DENVER — Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche have every right to feel a bit stifled. Known for their speed and prodigious goal production, it hasn’t been on full display so far in the playoffs. The highest-scoring, fastest-flying team on the ice this season just can’t seem to completely solve the lock-down, muck-up-the-middle approach of the Los Angeles Kings. The top five point producers in the regular season for Colorado have yet to find the back of the net. Still, the Avalanche lead the first-round series 2-0 heading to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday. They have won both games in 2-1 fashion, including an OT thriller, which highlights their belief that whether a game or a series is low scoring or high scoring, they are built for both. “You definitely can get frustrated during the regular season, but playoffs … there’s no time for that,” said MacKinnon, who has an assist through two games after leading the league with 53 goals in the regular season. “You’ve got to be 100% in, team-player positive, and you’ve just got to stick with it. I feel like we’re doing a lot of good things and we’re up to it. It’s low-scoring games, but it’s not about the amount of goals. Just got to get some wins.”Colorado led the league in goals per game (3.63), shots per game (33.7) and 5-on-5 scoring in the regular season but the Presidents’ Trophy winners also allowed the fewest goals behind their goalie tandem, which currently has Scott Wedgewood starring in the lead role.“We’re comfortable playing these games,” said captain Gabriel Landeskog, who tied Tuesday’s game with 3:35 left in regulation. “If you get a little impatient with it, you start forcing plays. We just kind of kept it going. Kept trusting our forecheck, and finally, we ended up getting rewarded for it.”The Kings may be in a hole, but trust their process. A grind-it-out, goals-hard-to-come-by series is definitely their kind of series. Especially with Anton Forsb …
