Despite the Los Angeles Kings hanging on in a low-scoring game, the Colorado Avalanche showed they can win, no matter what style of game they face.
The Colorado Avalanche scored the most goals in the NHL this season.
But in Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup playoff game against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, the Avalanche showed they can carve out wins in low-scoring games, winning 2-1.
For the first 35 minutes of the game, the Avs and Kings were deadlocked in a scoreless battle. But Colorado limited Los Angeles to only 16 shots in the first two periods, and Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood turned aside 24 of 25 shots through three periods.
Meanwhile, the Avs got goals from Arturri Lehkonen and Logan O'Connor. When they win without goals from Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy-winning center Nathan MacKinnon and right winger Martin Necas, you have to acknowledge the Avalanche's tremendous depth.
However, you also have to give credit to the Kings for keeping the game closer than many thought it would be.
L.A. goalie Anton Forsberg gave his teammates a chance to send the game to overtime and take their chances once they got there. And in the third period, the Kings cut Colorado's lead in half when star left winger Artemi Panarin scored a power-play goal – but that goal came with only 2:22 left in regulation.
When Los Angeles left winger Joel Armia took his second penalty of the game with 1:48 left in the third, that proved to be too big a mountain for the Kings to climb.
You also have to give credit to Wedgewood, who won his first career playoff game.
Wedgewood won 11 of his final 14 regular-season games, and he was named the first star of the game Saturday for good reason. There may come a point where Avalanche coach Jared Bednar turns to Wedgewood's tandem-mate Mackenzie Blackwood, but Wedgewood definitely earned another start in Game 2 on Tuesday.
Some people get wrapped up in the Avalanche's offensive supremacy, and it's understandable why they do. But we shouldn't forget Colorado also had the NHL's best defense in the regular season, averaging 2.40 goals against per game. That virtually air-tight game will make life very hard on any opponent the Avs take on this spring.
If you want to run-and-gun with the Avalanche, they can do that and overwhelm you with their stacked attack and fearsome firepower. But if you want to grind out low-scoring games and try to out-defend the Avs, they can do that and emerge victorious, too. Any way you choose to play, the Avalanche can beat you.
Of course, no team is completely flawless, but Colorado is about as close as a team gets to it. The Kings did their utmost to squeeze the Avalanche in Game 1, but here's the problem with that approach: nobody squeezes harder than the Avs. They're a python in Burgundy & Blue, and unless the Kings figure out a way to play a perfect game, this series is likely to end much sooner than later.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.