Kings 3, Avalanche 1: Defenseman Alec Martinez snapped a tie midway through the second period as host Los Angeles maintained its hold on the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Dwight King and Marian Gaborik also scored for the Kings, who are even in points with Winnipeg but own the tiebreaker. Jeff Carter and blue-liner Robyn Regehr each recorded two assists and Jonathan Quick needed to make only nine saves to post his 35th victory as Los Angeles completed a sweep of the three-game season series with its fifth consecutive triumph over Colorado.

Ryan O'Reilly netted the lone goal for the Avalanche, who officially were eliminated from postseason contention with Winnipeg's win over Vancouver. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 23 shots for Colorado, which was outscored 12-4 in the season set.

King staked Los Angeles to a 1-0 lead with 6:04 remaining in the first period, burying a rebound from the left faceoff circle after Varlamov denied Carter's shot from the top of the slot. Colorado drew even 72 seconds into the middle session as he used one hand to poke the puck across the goal line after Quick managed to get a piece of captain Gabriel Landeskog's shot from above the left circle.

The Kings regained the lead midway through the session, when Martinez beat Varlamov from the inner edge of the right circle, although play continued until the blue-liner again fired the puck past the goaltender before it was determined his initial shot found the net. Gaborik sealed the win with a blast from the left circle with 1:56 remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Regehr's two assists gave him 199 career points. ... Los Angeles extended its point streak against Colorado to eight games (7-0-1). ... The Avalanche finished 16-16-9 on the road this season. ... Colorado LW Alex Tanguay notched an assist for his 465th point with the club, moving him past Dale Hunter for seventh place on the franchise list. ... Actress Drew Barrymore and mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey were in attendance at Staples Center.