Sherman Indian 4

Apple Valley 25, Ridgecrest Burroughs 1

Azusa 11, Nogales 6

Cathedral City 17, Desert Mirage 1

Cerritos 11, Pioneer 0

Charter Oak 18, West Covina 0

CIMSA 10, Silver Valley 2

Colton 11, Miller 1

Corona 7, Corona Santiago 2

Costa Mesa 8, Tustin 5

Covina 13, Hacienda Heights Wilson 2

Downey 11, Lynwood 0

Duarte 5, Baldwin Park 1

Edgewood 10, Workman 9

El Monte 15, Rosemead 0

Fullerton 18, Garden Grove 0

Glendora 10, Diamond Bar 0

Hawthorne 17, Animo Leadership 0

Hemet 11, Canyon Springs 4

Hesperia Christian 24, Desert Christian 0

Hillcrest 2, Paloma Valley 1

JSerra 2, Mater Dei 0

Katella 21, Ocean View 4

Lakeside 8, Vista del Lago 4

La Palma Kennedy 11, Placentia Valencia 0

Liberty 11, Orange Vista 5

Los Amigos 12, Santa Ana Valley 0

Magnolia 14, Saddleback 4

Mountain View 22, Pasadena Marshall 7

Norco 11, Riverside King 1

North Torrance 6, El Segundo 2

Northview 12, Rowland 1

Oak Hills 15, Serrano 4

Oak Park 10, Buena 9

Orange lutheran 8, Santa Margarita 0

Oxnard Pacifica 5, San Marcos 4

Rancho Christian 17, Perris 4

Rancho Verde 17, Moreno Valley 1

Rio Mesa 4, Dos Pueblos 1

Riverside North 5, Arlington 0

Riverside Poly 10, Valley View 3

Samueli Academy 21, Vista Meridian 6

San Bernardino 22, Pacific 2

San Marino 24, Balir 1

Santa Ana 8, Laguna Hills 3

Sierra Vista 7, Garey 6

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 15, Long Beach Cabrillo 3

Sultana 17, Hesperia 10

Temecula Prep 16, San Jacinto Leadership 1

Temple City 4, Monrovia 3

University Prep 15, AAE 8

Ventura 8, Oxnard 3

Western Christian 20, Southlands Christian 4

West Torrance 6, South Torrance 3

INTERSECTIONAL

CSDR 16, Maryland School for the Deaf 15

CSDR 11, Texas School for the Deaf 7

Kings coach D.J. Smith gave his team the day off Friday, but he sent his players home with a message: if they don’t show up for work Sunday, they’ll have the rest of the spring and summer off, too.

Players don’t like to call any game a “must-win” because of the pressure it brings, but there’s no other way to look at Sunday’s game for the Kings. After losing the first three games of their best-of-seven playoff series with the Colorado Avalanche, the Kings are one loss away from being eliminating in the first round for a fifth consecutive season.

“Must-win game,” agreed defenseman Drew Doughty, who hasn’t played on a winning team in a playoff series since the Kings last won the Stanley Cup in 2014. “Everyone’s going to give everything and we’ve got to win that one. And then hopefully go back to Denver.”

The most recent loss came Thursday when the Avs scored two fluky goals on pucks that bounced in off the skates of Kings players and put another one into an empty net in a 4-2 victory that pushed the Kings to the brink of elimination once again.

“You don’t like the result,” Smith said. “And it’s tough to swallow.”

For Colorado, the best team in the NHL during the regular season, it hasn’t been the most stylish of postseasons. But after a pair of hard-fought 2-1 wins at home, the Avs have a chance to sweep a playoff series for the first time since 2022, when they won their last Stanley Cup.

“All the games have been tight. We’re right there,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “Each guy, including myself, we just have to give a little bit more.

“We’re doing the right things, we just have to dig in a little bit more.”

It’s hard to say how. The Kings’ power play has been good, scoring a goal in each of the three games, and their penalty kill even better, shutting out the top-scoring team in the NHL on nine tries with a man advantage.

The Kings have been physical and fast and goaltender Anton Forsberg has been brilliant in his first career playoff series, making 90 saves in the three games. Yet none of that has paid off with a win.

“Sometimes you play real well for stretches and you don’t get the results. And then you’ll win a game you don’t deserve to win,” Smith said. “Maybe we didn’t stay with it long enough.”

“Those games are over with,” a frustrated Byfield added. “You can’t look back at those games. It’s just on to the next one, that’s our focus.”

Doughty said the Kings need to wear down the Avalanche, something they clearly couldn’t do in the two games played in Denver’s mile-high altitude. They might have a better chance Sunday at sea level.

“I don’t think we’re creating enough Grade A chances,” he said. “They’re statistically one of the best teams in the neutral zone. So for us to beat them, we’ve got to wear them down in the D zone, make them tired and score goals that way. We haven’t done that enough.”

Every team has its kryptonite and the for the Kings that appears to be the first round of the playoffs. Over the past dozen seasons, the team has gone 9-27 in the postseason, taking a series to a seventh game just once in six tries. Along the way they’ve changed general mangers twice, changed head coaches five times and even changed their opponents, facing the Avs this year after losing four straight series to the Edmonton Oilers.

None of that has changed the results.

Smith, in fact, is an interim coach, having taken over for Jim Hiller with 23 games left in the regular season. He figures to be coaching for his future Sunday since a playoff sweep won’t look good at his resume.

“There’s no quit in there,” Smith said of the Kings’ locker room. “We’ll get reset with practice [Saturday] and I think you’re going to see our best effort.

“Now we’ve got to make a few changes and see if we can spark something.”

If that works, the Kings will be heading back to Denver. If it doesn’t, they’ll be heading home for another long summer.

