Avalanche take Game 1
- The Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in Game 1 at Ball Arena in Denver. - The low-scoring win came on Sunday as the NHL first-round slate continued. - The result gives Colorado an early edge in a series that will be played under standard playoff sudden-death overtime rules. (denverpost.com)
Colorado opened its first-round series by beating Los Angeles 2-1 on Sunday at Ball Arena, with Scott Wedgewood stopping 24 shots in his first Stanley Cup playoff start. (nhl.com) Artturi Lehkonen scored at 15:29 of the second period off a Nathan MacKinnon rebound, and Logan O’Connor made it 2-0 at 5:50 of the third for his first goal in more than a year. (espn.com) (apnews.com) Los Angeles got within one when Artemi Panarin scored a power-play goal at 17:38 of the third, but Anton Forsberg’s 28 saves were not enough to erase Colorado’s early control. (espn.com) (nhl.com) The matchup paired the National Hockey League’s top regular-season team against the Western Conference’s second wild card. Colorado entered the playoffs after winning the Presidents’ Trophy, while Los Angeles got in with 90 points. (nhl.com 1) (nhl.com 2) (espn.com) That regular-season gap showed up in the team profiles: Colorado finished first in goals per game at 3.63 and first in goals allowed at 2.40, while Los Angeles ranked 29th in scoring at 2.68 goals per game. (nhl.com) Colorado coach Jared Bednar said he expected “a tight-checking” series against a Kings team built for low-scoring games, and Los Angeles interim coach D.J. Smith said his club needed to “hit their ‘D’ more” in the next game. (nhl.com) The game stayed close on the margins. Los Angeles led faceoffs 55.6% to 44.4% and outhit Colorado 49-35, but the Avalanche still generated more shots, 30-25. (espn.com) Game 2 is set for Tuesday, April 21, back in Denver, with Colorado trying to turn a one-goal opener into a firmer hold on the series. (nhl.com) (usatoday.com)
