The Colorado Avalanche walked out of Crypto.com Arena with a 4-2 win on Thursday, shoving the Los Angeles Kings right up against the exit door in the first round. Colorado now holds a 3-0 grip on the best-of-seven series and can complete the sweep when the teams meet again on Sunday. The loss only raises the stakes in Anže Kopitar's farewell season, with the Kings' captain still searching for his first point of the series.
Game 3: Avalanche finish strong in L.A.
Artturi Lehkonen led the way with a goal and an assist, while Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, and Brock Nelson also scored in Colorado's 4-2 victory. Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe supplied the offense for the Kings. Scott Wedgewood turned aside 24 shots for the Avalanche, and Anton Forsberg made 19 saves for Los Angeles. Defenseman Josh Manson exited with an upper-body injury and was being evaluated afterward, according to NHL.com.
Colorado's depth keeps showing up
The Avalanche arrived in Los Angeles as the NHL's Presidents' Trophy winners after a dominant regular season, and that form has carried into the playoffs in the form of deep, balanced scoring. Coach Jared Bednar praised the spread-the-wealth approach, saying, "It’s been tough sledding to create offense, but we have different guys stepping up," a neat summary of why Colorado's depth keeps tilting the series. The Presidents' Trophy and their regular-season performance have been well documented, according to ESPN.
Kopitar's farewell and the coaching question
Anže Kopitar announced this would be his final season, and the Kings' struggles to generate consistent five-on-five offense have left the veteran star without a point through three games. Interim coach D.J. Smith took over after Jim Hiller's March firing and guided the club to an 11-6-6 finish down the stretch, but he is still hunting his first postseason win as the team's head coach. Those storylines have been detailed by The Washington Post.
How realistic is a comeback?
Climbing out of a 0-3 hole is one of the rarest tricks in pro sports, but the Kings are part of the small club that has pulled it off. In 2014, Los Angeles erased a 3-0 deficit against the San Jose Sharks and turned that escape act into a Stanley Cup run, as recounted by NBC Sports. Even with that history in their back pocket, the numbers and matchups tilt toward Colorado. The Avalanche led the league in scoring and finished with the NHL's best record, and the goaltending matchup has leaned toward the visitors in this series. Scott Wedgewood's steady work in net has frustrated the Kings, and finding a way to solve him will be L.A.'s central task on Sunday, according to Los Angeles Times.
What to watch in Game 4
The most obvious path forward for the Kings is to create higher-quality chances at five-on-five, get Kopitar and Artemi Panarin involved early and avoid letting Colorado stack short, dangerous bursts of possession. Los Angeles' power play has been its most reliable source of goals, while Colorado's penalty kill has bottled the Avs' unit at every opportunity, and "Both goalies in the series have been unbelievable," the Los Angeles Times observed, so expect tweaks on special teams along with a heavier forecheck. Even small adjustments could extend Kopitar's sendoff, since a home win on Sunday would at least send the series back to Denver.