BASEBALL

CITY SECTION

Bell 3, Garfield 1

Community Charter 15, Bert Corona 7

Diego Rivera 21, Los Angeles 11

Downtown Magnets 26, Central City Value 1

El Camino Real 5, Chatsworth 1

Franklin 8, Bravo 1

Fremont 7, King/Drew 1

Fulton 9, Chavez 8

LA Wilson 5, LA Marshall 3

Legacy 21, Huntington Park 0

Maywood CES 28, Maywood Academy 0

North Hollywood 5, Granada Hills Kennedy 3

Palisades 10, Westchester 0

Rancho Dominguez 6, Gardena 5

Santee 13, Angelou 5

Sotomayor d. Elizabeth, forfeit

Sylmar 10, Sun Valley Poly 0

Torres 3, Marquez 2

Triumph Charter 21, Valor Academy 1

Verdugo Hills 10, San Fernando 4

Wilmington Banning 17, Narbonne 3

WISH Academy 18, University Prep Value 3

SOUTHERN SECTION

Aliso Niguel 3, San Clemente 1

Alta Loma 2, South Hills 0

Ambassador 11, Animo Leadership 0

Bishop Montgomery 12, Bosco Tech 1

Bloomington 4, Carter 3

Burbank Providence 10, Buckley 0

Cajon 19, Redlands 0

Calabasas 7, Newbury Park 3

Citrus Valley 2, Beaumont 1

Crossroads 4, Brentwood 3

Desert Christian 13, St. Monica Academy 2

Elsinore 1, Tahquitz 0

Estancia 15, Garden Grove 1

Firebaugh 15, Dominguez 11

Fontana 10, Riverside Notre Dame 6

Grace 6, Thacher 1

Grand Terrace 3, Rialto 2

Great Oak 7, Murrieta Mesa 6

Heritage Christian 6, Cerritos Valley Christian 4

Indian Springs 18, Entrepreneur 2

Irvine 21, St. Margaret’s 4

Kaiser 12, Arroyo Valley 0

La Quinta 10, Xavier Prep 0

Lawndale 11, Lennox Academy 5

Los Altos 10, Colony 6

Mary Star of the Sea 18, Salesian 1

Mayfair 17, Segerstrom 7

Milken 12, YULA 7

Millikan 5, Long Beach Wilson 4

Muir 15, Glendale 0

New Roads 22, Vistamar 0

Oaks Christian 6, Agoura 5

Palm Desert 15, Palm Springs 2

Paraclete 20, St. Monica 1

Pasadena 4, Hoover 2

Pasadena Poly 6, Flintridge Prep 2

Quartz Hill 10, Vasquez 0

San Jacinto Valley Academy 12, Desert Christian Academy 0

Santa Rosa Academy 11, California Military 1

Sequoyah 24, Hillcrest Christian 14

Shadow Hills 4, Rancho Mirage 0

Shalhevet 11, Santa Monica Pacifica Christian 0

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 8, Sierra Canyon 5

Silverado 6, Barstow 1

South El Monte 3, Gabrielino 0

St. Bonaventure 10, Nordhoff 3

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 2, LA Jordan 1

Summit 4, Jurupa Hills 3

Temecula Valley 8, Murrieta Valley 3

Temescal Canyon 8, Cornerstone Christian 2

Tesoro 2, Dana Hills 1

Thousand Oaks 4, Westlake 3

United Christian Academy 11, Anza Hamilton 3

Valley Christian Academy 5, SLOCA 4

Victor Valley 8, Adelanto 5

Villa Park 4, La Serna 0

Vista Murrieta 7, Chaparral 5

West Valley 8, San Jacinto 7

Whittier Christian 5, Village Christian 0

Windward 7, Viewpoint 2

Yorba Linda 12, Esperanza 1

Yucaipa 7, Redlands East Valley 2

INTERSECTIONAL

Caruthers 5, Coastal Christian 2

SOFTBALL

CITY SECTION

Alliance Levine 27, Esperanza College Prep 5

Bernstein 10, Mendez 6

Bravo 6, Eagle Rock 5

Carson 4, San Pedro 3

East College Prep 22, CALS Early College 14

Garfield 19, Bell 0

Harbor Teacher d. Dorsey, forfeit

Hollywood 22, Contreras 9

Jefferson 21, Santee 14

King/Drew 17, Locke 1

LACES 4, Westchester 3

LA Roosevelt 11. South East 9

LA University 17, Fairfax 4

Legacy 13, Huntington Park 0

Maywood CES d. Elizabeth, forfeit

Orthopaedic 23, Downtown Magnets 13

Panorama 18, East Valley 14

Rancho Dominguez 15, Gardena 0

SOCES 12, Northridge Academy 3

Triumph Charter 26, Valor Academy 1

USC-MAE 17, Central City Value 4

Venice 10, Palisades 0

West Adams 12, Angelou 4

Wilmington Banning 9, Narbonne 0

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alemany 18, Marymount 0

Aliso Niguel 9, Tesoro 8

Anaheim Canyon 4, Garden Grove Pacifica 1

Aquinas 13, Linfield Christian 6

Arcadia 13, Muir 6

Anza Hamilton 3, United Christian Academy 0

Beckman 9, Dana Hills 3

Big Bear 10, ACE 0

Bishop Amat 21, Bishop Montgomery 1

Bloomington 14, Fontana 10

Burbank 14, Glendale 0

Downey 13, Mayfair 4

Cajon 4, Beaumont 1

California 4, La Serna 3

Calvary Baptist 23, Crossroads Christian 0

Camarillo 4, Simi Valley 1

Carter 15, Eisenhower 0

Cerritos Valley Christian 11, Heritage Christian 1

Chaminade 7, Sierra Canyon 4

Chino 10, Don Lugo 0

Chino Hills 7, Upland 6

Claremont 7, Bonita 6

Crean Lutheran 10, Sunny Hills 9

Crescenta Valley 4, Burbank Burroughs 2

Crossroads 22, Archer 20

Desert Christian Academy 15, San Jacinto Valley Academy 3

Diamond Ranch 3, Chaffey 2

Edison 15, Corona del Mar 0

El Modena 6, La Habra 4

El Rancho 11, Whittier 5

Etiwanda 28, Los Osos 1

Firebaugh 11, Lynwood 6

Flintridge Sacred Heart 21, Immaculate Heart 0

Grace 17, Bishop Diego 0

Hart 12, Golden Valley 0

Highland 10, Antelope Valley 0

Hueneme 24, Nordhoff 11

Huntington Beach 5, Fountain Valley 0

Irvine 6, Irvine University 3

Jurupa Hills 19, Arroyo Valley 1

La Canada 13, South Pasadena 1

Lancaster 6, Knight 5

La Salle 15, Mary Star of the Sea 4

Lennox Academy 14, HMSA 8

Los Alamitos 15, Newport Harbor 1

Los Altos 10, San Dimas 2

Murrieta Valley 25, Chaparral 7

Newbury Park 18, Calabasas 0

Norwalk 22, Dominguez 0

Oaks Christian 14, Agoura 0

Ontario 11, Montclair 2

Ontario Christian 12, Woodcrest Christian 5

Palos Verdes 10, Redondo Union 0

Paraclete 13, St. Paul 2

