"The Kings sought to get their All-Star goalie Jonathan Quick the perfect 26 th birthday present in the form of an ascent to first place in the Pacific Division standings.

But their party was crashed by the Colorado Avalanche, who beat the Kings 3-1 at Staples Center on Saturday night.

A familiar foe, former Ducks goalie J.S. Giguere, had 25 saves to anchor the Avalanche. Quick turned away 28 of 31 shots.

The Kings uncharacteristically were out-muscled for stretches, particularly during the first 25 minutes.

Rookie Gabriel Landeskog finished a brilliantly executed power play for the Avalanche and iced the game with an insurance goal with just under two minutes remaining in the game.

"It wasn't so much that point. It was in the first period where they physically kicked our (butt)," said Kings coach Darryl Sutter, who praised Colorado's physical play, particularly Jay McClement's line.

The Kings had a power play with five minutes to play but ended it prematurely when Jarret Stoll was penalized for high-sticking Colorado defenseman Jan Hejda.

Just over three minutes into the third period, Dustin Brown hit the goal post in his bid for a tying goal, a sight that has been too familiar for the Kings of late."