Kings 5, Avalanche 2: Defenseman Brayden McNabb had a career-high three points with a goal and two assists as visiting Los Angeles moved into a tie for third place in the Pacific Division.

Marian Gaborik and Jeff Carter each scored a first-period goal while defensemen Kyle Clifford and Jake Muzzin also tallied as the Kings improved to 6-0-1 in their last seven versus Colorado and moved within one point of Winnipeg for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Justin Williams collected a pair of assists and Jonathan Quick turned aside 21 shots for Los Angeles, which tied Calgary with 77 points.

Defenseman Tyson Barrie and Alex Tanguay scored for the Avalanche, who were denied a season-high fourth straight win and remained seven points behind the Jets. Rookie Calvin Pickard, called up from the minors to replace an injured Semyon Varlamov, yielded three goals on eight shots before giving way to Reto Berra (20 saves).

The Kings jumped on Pickard and Colorado as Gaborik scored off a deflection on a power play at 7:47 of the first before Carter finished a give-and-go with Jordan Nolan just over four minutes later. Barrie sliced through defenders to beat Quick less than a minute later, but McNabb redirected Clifford's point shot with 5:45 left in the period.

Clifford extended the lead to 4-1 at the 15-minute mark of the second, shoveling home a rebound with one hand for the lone goal of the period. Tanguay provided a glimmer of hope for the Avalanche, swatting a pass from Marc-Andre Cliche into an open net at 8:27 of the third, but Muzzin's slap shot 1 1/2 minutes later restored the three-goal cushion.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Gaborik reached 20 goals for the ninth season while Carter scored for the 12th time in 14 games against Colorado. ... Varlamov had his streak of consecutive starts halted at 22, one shy of the franchise record set by Craig Anderson in 2010. ... The Kings snuffed out three power plays by the Avalanche and have killed off 34-of-35 short-handed situations in the past 12 games.