Toffoli’s hat trick leads Kings over Avalanche in Stadium Series
Tyler Toffoli scored twice in the final minute to complete the NHL’s first outdoor hat trick and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 Saturday night at the Air Force Academy.
Toffoli put Los Angeles ahead 2-1 with 54 seconds remaining, then scored an empty-netter with 4.3 seconds left in the third and final outdoor game in the NHL this season.
The Kings won their second straight, improving to 4-12-1 since New Year’s Day.
At 6,621 feet above sea level, this was the highest altitude ever for an NHL game. Unlike during the week when the rink was installed, the snow stayed away. It was 32 degrees with 66 per cent humidity at puck drop with 6 mph winds. The temperature quickly dipped into the 20s.
WATCH: Toffoli shines for Kings:
Colorado goaltender Philipp Grubaurer stopped 14 of 15 shots before leaving after teammate Ian Cole slammed into him early in the third period and sent him tumbling. He was replaced by backup Pavel Francouz with 17 1/2 minutes remaining.
Los Angeles goaltender Jonathan Quick survived Colorado’s 15-shot flurry in the first period, when the Kings took a 1-0 lead at Falcon Stadium, where an F-16 fighter jet highlighted the north end of the field and cadets sat on the south side of the rink on either side of a runway complete with synchronized red lights.
The Stadium Series game was a sellout — 43,574 fans, more than twice the capacity of the Pepsi Center.
Alex Iafallo tipped Joakim Ryan’s shot, which went off the left post and slid across the crease where Toffoli tapped it in 14 minutes into the game.
Country singer Sam Hunt serenaded the crowd from a stage near the fighter jet after the first period.
Quick stopped the first two dozen shots he faced but he lost his stick in the final minute of the second period after two quick stops and while he was reaching for it, Samuel Girard sent the puck sailing over his right shoulder to tie it at 1.
