Avalanche Open 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Against the Los Angeles Kings

For starters, the Kings have a new head coach. Former Avs defenseman D.J. Smith is at the helm, replacing the recently fired Jim Hiller. The Kings made the change on March 1, and Smith made his debut as head coach against Colorado before getting much of an opportunity to implement any changes.

Smith was an assistant coach on Hiller’s staff.

The Kings also made one of the bigger deals in the regular season, trading for Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers just before the Olympic break trade freeze. Panarin has been excellent since, putting up a team-high 27 points in 25 games before Thursday’s finale.

Colorado has also made quite a few changes throughout the season. Nazem Kadri, Nic Roy, and Nick Blankenburg were all acquired in the days after that third and final meeting.

The clubs have met twice in the postseason and both series went to seven games. In 2001, Colorado defeated the Kings in Game 7 in the second round, on its way to a Stanley Cup championship. The following season, the Avalanche and Kings faced off yet again, this time in the first round, and the Avalanche were once again victorious in a winner-take-all game.

This is their first meeting in 24 years.

Los Angeles has faced the Edmonton Oilers in the first round in each of the last four years. The Oilers won all of them.

If the Avs win the series, it’ll officially end Anze Kopitar’s storied 20-year career. The L.A. Kings captain will appear in the postseason for the 11th time in that stretch.

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