The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in their playoff opener, showcasing dominance despite only scoring twice. The game featured a strong performance from the Avalanche, especially in the second and third periods.
Key points
Avalanche won 2-1 against Kings
Strong performance in second and third periods
Only nine shots in the first period
Avalanche struggled on power play
Game showcased Avalanche's dominance
Colorado AvalancheLos Angeles Kings
NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche
Ron Chenoy-Imagn ImagesRon Chenoy-Imagn Images
The opening game of the Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings series felt like a two-part series. The first period was its own game, and the Kings probably went into the intermission extremeley happy with how it unfolded.
Colorado had the lone power play in that frame and couldnāt do much with it. At 5-on-5, the leagueās highest scoring and most dominant offensive team only mustered nine shots. They couldnāt find the back of the net.
But the second and third were different. Despite only scoring two goals, and only winning 2-1, the Avs looked like the Presidentsā Trophy winners. They looked like the team that often took control of games with their speed, tenacious forecheck, and relentless attack.
Anton Forsberg helped ensure that it remained close. And L.A. head coach D.J. Smith was really happy with how his team played on the road, despite the losing result.
āIām really happy with how we played, too,ā Avs head coach Jared Bednar responded. āI think thatās the kind of game you can expect playing the Kings. Itās a tight checking team. What, they played 50-something one-goal games and low-scoring games? Iām comfortable with that. I think our teamās comfortable with that. Itās going to be hard to create offense. We had three goals tonight. One was disallowed, and I liked what we did on the defensive side of things, to sort of minimize the quality of scoring chances, the quantity of scoring chances. Managed the puck well, so our guys played the right way and got the job done tonight, and then we gotta go do it again.ā
The third period steered more towards the Kings. They had more high-danger chances late and one additional shot on goal in general. But such is usually the case when youāre trailing by two goals late in regulation.
10 Takeaways
Q&A
What was the final score of the Avalanche vs Kings playoff game?
The final score was 2-1 in favor of the Colorado Avalanche.
How did the Avalanche perform in the second and third periods?
The Avalanche displayed dominance in the second and third periods, controlling the game despite only scoring two goals.
What challenges did the Avalanche face in the first period?
In the first period, the Avalanche struggled offensively, managing only nine shots and failing to capitalize on their lone power play.
Who were the teams playing in the NHL playoff series?
The teams playing in the NHL playoff series were the Colorado Avalanche and the Los Angeles Kings.
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1.Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves and was just over two minutes away from a shutout in his first career playoff start. The veteran netminder made some big stops while being a calming presence in the Avalanche goal. What more could you ask for
āJust a really consistent presence back there for us,ā Cale Makar said. āHe made the saves when we needed him to. Wish we could have helped them out on the one there, but just tough. I thought he played great and helped us out a lot.ā
2. In the middle of a question about Wedgewood getting his first career playoff start, Bednar cut off the reporter and said, āFirst ever? I didnāt know that.ā
3. Bednar started the game with Artturi Lehkonen on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. Later on, we saw Brock Nelson, Gabe Landeskog, and Nazem Kadri all get looks on the left wing. Bednar said this was strictly to get another faceoff guy in there. Lehkonen still finished the game with that line and scored the big first goal, assisted by MacKinnon.
4. Nic Roy didnāt record a point. Not many guys did in a low-scoring game. He has looked strong in the regular season with Colorado, but this was another level. Roy played on a line with Kadri and Landeskog ā two guys who have played big minutes in their careers. But he didnāt look out of place at all.
That might surprise some people, but not Bednar.
āI remember him, and watched a lot of his stuff before we got him from Vegas and the guys that he played with. He moved up and down the lineup,ā Bednar said. āHe played with skilled players, whether it was [William] Karlsson and [Tomas] Hertl, itās different guys on the wing. He centered the third line there, and it was a highly effective line that helped them win a Stanley Cup, and it was a lot of, not just good defensive hockey, but impactful offensive hockey as well. And thatās what we talked about when we got him, and I think he can help contribute in that area.ā
5. I liked how Parker Kelly looked on the second line. He didnāt produce, but he looked like a nice added forechecker to do a lot of what Valeri Nichushkin does as well.
6. I think if Bednar had any bit of confidence in the goaltender interference rule, he wouldnāt have challenged that play. It just felt like one that wasnāt going to get overturned. I also do believe that he feels the rulings on those plays have been so inconsistent that sometimes you can get lucky and get a goal. He had confidence in his penalty kill to do a good job if it didnāt go his way. And they did.
7. I initially thought it was ridiculous that the goal was waved off. Drew Doughty absolutely made contact with Jack Drury, who was trying to avoid the goalie. But then this little exchange from Justin Bourne and Sean McIndoe ā two great hockey minds ā made me think otherwise. They make great points here. Especially the McIndoe quote response.
8. Itās fitting that when Lehkonen eventually broke the ice late in the second period, he outmuscled Doughty at the top of the blue paint to get to the puck and put it past Forsberg.
Itās also fitting that OāConnor would eventually score. And it was a beauty.
9. I had a chat with someone in the game a month ago about the possibility of Ross Colton being a healthy scratch instead of Joel Kiviranta, if or when the team is fully healthy. It was on my mind for a few weeks after the trade deadline.
I even asked Bednar about it after practice once, if he was having a hard time finding a role for Colton. And he did what any good coach would do, and denied it. He steered his response more towards crediting Colton for being able to play in any spot the team needs.
When the team practiced Saturday, I wanted to write a story about Colton being healthy after missing the last six games of the Dallas series a year ago. For some reason, all this time later, it didnāt click in my mind that he might be a healthy scratch rather than a fourth-line winger. I tried to talk to him after the skate, and he politely said no. That rarely, if ever, happens with him.
He didnāt look too happy with my request to talk, either.
When the Avalancheās Twitter account posted the picture of the locker room before the game, with Coltonās jersey missing, like Zakhar Bardakov and Nick Blankenburg, it finally hit me. They later deleted the tweet after I and others noticed it.
Colton has had a tough season. Heās not scoring as much, heās had stretches where his confidence was gone, and he seems to be stuck in a rut right now. He doesnāt kill penalties or play on the power play. He also doesnāt take faceoffs. If heās not scoring, Kiviranta is the more valuable piece to this team.
Weāll see how long it takes to get Colton into a game. But it is unfortunate that weāve ended up here. I thought his injury last year was brutal luck. Heās got a history of performing in the playoffs with Tampa Bay. Iām just not sure how long it would take him to find that spark after the six months heās had. Especially in a season where so many of his teammates have had a crazy amount of success.
Colton hates this as much as anyone, I can tell you that.
10. I looked back at the roster the Avs used in Game 7 last year against Dallas to see how much of the roster had turned over. And itās not much at all, which is good.
If you recall, Colton was injured in Game 1 and was replaced by Kiviranta. This obviously accounts for that. Miles Wood, Jimmy Vesey, and Colton were the forwards on the outside last year. This year, for now, itās Colton and Bardakov.
Having that continuity, and still being able to add guys midseason like Kadri, Roy, and Kulak, is great. It means things are working. General manager Chris MacFarland had to really change things during 2024-25, and most of them have worked pretty well going into this season.
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