Avalanche advance; Sabres rout Bruins
- Colorado swept Los Angeles in four games on April 26, beating the Kings 5-1 as Nathan MacKinnon and Scott Wedgewood sent the Avalanche on. - Buffalo routed Boston 6-1 on April 26, scoring four first-period goals as Alex Lyon stopped 23 shots and Charlie McAvoy called it embarrassing. - Buffalo can clinch Tuesday, while Anaheim also leads Edmonton 3-1 in a volatile first round. (nhl.com)
The Colorado Avalanche are the West’s first-round pace setter after a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on April 26 completed a four-game sweep. (nhl.com) Nathan MacKinnon and Scott Wedgewood led the closeout, and Colorado finished the series having allowed only five total goals across four games. (nhl.com) (espn.com) That made the Avalanche the second team overall to reach the second round, alongside the Carolina Hurricanes on the Eastern side of the bracket. (espn.com) (nhl.com) In the East, Buffalo delivered the day’s loudest result by crushing Boston 6-1 in Game 4 at TD Garden and taking a 3-1 series lead. (espn.com) (wtol.com) Buffalo scored four times in the first period through Peyton Krebs, Josh Doan, Zach Benson and Bowen Byram, then got 23 saves from Alex Lyon. (espn.com) (wtol.com) Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy said Boston “should be embarrassed,” after the loss left the top wild card one defeat from elimination. (bleacherreport.com) (nhl.com) The Sabres can finish the series in Game 5 on Tuesday, April 28, in Buffalo, which would give them their first playoff series win since 2007. (wtol.com) (nhl.com) The bracket is tightening elsewhere too: ESPN’s live playoff board shows the Anaheim Ducks also holding a 3-1 lead over the Edmonton Oilers entering Tuesday’s Game 5. (espn.com) (nhl.com) So the first round has already produced one sweep by Colorado, one team on the verge in Buffalo, and another in Anaheim with Edmonton facing the same edge. (espn.com) (nhl.com)
