Avalanche open 1‑0
- The Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in Game 1 at Ball Arena on Sunday, April 19. ( ) - The one-goal win gave Colorado an early 1-0 series lead to start their Stanley Cup first round. (denverpost.com) - Playoff coverage reminds viewers that postseason overtime uses full-strength periods until a deciding goal, not shootouts. ( )
Colorado opened its first-round series with a 2-1 win over Los Angeles on Sunday at Ball Arena. (nhl.com) Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves in his first career Stanley Cup Playoff start, and Logan O’Connor scored his first goal in a year for the Avalanche. (nhl.com) The Kings got their only goal from Artemi Panarin on a power play in the third period, but Colorado held the lead the rest of the way. (espn.com) The result put the top-seeded Avalanche ahead 1-0 in a best-of-seven Western Conference first-round matchup against the second wild card Kings. (nhl.com) Colorado entered the series after a 55-16-11 regular season, while Los Angeles arrived at 35-27-20 and with the lower-scoring profile of the two teams. (nhl.com) Postseason hockey uses a different overtime format than the regular season: if a playoff game is tied after 60 minutes, teams play full 20-minute sudden-death periods at full strength until someone scores. (espn.com) That means there are no three-on-three overtime periods and no shootouts in the Stanley Cup playoffs, even though both are used in the regular season. (usatoday.com) Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, April 21, at 8 p.m. Mountain time in Denver, with Colorado trying to turn a one-goal opener into a 2-0 series lead before the matchup shifts to Los Angeles. (nhl.com)
