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McLeod nets two as Avalanche bury Kings

Dec 10, 2008 - 6:27 AM By Derek Nagy PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

DENVER (Ticker) -- Cody McLeod registered the first two-goal game of his career and Peter Budaj stopped 29 shots as the Colorado Avalanche cruised to their season-high fourth straight home win Tuesday, a 6-1 rout of the Los Angeles Kings.

Rookie Chris Stewart and Ryan Smyth each recorded a goal and an assist while Marek Svatos and Milan Hejduk also scored for the Avalanche, who improved to 5-1-0 in their last six games at the Pepsi Center.

"We need that. We need everybody," Colorado's Ian Laperriere said. "We just can't count on a couple of guys to score every goal for us every night. Lately, everybody seems to be chipping in, and we need that."

Rookie Oscar Moller scored and Jason LaBarbera made 20 saves for Los Angeles, which has lost four of its last five contests (1-3-1).

"They got every bounce you can have in a game," LaBarbera said. "Three or four of those goals were pretty good bounces they got. We just weren't ready tonight."

This one was over early as Colorado netted three goals in the opening period for just the second time this campaign and added three more in the second to build a commanding 6-0 lead.

The Avalanche scored goals less than 30 seconds apart early in the first for a 2-0 advantage.

Svatos started the scoring at 3:28 with his sixth of the season. After Tyler Arnason's shot went wide of the net, the puck caromed off the end boards and under goaltender Jason LaBarbera, who inadvertently kicked it right to Svatos for an easy tally.

Just 25 seconds later, Hejduk doubled the lead with his team-leading 12th goal of the season. Paul Stastny gathered a loose puck behind the net and feathered a perfect pass through the crease to a streaking Hejduk, who wristed a shot past LaBarbera.

McLeod netted his first goal with 8:16 to go in the period, burying the rebound of Cody McCormick's shot for a 3-0 cushion.

"I got a couple of lucky bounces," McLeod said. "Went to the net hard tonight and got a couple lucky bounces that went in."

After Smyth's power-play goal early in the second, McLeod tallied again at 4:48 for a 5-0 bulge.

Immediately afterward, he was involved in a scuffle with Los Angeles enforcer Raitis Ivanans, and both were sent off for roughing. McLeod went to the penalty box with his arms raised and was jawing with Ivanans, inciting the home crowd.

"I didn't even see him coming. I just saw him right at the last second there," McLeod said. "He was kind of upset. I was just happy the puck went into the net."

Recalled from Lake Erie of the American Hockey League on Friday, Stewart netted his first career tally on a shorthanded breakaway with 8:42 left in the second to give the Avalanche a six-goal cushion.

"I just came out of the box and just went in on a breakaway and tried to go backhand-forehand and got the rebound, luckily," Stewart said.