Paramount 18, Bellflower 0

Pasadena Poly 7, Mayfield 0

Redlands East Valley 10, Redlands 4

Rialto 6, San Gorgonio 0

Rosary 13, Woodbridge 2

Quartz Hill 9, Eastside 0

Riverside Notre Dame 6, Rim of the World 1

San Clemente 8, Capistrano Valley 1

San Jacinto 15, West Valley 10

San Marino 14, Ramona Convent 2

Santa Ana Foothill 14, Esperanza 0

Santa Clarita Christian 14, Desert Christin 4

Santa Fe 6, Lakewood St. Joseph 5

Santa Paula 12, Fillmore 1

Saugus 9, West Ranch 5

Schurr 13, Alhambra 1

Silverado 11, Barstow 0

South Hills 2, Colony 0

St. Bonaventure 3, Santa Clara 0

St. Monica 14, St. Anthony 4

St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 26, Gardena Serra 8

Summit 15, Kaiser 3

Thousand Oaks 6, Westlake 5

Trabuco Hills 5, El Toro 2

Twentynine Palms 7, Yucca Valley 6

Valencia 7, Castaic 5

Vasquez 20, Trinity Classical Academy 2

Ventura 17, Canyon Country Canyon 1

Victor Valley 14, Adelanto 5

Viewpoint 11, Windward 2

Warren 3, Gahr 2

Whittier Christian 15, Village Christian 5

Wiseburn-Da Vinci 9, Hawthorne 1

Yorba Linda 11, Sonora 1

Yucaipa 7, Citrus Valley 0

INTERSECTIONAL

Burbank Providence 6, San Fernando 5

Victor Christian Academy d. Bostonia Global, forfeit

The Colorado Avalanche rode swagger, poise and the league’s stingiest goaltender to the best record in the NHL this season. And nothing about that formula has changed in the postseason, with goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen and Brock Nelson giving Colorado a 4-2 win Thursday over the Kings and a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

The Kings, who have lost their last six first-round playoff series, need a victory at home Sunday to extend their season. Their goals in Game 3 came from Trevor Moore in the second period and Adrian Kempe on a third-period power play.

“They’re best team in the league for a reason. But we’re right there,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “We’re a confident group.”

“One game at home. Must-win game,” defenseman Drew Doughty added. “Everyone’s going to give everything they’ve got. We’ve got to win that one, and then hopefully get to go back to Denver.”

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews celebrates a goal by defenseman Cale Makar on Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg during the second period of Game 3 Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The difference in the series has been Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood, who was nearly perfect again, making 24 saves to place the Kings 60 minutes away from the offseason.

Anton Forsberg, playing in the postseason for the first time, has been almost as good in goal for the Kings, though he was victimized by two fluke goals and an empty-netter.

“Both goalies in the series have been unbelievable,” Kings coach D.J. Smith said. “Give Wedgewood credit. This guy looks like he’s putting his name on the circuit as a big-time goalie.”

The Avalanche, who certainly haven’t needed many lucky breaks in this series, got one early in the first period when Landeskog spun and launched a wild wrister from the blue line that went well wide of the net, only to have the puck carom off the end boards and into the net off Forsberg’s right skate blade.

The goal was the second in as many games for the Colorado captain.

The Kings then got their own break six minutes into the second period when Alex Laferriere jumped Brett Kulak’s clearing pass in the neutral jump and fed Byfield, whose pass into the crease struck Moore’s leg and ricocheted past Wedgewood to tie the score.

Colorado defenseman Devon Toews reaches for the puck against Kings right wing Quinton Byfield in the first period.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Colorado needed less than seven minutes to get the lead back, with Makar getting the puck along the boards on the left wing, skating into space at the point, then zipping a wrist shot through heavy traffic and just under the crossbar.

The Avalanche then increased the advantage 7:39 in the final period after Kempe fanned a shot from the point. Lehkonen collected the loose puck and took it the length of the ice before deflecting a centering pass off Kempe’s skate and by Forsberg for a short-handed goal, his second score of the series.

That appeared to put the game away, but after the Kings pulled Forsberg for an extra attacker, Kempe halved the deficit on a tip-in with 4:02 to play. But then Nelson forced a turnover and scored into the empty net with 2:18 left.

The six goals combined matched the total number from the first two games in Colorado.

“We’ve got to keep doing a lot of the things that we are doing,” Doughty said. “Obviously, we got to clean up giving up some of these chances that we’re giving up.”

Kings goalie Anton Forsberg covers the puck as Colorado left wing Gabriel Landeskog battles for it in the second period.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Kings’ penalty kill, which ranked 30th in the 32-team league during the regular season, has been brilliant against the Avalanche, turning back all nine Colorado power plays. That, plus stellar play for Forsberg in goal, has frustrated the NHL’s top-scoring team.

