Nathan MacKinnon recorded two goals and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche routed the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 to complete a first-round sweep and advance to the Second Round.
The first three games of the opening round playoff series between the Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings were tightly contested.
Game 4 was anything but.
The Avalanche rolled to a 5-1 victory over the Kings to complete the sweep and punch their ticket to the second round. It marks just the third time in franchise history that the Avalanche have swept their opponent in the opening round of the postseason, with Colorado going on to win the Stanley Cup in two of those previous three seasons.
Colorado was powered by Nathan MacKinnon, who finished with three points on two goals and an assist. Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Nic Roy also scored, while captain Gabe Landeskog added two assists.
Scott Wedgewood, who started all four games in the series, turned aside 24 shots as the Avalanche completed the sweep. Anze Kopitar’s career came to an end following the loss.
First Period
The Avalanche killed off two penalties in the first half of the period after Roy and Nick Blankenburg were both called for interference, though the second penalty was, at best, a ticky-tack call.
Los Angeles also fell victim to a controversial interference call when Brian Dumoulin knocked Artturi Lehkonen down in front of the net. On the ensuing power play, MacKinnon blasted a one-timer from the left circle to make it a 1–0 game. It was the Rocket Richard Trophy winner’s first goal of the postseason and Colorado’s first power play goal of the playoffs.
At 17:58, a flurry of penalties broke out involving both teams. Jack Drury and Alex Turcotte each received minor penalties, while Samuel Helenius was assessed two separate minors along with a 10-minute misconduct. Jeff Malott was also sent off for roughing Drury during the same sequence, turning the moment into a multi-player scrum with penalties on both sides.
Second Period
Makar made it 2–0 at 5:48 when he tracked down a loose puck at the blue line, danced around Kings defenseman Taylor Ward, and snapped a wrister past Kings netminder Anton Forsberg, who made 27 saves, to double the lead. Ward tried to haul him down after realizing he was beaten but couldn’t slow him before he got the shot off.
The Kings got a lifeline with 6:17 left in the period when Joel Edmundson fired a shot through a screen by Kopitar, beating Wedgewood to cut the deficit to 2–1.
With under five minutes remaining in the second, Kadri took a series of punishing hits from Edmundson, who eliminated him against the boards.
But with Josh Manson out for an undetermined amount of time with an upper-body injury, the question remains who will step up and provide that physical edge for the Avalanche. MacKinnon certainly didn’t hesitate, delivering a heavy hit on Dumoulin at the blue line just before the end of the period.
Third Period
The Kings came out with a head of steam in the early moments of the third period, desperate to avoid getting swept. Kopitar led the rush up the ice and got a shot off on Wedgewood, but the Avalanche goaltender came up with the save.
Nic Roy cashed in at 3:13 with his second goal of the series, punching home a rebound off an initial shot from Artturi Lehkonen to restore Colorado’s two-goal lead at 3–1. The play was set up by Sam Malinski, who fed Lehkonen along the right wing as the Finnish forward fought off a defender before getting the puck on net.
Just 2:48 later, Colorado added an insurance marker when MacKinnon fed Devon Toews, and the star defenseman ripped a top-shelf wrister to make it 4–1, as the Avalanche made it clear they wanted to close out the opening round with a statement win.
With the seconds ticking away, it became evident that the Kings may have traded for Artemi Panarin at the deadline just to make their annual first-round exit feel a little more expensive.
MacKinnon added an empty-net goal, and his second of the night, to make it 5-1. It was MacKinnon's 57th career playoff goal in his 99th career playoff game.
In the end, it was a championship-caliber performance from the Colorado Avalanche.
Even without their most physical presence in the lineup, every line elevated its game, every shift carried weight, and every response felt intentional. That’s what separates good teams from dangerous ones—and right now, this group looks very much like the latter.
The Avalanche will face the winner of the series between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild, with the Wild earning a 4-3 overtime victory on Saturday to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.
