LOS ANGELES -- The Colorado Avalanche shook off a sluggish first period and scored two third-period goals to stun the Los Angeles Kings.

Center Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal at 10:35 of the third, and the Avalanche rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Kings on Wednesday night at Staples Center.

Avalanche left winger Gabriel Landeskog scored his second goal of the game on a power play at 7:38 of the third to knot the score at 3 before MacKinnon delivered the game-winner almost three minutes later.

"It takes some special effort to beat them here, and we had that tonight," said Avalanche center Matt Duchene, who also scored a goal in the win.

Kings left winger Dwight King, who had a goal and an assist, gave Los Angeles a 3-2 lead late in the second period, but Colorado came back.

"There have been some times getting on the score sheet lately for me personally, and it feels good to contribute," said Landeskog, who has 13 goals this season.

Goaltender Calvin Pickard stopped 35 of 38 shots for the Avalanche, who won for the fifth time in six games and took two of three in the season series with the Kings.

Los Angeles had a six-on-four advantage in the final 30 seconds of the contest after a hooking penalty was called on left winger Cody McLeod and the Kings pulled their goalie, but Pickard and the Avalanche held on.

Goaltender Jonathan Quick saved 15 of 19 shots for the Kings, who have dropped three of four.

"We didn't play a full 60 minutes. If you want to win in this league, you have to play a full 60," Kings defenseman Alec Martinez said. "We had a good start, but we didn't maintain it."

Los Angeles lost despite outshooting Colorado 38-19.

"It was a good effort," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said. "They scored one more goal. We outshot them ... and should've won."

Duchene said the Avalanche made adjustments after the opening period, in which the Kings scored twice and outshot them 18-5.

"The thing that was missing in the first period was we were terrible in their end and terrible on forechecking," Duchene said. "We couldn't sustain anything, and they were just coming at us like wildfire in the first period."

Defenseman Drew Doughty put the Kings on the board with his 10th goal of the season and the first short-handed goal of his career. Doughty gathered a pass near the blue line from forward Anze Kopitar and rushed past Avalanche defenders before dropping a backhanded winner at 9:31 of the first period.

Doughty is the first Kings defenseman to produce a short-handed goal since Willie Mitchell scored one Oct. 28, 2010, against the Dallas Stars.

Los Angeles center Trevor Lewis made it 2-0, getting a stick on a pass from center Vinny Lecavalier just outside the crease with 1:20 remaining in the first period. It was Lewis' fifth goal of the season.

Colorado took advantage of a turnover by Los Angeles defenseman Brayden McNabb to slice the lead in half to open the second period. Duchene squeezed a shot past Quick 42 seconds into the period for his 23rd goal this season.

The Avalanche (27-22-3) tied the score as Landeskog cashed in a rebound off a miss by left winger Blake Comeau at 7:10 of the second period.

King gave the Kings the lead again with his fourth goal this season, scoring on a pass from center Jordan Nolan for a 3-2 advantage at 15:13 of the second.

However, the Kings (30-16-3) will be forced to try to rid themselves of the sour ending during the All-Star break.

"No matter what time of year, when you have two leads in a game, you should be able to close it out," King said. "We let it slip tonight and that's something we can think about over the next four days."

NOTES: Colorado LW Cody McLeod leads the team with 96 penalty minutes, four shy of becoming the first player in Avalanche/Nordiques history to record 100 penalty minutes in eight difference seasons. Steven Finn, Dale Hunter and Randy Moller also hit the century mark in seven seasons. ... Los Angeles F Anze Kopitar ranked second in the NHL in scoring with 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) and was tied for first in assists from Nov. 20 through Tuesday. ... The Avalanche scratched D Nate Guenin, D Zach Redmond and LW Alex Tanguay. D Jamie McBain and C Andy Andreoff were unavailable for Los Angeles. ... With the All-Star break starting, both clubs are off until Tuesday. The Avalanche will host the Chicago Blackhawks, while the Kings visit the Arizona Coyotes.