But against Wedgewood, the Kings have mustered little offense, scoring just four goals in the series — three times on the power play and once off Moore’s leg.

“We’d like to get more than two goals. Against this team, I don’t think it’s enough,” Doughty said. “I don’t think we’re creating enough grade-A chances on Wedgewood. He has played well, so for us to beat them, we’ve got to wear them down in the D-zone, make them tired and score goals that way. And we haven’t done that enough.”

They’re guaranteed just one more chance to turn that around.

“There’s no quit in there,” Smith said of the Kings’ locker room. “And I think you’ll see our best game. To a man, we want to give them a real good outing and push this series back to Colorado.”

DENVER — Before Anze Kopitar left the ice after the final regular-season home game of his NHL career, he told the fans he was saying good-bye, not farewell.

He would return, he promised, in the playoffs.

He’ll make good on that pledge Thursday when his Kings and the Colorado Avalanche face off in Game 3 of their first-round series at Crypto.com Arena. But it could prove to be a short encore because after losing the first two games of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff in Denver, the Kings need a win Thursday or in Game 4 on Sunday to extend both their season and Kopitar’s Hall of Fame career.

The Kings’ — and Kopitar’s — last six playoff appearances have all ended after just one round. And they’re halfway to another first-round loss this year, though they probably deserve better after giving the league’s best team everything it could handle, only to lose twice by a goal, including a 2-1 overtime loss in Game 2 on Tuesday.

“To a man we’re playing hard,” interim Kings coach D.J. Smith said. “We hoped to split here, but regardless we’re gonna have to win at home. We’ve got to find a way to win a game.

“Clearly good isn’t enough.”

Kopitar announced his retirement before the start of this season, the 20^th in his Hall of Fame career. And while many of his teammates talked of their desire to see their captain hoist the Stanley Cup one more time, just making the playoffs appeared beyond the Kings’ reach until the final two weeks of the regular season.

Colorado, meanwhile, led the league in everything, winning the most games, collecting the most points, scoring the most goals and allowing the fewest. The Kings? Not so much. They gave up 22 more goals than they scored, worst among playoff teams, and needed points in 11 of their last 13 games just to squeak into the postseason as the final wild-card team.

Colorado left wing Joel Kiviranta skates under pressure from Kings center Scott Laughton and goaltender Anton Forsberg during Game 2 of their first-round NHL playoff series Tuesday in Denver.

(Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)

Yet two games into this series, it’s been hard to tell the teams apart on the ice. The Kings have outhustled, outhit and outskated the Avalanche for long stretches. But those moral victories have been their only wins.

Asked if he can take solace for the way the team has played, goalie Anton Forsberg, who was outstanding in his first two career playoff games, stared straight ahead.

“No,” he said. “We wanted to go to home [with] a win.”

Forward Trevor Moore was a little more forgiving.

“We would have liked to steal one,” he said. “But you can’t look back. You have to look forward. Confidence-wise, we hung in there with them for two games and we’ve been competitive. I think we could have won either night.”

They won neither night, however, which leaves little margin for error in the next two games.

If the Kings lacked wins in Denver, they didn’t lack chances. On Tuesday they had a man advantage for nearly a quarter of the first 25 minutes and had five power plays and a penalty shot on the night.

When Quinton Byfield’s second-period penalty shot was stuffed by Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood, a group of Avalanche fans celebrated by pounding on the protective plexiglass behind the Kings’ bench with such force it shattered, raining shards down on the team’s coaches

“Whoever the guy [was] just kept pushing and pushing and pushing,” Smith said. “I looked back because it hit me a bunch of times, then it broke.”

The Kings couldn’t score on the power play either until Artemi Panarin finally found the back of the net with less than seven minutes left in regulation, giving the team its first lead of the series.

“We had every opportunity,” Smith said. “You’ve got to be able to close it out.”

They couldn’t. So when Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog evened the score 3 ½ minutes later, the teams headed to a fourth period.

The overtime was the 34th in 84 games for the Kings this season, an NHL record by some distance. But it ended in the team’s 21st overtime loss when Nicolas Roy banged home a rebound 7:44 into the extra period.

“We had some good looks. I thought we really had the momentum in overtime,” Smith said. “Maybe a bad bounce or a turnover, whatever, it ends up in your net. But to a man this team is playing hard and we’ve got to find a way to win.

“I expect that we’ll be better at home.”

If they aren’t, the Kings face another long summer and Kopitar’s retirement will start earlier than he had hoped.

On March 28, a sunny Saturday in southwestern Utah, Jack Hoopes and his wife, Lorna, brought their homemade signs to the local “No Kings” rally.

The couple joined a crowd of 1,500 or so marching through the main picnic area of a park in downtown St. George. Their signs — cut-out words on a black background — chided lawmakers for failing to stand up to President Trump and urged America to “make lying wrong again.”

After about an hour, the two were ready to go home. They got in their silver Volvo SUV, but before pulling away, Jack Hoopes decided to swing past the demonstration, which was still going strong. He tooted his horn, twice, in a show of solidarity.

That’s when things took a curious turn.

A police officer parked in the middle of the street warned Hoopes not to honk; at least that’s what he thinks the officer said as Hoopes drove past the chanting crowd. When he spotted two familiar faces, Hoopes hit the horn a third time — a friendly, howdy sort of honk. “It wasn’t like I was being obnoxious,” he said, “or laying on the horn.”

Hoopes turned a corner and the cop, lights flashing, pulled him over. He asked Hoopes for his license and registration. He returned a few moments later. A passing car sounded its horn. “Are you going to stop him, too?” Hoopes asked.

That did not sit well. The officer said he’d planned to let Hoopes off with a warning. Instead, he charged the 71-year-old retired potato farmer with violating Utah’s law on horns and warning devices. He issued a citation, with a fine punishable up to $50.

