Avalanche edge Kings
- Colorado beat the Los Angeles Kings 2–1 in Game 1 at Ball Arena to open their first‑round series. - The narrow win set a tense tone for the West matchup after Saturday’s playoff openers. - Local coverage highlighted Colorado’s defense and goaltending as decisive in the low‑scoring game. (denverpost.com)
Colorado opened its first-round series by beating Los Angeles 2-1 on Sunday, with Scott Wedgewood stopping 24 shots in his first Stanley Cup playoff start. (nhl.com) Artturi Lehkonen gave Colorado a 1-0 lead at 8:09 of the second period, and Logan O’Connor made it 2-0 at 17:03 after an earlier goal of his was erased for goaltender interference. (nhl.com) Los Angeles got its only goal from Artemi Panarin on a power play at 6:49 of the third, but Colorado killed the rest of the Kings’ chances and held the late one-goal edge at Ball Arena. (nhl.com) The result fit the regular-season profile of this matchup: Colorado entered the playoffs first in the league in goals per game at 3.63 and first in goals against at 2.40, while Los Angeles ranked 29th in scoring at 2.68 goals per game. (nhl.com) That made Game 1 less about Colorado’s star power and more about whether the Kings could slow the pace and stay within one shot, which they did until the final horn. (usatoday.com) Wedgewood’s start stood out because it was his first in the playoffs, and Colorado turned to him with Mackenzie Blackwood unavailable because of illness, according to The Associated Press. (apnews.com) O’Connor’s goal carried its own backstory: The Associated Press reported it was his first score in more than a year after he missed significant time recovering from hip surgery. (apnews.com) The series resumes with Game 2 in Denver on Tuesday, April 21, before shifting to Los Angeles for Game 3 on Thursday, April 23. (nhl.com)
