Colorado Pulls Past Kings in NHL Stanley Cup Postseason Round 1 Play

The Colorado Avalanche won Game 1 over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, 2–1, in Denver to lead the best-of-seven series in the first round of the 2026 NHL playoffs.

The Avalanche scored first in the game at Ball Arena in Denver, after a scoreless first period, at 15:29 in the second period with a goal by Artturi Lehkonen. His wrist shot found its way past King’s goaltender Anton Forsberg. Colorado’s Nathan Mackinnon assisted on Lehkonen’s goal in the Western Conference postseason series.

Colorado’s Logan O’Connor scored his team’s second goal on the day, unassisted, at 5:50 in the third period.

With the Avalanche leading 2–0 late in the third period, King’s Artemi Panarin put the puck past Colorado’s goalie Scott Wedgewood. Panarin’s score, at 17:38, was assisted by Alex Laferriere and Brandt Clarke.

Game 2 between the Avalanche and Kings in Denver is set for Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.

On Sunday, NHL.com reported that King’s coach D.J. Smith knew that his team was in an uphill battle to dominate the regular-season Central Division champions; however, he believes that he has the players that can conquer the Avalanche.

“I mean, they won the Presidents’ Trophy (for the best regular-season record) for a reason. They have, how many Olympians on their team? And everybody’s picked them to win it. That’s fine,” Smith said. “You have to manage when they really take over a game and limit that to shorter periods, rather than have it carry on shift after shift.

“Someone’s got to go out there, and have a good shift and stop it. And let’s be honest, we’re going to have to have some guys play outside their comfort zone. We’re going to have to have some guys outperform, maybe what they are, and that has to happen for teams to knock off a Presidents’ Trophy winner. You need a special performance by one, two, maybe three guys for two weeks, and we got guys in the room that can do it.”

Colorado outnumbered the Kings in shots-on-goal 30–25.

The last time the Kings and Colorado met during the regular season, on March 2 in Los Angeles, the Avalanche came away with a 4–2 win. Mackenzie Blackwood was in goal for that game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. In Sunday’s Game 1 victory, Avalanche’s coach Jared Bednar went with Wedgewood, who completed his first full season in Denver with a record of 31–6–6.  The goaltending combination of Wedgewood and Blackwood captured the NHL’s William M. Jennings Trophy for the 2025–2026 season. The Jennings Trophy is awarded annually to the goalie(s) who play a minimum of 25 games for the team that allows the fewest goals.

Bednar, having completed his 10th season in running the Avalanche bench, isn’t taking the Kings’ efforts lightly. When speaking to NHL.com on Sunday, Bednar praised the wild card team from the Pacific Division for the grit they bring to their game.

“They’re more dangerous offensively than they were before. I’m sure some of that is coached into the team and I also think the addition of a guy like (Artemi) Panarin, who has over a point a game since joining the team,” he said of the forward, who the Kings acquired from the New York Rangers on February 4 and who played his first game with Los Angeles on February 25 following the 2026 Winter Olympics break.

The Kings, who finished in fourth place in the Pacific Division, completed the regular season with 90 points. The Avalanche finished first among the 16 teams in the Western Conference. Their 55–16–11 record (121 points) earned them the Presidents’ Trophy for the fourth time in franchise history. The high-octane Avalanche offense led the NHL in averaging 3.63 goals per game (298 total in 82 games).

The Avalanche, winners of the Stanley Cup in 2022, will play the first two games of the series in Colorado, and the following two in Los Angeles. If necessary, Game 5 is scheduled for Denver, Game 6 at Los Angeles, and Game 7 would return the teams to Denver on May 3.