Hoopes — a law school graduate and prosecutor in the days before he took up potato farming — is fighting back, even though he estimates the legal skirmishing could cost him considerably more than the maximum fine. The ticket might have resulted from pique on the officer’s part. But Hoopes doesn’t think so. He sees politics at play.

“I’ve beeped my horn for [the pro-law enforcement] Back the Blue. I’ve beeped my horn for Black Lives Matter,” Hoopes said. “I’ve seen a lot of people honk for Trump and for MAGA.”

He’s also seen plenty of times when people honked their horns to celebrate high school championships and the like.

But Hoopes has never heard of anyone being pulled over, much less ticketed, for excessive or unlawful honking. “I think it’s freedom of expression,” he said.

Or should be.

Jack and Lorna Hoopes made their own protest signs to bring to the “No Kings” rally in St. George, Utah.

(Mikayla Whitmore / For The Times)

St. George is a fast-growing community of about 100,000 residents set amid the jagged red-rock peaks of the Mojave Desert. It’s a jumping-off point for Zion National Park, about 40 miles east, and a mecca for golf, hiking and mountain-bike riding.

It’s also Trump Country.

Washington County, where St. George is located, gave Trump 75% of its vote in 2024, with Kamala Harris winning a scant 23%. That emphatic showing compares with Trump’s 59% performance statewide.

St. George is where Hoopes and his wife live most of the time. When summer and its 100-degree temperatures hit, they retreat to southeast Idaho. The couple get along well with their neighbors in both places, Hoopes said, even though they’re Democrats living in ruby-red country. It’s not as though they just tolerate folks, or hold their noses to get by.

“Most of my friends are conservative,” Hoopes said. “Some of the Trump people are very good people. We just have a difference of opinion where our country is going.”

He was speaking from a hotel parking lot in Arizona near Lake Havasu while embarked on an annual motorcycle ride through the Southwest: four days, a dozen riders, 1,200 miles. Most of his companions are Trump supporters, Hoopes said, and, just like back home, everyone gets on fine.

“Right?” he called out.

“No!” a voice hollered back.

Actually, Hoopes joked, his charitable road mates let him ride along because they consider him handicapped — his disability being his political ideology.

Hoopes is not exactly a hellion. In 2014, he and his wife traveled to Africa to participate in humanitarian work and promote sustainable agriculture in Kenya and Uganda. In 2020, they worked as Red Cross volunteers helping wildfire victims in Northern California.

Virtually his entire life has been spent on the right side of the law, though Hoopes allowed as how he has racked up a few speeding tickets over the years. (His career as a prosecutor lasted four years and involved three murder cases in the first 12 months before he left the legal profession behind and took up farming.)

He’s never had any problems with the police in St. George. “They seem to be decent,” Hoopes said.

A department spokesperson, Tiffany Mitchell, said illicit honking is not a widespread problem in the placid, retiree-heavy community, but there are some who have been cited for violations. She denied any political motivation in Hoopes’ case.

“He must’ve felt justified,” Mitchell said of the officer who issued the citation. “I can’t imagine that politics had anything to do with it.”

And yes, she said, honking a horn can be a political statement protected by the 1st Amendment. “But, just like anything else, it can turn criminal,” Mitchell said, and apparently that’s how the officer felt on March 28 “and that’s the direction he took it.”

The matter now rests before a judge, residing in a legal system that has lately been tested and twisted in remarkable ways.

Jack Hoopes’ case is now before a judge in St. George, Utah.

(Mikayla Whitmore / For The Times)

As he left an initial hearing earlier this month, Hoopes said his phone pinged with a fresh headline out of Washington. Trump’s Justice Department, it was reported, was asking a federal appeals court to throw out the convictions of 12 people found guilty of seditious conspiracy for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

“We have a president that pardons people that broke into the Capitol and defecated” in the hallways and congressional offices, Hoopes said. “Police officers died because of it, and yet I get picked up for honking my horn?”

Hoopes’ next court appearance, a pretrial conference, is set for July 15.

Some billionaires put their money into space rocket launches. Others invest in longevity treatments to extend their time on Earth.

But when New York grocery and oil magnate John Catsimatidis tapped into his fortune for a passion project, he chose WABC, an AM radio station well past its glory years.

Catsimatidis , 77, acquired WABC in 2019 and has turned it into the most listened to talk station in the U.S., according to Nielsen data, reaching more than 400,000 listeners a week.

He is also on the air every day as part of the station’s award-winning evening program “Cats & Cosby,” where he and veteran journalist Rita Cosby hold a daily salon with like-minded friends and big-name political figures.

In a windowed studio overlooking Third Avenue in midtown Manhattan, Catsimatidis can be seen scrolling through his mobile phone and looking as if his mind is elsewhere while on the air. But he quickly snaps into delivering a concise opinion or question whenever Cosby directs him.

“John can look like he’s taking a little bit of a nap, but he’s always ahead of you in the conversation,” said radio consultant Jerry Crowley, who first gave Catsimatidis his own program at Salem Broadcasting’s WNYM.

Catsimatidis is among the circle of media commentators who speak regularly with President Trump, whom he’s known for 45 years and strongly supports. The relationship has made WABC part of the national political conversation.

In December, Trump revealed the U.S. military’s first land strike on Venezuela to Catsimatidis during a morning call into WABC, to the surprise of some national security TV correspondents.

Catsimatidis may become even more well-known soon thanks to his cameo role in the Oscar-nominated film “Marty Supreme,” which will be available April 22 to the 60 million U.S. subscribers of streaming service HBO Max.

“Marty Supreme” director Josh Safdie cast Catsimatidis as Christopher Galanis, a financial backer of the table tennis phenom played by Timothée Chalamet in the film. Safdie told Vanity Fair he liked Catsimatidis’ “larger-than-life regional business man” look, which he noticed when the mogul ran for New York City mayor in 2013.

Rita Cosby and John Catsimatidis in WABC’s New York studio with former NY Gov. David Paterson and Edward Cox.

(Justin Jun Lee/For The Times)

Catsimatidis added some verisimilitude to the role as he once rented a basement apartment to Marty Reisman, the table tennis champion who inspired the film.

“He put 20 pingpong tables in there,” Catsimatidis said. “And he was such a hustler. He’d give you 18 points and he’d still beat you.”

The brief scene required five days of shooting. “Even though it was a pain in the ass to do so many takes, I admire Josh for being a perfectionist,” Catsimatidis said during a recent interview at his office, where a plate of peeled or cut fresh fruit is always nearby.

After the film’s Christmas release Catsimatidis was getting calls from people he had not heard from in years.

“I didn’t know how important a movie this was,” Catsimatidis said. “When Josh said he had a role for me, I said, ‘OK. Why not? It’s a new adventure.”

Catsimatidis has had more than his share of adventures.

His father was a lighthouse keeper, living in solitude on the Greek island of Kandelioussa for 16 years before entering a family-arranged marriage with his mother. The couple emigrated from Greece to the U.S. when Catsimatidis was a toddler.

Catsimatidis grew up in West Harlem and studied electrical engineering at New York University. But he showed a talent for selling as a teenager when he hawked bottles of aftershave lotion out of the trunk of his Buick. In the late 1960s, he bought out a 50% share in an upper Manhattan supermarket where he worked as a clerk and, to the chagrin of his parents, dropped out of college to work full time in the grocery business.

John Catsimatidis during a live broadcast of his WABC radio show “Cats & Cosby” at the station’s New York studio.

(Justin Jun Lee/For The Times)

By the age of 25, he had opened 10 stores under the name Red Apple and was earning $1 million a year. In his 30s, he became a jet pilot and owned a regional airline. Investments in real estate and an oil refinery he bought out of bankruptcy have driven his current net worth up to $4.8 billion, according to Forbes.

Business success earned Catsimatidis a seat at the table in national politics. He backed the 1988 presidential campaign of fellow Greek American Michael Dukakis and donated to Bill Clinton. By 2016, he was aligned with Trump, as are most of the hosts on WABC, including Newsmax’s Greg Kelly and Fox Business Network’s Larry Kudlow.

Catsimatidis has been a fixture in the New York tabloids for decades, not always in a positive way as he’s had legal battles with unions at his businesses over the years. He now deals with the occasional furors that arise when managing outspoken on-air personalities in the current divisive political media environment.

He clashed with Rudy Giuliani, who is suing Catsimatidis for removing the former mayor from his hosting role at the station in 2024. Giuliani was pulled off the air after he refused to stop talking about false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election — a matter that cost Fox News $787 million in a defamation suit.

When WABC’s fiery morning host Sid Rosenberg is mentioned, Catsimatidis bows his head and performs the sign of the cross.

Rosenberg, a relentless Trump supporter, called New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani a “radical Islam cockroach” during an on-air rant last month. Catsimatidis had the host deliver an on-air apology and issued one of his own online.

Catsimatidis, who is also chief executive of the Gristides supermarket chain, is no fan of Mamdani’s policies and is among the New York business types who declared they would leave the city if the Democratic Socialist took office. But he said he maintains a cordial relationship with Mamdani and offered advice on the mayor’s proposal to open city-run grocery stores.

“I don’t care if you’re a socialist, a Republican, a Democrat or an independent,” he said. “As long as you have common sense.”

Catsimatidis made millions from buying New York real estate on the cheap in the 1970s when the city was in deep economic trouble. So he recognized a bargain when his Red Apple Media group bought WABC for $12 million from Cumulus Media.

WABC was the most listened-to station in the country during the heyday of top 40 radio in the 1960s — riding the wave of the Beatles — and well into the ‘70s. The station’s booming 50,000-watt signal at 770 on the AM dial reached 40 states.

WABC switched to an all-talk format in 1982 and boosted the careers of conservative radio personalities Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity.

The station’s fortunes declined under Cumulus, which was crushed by debt and losing ground to new competition from digital media.

The challenges did not discourage Catsimatidis, who recalls listening to WABC on his transistor radio as a student attending Brooklyn Tech High School in the 1960s. He loves the station’s legacy, and brought back its famous jingles with the dial position and call letters put to the tune of Rodgers and Hart’s “Manhattan.”

Catsimatidis even hired one of WABC’s legendary disc jockeys, Bruce Morrow — known to millions of baby boomers as Cousin Brucie. Morrow, now 89, plays oldies on Saturday nights.

But the investment has gone beyond nostalgia. After taking over, Catsimatidis told its president, Chad Lopez, to drop its weekend infomercials and replace them with locally produced shows. The decision meant walking away from $2.7 million in annual revenue, but Catsimatidis insisted.

“John said, ‘I want to make WABC great,’” Lopez said. “Once we went to more live and local programming, you could see the audience start coming in.”

The station also reduced its commercial load. A typical talk station carries up to 21 minutes of ads in an hour. WABC carries about six to eight minutes per hour at most.

WABC does not break out its finances, but Catsimatidis said it turns a profit, which he puts back into the business. The station has expanded its digital presence, creating podcasts of its daily programs and bite-size versions of longer interviews on the station for downloads.

Every bit of news made on the station’s programs is quickly turned into social media content. The livestream of the station attracts listeners in all 50 U.S. states and 176 countries. WABC programs are syndicated to 532 radio stations in the U.S., including 16 in California such as KINS in Eureka.

Catsimatidis speaks of grandiose-sounding plans to take on the BBC or replace the Voice of America with WABC content, while keeping an eye out for other distressed radio properties he could turn around.

“Whatever we can buy for nothing, we’ll buy,” he said. “They became distressed because of stupid management.”

DENVER — The Kings haven’t won an NHL playoff series since the last time they won the Stanley Cup, which is to say it’s been a while.

They’re halfway to another early exit after a 2-1 overtime loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, a result that gave the Avalanche a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The winning goal came from Nicolas Roy 7:44 in the extra period.

The Kings’ lone goal came from Artemi Panarin while captain Gabriel Landeskog had the other Colorado goal.

“We did play really well,” interim coach D.J. Smith said. “We’ve got to find a way to win a game. Clearly, good isn’t enough. We’ve got to win a game and keep taking a piece of them and keep playing physical and give ourselves a chance to keep lengthening the series.”

Panarin gave the Kings a 1-0 lead on a wrister from the inside edge of the right circle with less than seven minutes left in regulation. It was his second power-play goal of the series and it came on the Kings’ fifth power play of the night.

It also came after the Kings got a fortunate break, with a Colorado clearing pass striking a linesman, leading to a faceoff in the Kings’ offensive end.

Landeskog evened things for Colorado 3 1/2 minutes later, escaping Kings forward Scott Laughton to skate to a Martin Necas pass through the crease before pushing the puck inside the left post to send the game to overtime.

For the Kings, it marked their 34^th overtime in 84 games this season, an NHL record. They lost 21 of them but Tuesday’s was the most painful, with Roy scoring on a deflection in the crease.

“We had every opportunity,” Smith said. “You’ve got to be able to close it out.”

The teams now head to Crypto.com Arena for games Thursday and Sunday with the Kings needing at least one win to extend their season.

“I expect that we’ll be better at home,” Smith said.

To do that, the Kings are going to have to stop wasting the kind of opportunities they had in Denver, where they converted just two of nine power-play chances and failed to score on a penalty shot in the first two games.

The physical series turned chippy in late in Game 1 and that carried over to the start of Game 2 with a pair of scuffles, each involving more than a half-dozen players, breaking out 12 seconds apart midway through the first period. The teams combined for seven penalties in a fast-paced opening 20 minutes played with a lot of open ice.

Quinton Byfield had two chances to put the Kings on the board just more than three minutes into the second period but Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood came up big both times.

Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg makes a save during overtime of Game 2.

(Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)

The first came when Byfield charged Wedgewood on a breakaway, only to have the goalie stop his wrister from in close. But Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar was called for hooking Byfield from behind on the play, setting up a penalty shot. Wedgewood stopped that too.

An over-excited group of fans celebrated the two saves by breaking a pane of glass behind the Kings bench, sending the coaches scurrying and pausing the game for several minutes as workmen repaired the damage. But 16 seconds after play resumed, the Avalanche took another penalty, their sixth of seven on the night.

The Colorado penalties left the Kings with a man advantage for nearly a quarter of the game’s first 25 minutes, but their power play couldn’t take advantage against a Colorado penalty kill that ranked No. 1 in the NHL during the regular season.

“Obviously, you just want the opportunities,” forward Trevor Moore said. “Now we’ve just got to make the most of them.”

Colorado’s best scoring chance in the first two periods came on a three-on-one rush less than five minutes before the second intermission, but Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson reached in to break up the play and keep the game scoreless.

Colorado celebrates its Game 2 victory over the Kings.

(Jack Dempsey / Associated Press)

Sam Malinski appeared to give the Avalanche the lead on a slap shot from above the left circle 10 seconds into the final period, but after the horn sounded and the goal was put in the scoreboard, the officials correctly ruled the puck had struck the outside of the net.

Five minutes later Byfield fanned on a loose puck in the crease, allowing Wedgewood to roll over and clear it from in front of the open net.

Now the Kings come home, where they won six of their final seven regular-season games, the only loss coming in a shootout. But they haven’t beaten the Avalanche anywhere this season and if they have to at least once in the next two games to avoid their seventh straight first-round playoff exit.

“Thought we played better tonight,” Moore said. “So we’ve to to try to just take the positives and get to L.A. and play a good game.”

DENVER — Different opponent. Same result.

In each of the last four seasons, the Kings have opened the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers. They lost each time.

So on Sunday the Kings tried a different route, opening against the Colorado Avalanche.

They lost, 2-1.

The goals came from Artturi Lehkonen late in the second period and Logan O’Connor early in the third. The Kings made a game of it late, pulling goaltender Anton Fosberg with 2:57 to play and getting a power-play goal from Artemi Panarin 35 seconds later. But that was as close as they would get.

Maybe the Kings should have been careful what they wished for. Because while the Avalanche aren’t the Oilers, they’re better — much better — than any of the recent Edmonton teams.

This season they won the Presidents’ Trophy, the prize that goes to the team with the best regular-season record in the league, and they earned it by scoring the most goals and giving up the fewest in the NHL. They also had the best home record in the Western Conference and the best road record in the league.

And they started quickly Sunday, putting four shots on goal in the first four minutes. But Forsberg was spectacular, making 28 saves to keep the Kings in the game.

Colorado thought it had beaten him less than seven minutes into the second period when O’Connor found the back of the net from the right circle but the goal was waved off by a goalie interference call on Jack Drury, who tumbled into the crease as O’Connor was releasing his shot. The Avalanche questioned the call, claiming Kings defender Drew Doughty had pushed Drury from behind, but they lost the challenge.

There was no doubt about Colorado’s next goal, which came 4:31 before the second intermission when Lehkonen, defended tightly by Doughty, was able to reach out his stick and sweep in the rebound of Nathan MacKinnon‘s shot from the right boards.

The Avalanche doubled their advantage 5:50 into the third period when Joel Edmundson lost the puck in the Kings’ zone, allowing O’Connor to collect it and race defenseman Cody Ceci to the front of the net before beating Forsberg cleanly. Drury got an assist on the play.

The game, which had been physical all afternoon, turned chippy after that, giving the Kings a power play they took advantage to halve Colorado’s lead. But the Avalanche then closed out the game to a 1-0 lead in the series.

The best-of-seven playoff resumes Tuesday night in Denver before moving to the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday.

The Kings looked nothing like a playoff team heading into the NHL’s trade deadline. They had lost six of their last eight games, had just fired their coach and had saw their second-leading scorer go down with a broken leg in the Olympic tournament.

They were backing away from the playoffs, not heading toward them. So general manager Ken Holland did the prudent thing and largely stood pat, trading a couple of veterans for draft picks and making only a pair of minor acquisitions.

Turns out he wasn’t waving a white flag but rather a green one because the Kings hit the gas after that, gathering points in 16 of their final 20 games, finishing the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. That earned them a fifth straight trip to the playoffs and a first-round meeting with the Colorado Avalanche, the league’s winningest team, beginning Sunday in Denver.

The Ducks, meanwhile, advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2018 but they stumbled in, losing eight of their last 10 and blowing a five-point lead in the Pacific Division and the home-ice advantage that went with it over the final three weeks. The Ducks, the third-place team in the Pacific Division, will start on the road in Edmonton on Monday.

Kings interim coach D.J. Smith during a game in March in Boston.

(Charles Krupa / Associated Press)

“It’s been a climb. Probably didn’t look very good a while ago,” said Kings interim coach D.J. Smith, who could lose the interim part of that title after going 11-6-6 after replacing Jim Hiller behind the bench with 23 games to play. “It’s a credit to the guys, the leadership. They played playoff hockey for a while now. And it’s allowed us this opportunity.”

Actually, crediting the Kings with playing playoff hockey isn’t necessarily a compliment since the team hasn’t won a postseason series since hoisting the Stanley Cup in 2014. But it’s been more than a decade since the Kings have entered the playoffs carrying this kind of momentum and they have a few people to thank for that.

Anton Forsberg has been key for the Kings down the stretch.

(Ronald Martinez / Getty Images)

Journeyman goaltender Anton Forsberg, who spent most of his first season in Los Angeles backing up Darcy Kuemper, won five straight starts in April to key the Kings’ fast finish. Russian winger Artemi Panarin, acquired from the New York Rangers just before the Olympic break and a month before the trade deadline, contributed nine goals and 18 assists in 26 games, helping make up for the loss of forwards Kevin Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko to injuries. And Quinton Byfield scored 10 times in his final 13 games to set a career high with 24 goals.

“Since the break I feel like we’ve really come together as a group,” Byfield said.

The team displayed uncommon grit as well, going to overtime an NHL-record 33 times. (They lost 20 of those games; if they have gotten the second point in just a third of those, they would have won the division.)

And finally, the Kings were also fueled by a desire to give captain Anze Kopitar one more chance at a title. Kopitar, who announced in September that this season would be his last, gave an emotional good-bye speech to the fans after the final regular-season home game. His teammates were determined to give him an encore in the playoffs.

“That had a lot to do with it,” Smith said. “Guys were playing for him. He gets one more chance to play at home.

“We found a way.”

Kopitar, however, credited his coach for the team’s fast finish.

“Once Smithy came in, he just changed the energy a little bit and we’re trying to be a little more aggressive versus sitting back,” said Kopitar, the Kings’ all-time leader in games, points and assists.

Cutter Gauthier is the first Duck to score 40 goals in a season since Corey Perry in 2013-14.

(Melissa Majchrzak / Associated Press)

For the Ducks, they’re not only returning to the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons — only the Detroit Red Wings have a longer active postseason drought — but they also posted a winning record for the first time since 2018.

Troy Terry, who played two games as a rookie that season, is the only Duck remaining from that team.

“This year has just felt different from the start,” he said. “It was less question marks about the potential of the team. We knew what we could be.”

Which isn’t to say it’s been easy. The team had two seven-game winning streaks but also weathered losing streaks of nine and six games.

“We had a couple of roller coasters there, starting and then slowing down and getting back on it,” said coach Joel Quenneville, who has taken five teams to the NHL playoffs, winning three Stanley Cups in Chicago.

The Ducks’ 273 goals this season are the most in franchise history but the 288 they allowed is third-worst all time, leaving the team with the second-highest goal differential of any playoff team. (Only the Kings are worse at -22.)

Speaking of history, winger Cutter Gauthier, with 18 goals in the final 23 games, is the first Duck to score 40 goals in a season since Corey Perry in 2013-14. At 22, he’s also the second-youngest to get there, trailing only Paul Kariya.

Jake DeBrusk scored his second goal of the game in overtime and the Vancouver Canucks beat the Kings 4-3 on Tuesday night.

DeBrusk collected a pass from center Elias Pettersson and tapped a shot in to seal the victory 2:58 into the extra period.

Defenseman Elias Pettersson opened the scoring for the Canucks, and DeBrusk and Zeev Buium added goals in the second period. Elias Pettersson had two assists. The Canucks won their third straight game for the first time since Dec. 14-20, when they took four straight road victories.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced as Vancouver improved to 9-27-5 on home ice this season.

Quinton Byfield and Alex Laferriere each had a goal and an assist for the Kings. Adrian Kempe scored his 36th of the season and Darcy Kuemper made 21 saves.

DeBrusk scored for a third straight game. His three goals across the stretch came on the power play. The 29-year-old winger has scored 19 of his 23 goals with the man advantage this season.

Anze Kopitar played his final game at Rogers Arena and registered an assist on Kempe’s second-period goal. He has 864 assists, all with L.A. That ranks third among active players with a single franchise, trailing only the Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin (874) and Sidney Crosby (1,107).

The Kings have secured a playoff berth and remain in the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with one game remaining.

The Kings had their five-game winning streak halted, but they did earn a point for the eighth straight game (6-0-2).

The source said: “We fully understand and appreciate the survivors’ position, but can only reiterate that our position is clear that anything that could potentially impact on ongoing police inquiries and assessments, and any potential legal action that could result from that, would be to the detriment of the survivors themselves in their pursuit of justice.”