Troy Renck: When a team is this good, every opponent is a best-case scenario. There is no world where the Colorado Avalanche lose in the first round. It does not seem possible given their stats, depth and health. Cale Makar will return when the postseason begins. And following rest this week, Jared Bednar expects to be cleared to coach after getting struck by an errant puck in the face last Saturday. The first-round feels like calisthenics before the inevitable clash with the Dallas Stars. But who is a better matchup: the Los Angeles Kings or Nashville Predators?
Sean Keeler: Two words, my friend: Seattle, 2023. Be careful. One of the most awesome/terrible/terribly awesome things about The Fight For Lord Stanley is that underdogs can bite and, unlike the NBA bracket, seeding can feel like just a number. On talent? On depth? On mojo? The Avs’ first dance partner shouldn’t matter. The Kings, Preds, Mammoth ought to all be glorified cannon fodder. But knowing the video-game boss that’s waiting in Round 2 (Dallas or Minnesota), and that the winner of Round 2 could win the whole darn thing if you survive said boss fight, give me rest over rust. Give me the softest softie and lightest lift possible. Give me the Kings, baby.
Renck: The Kings represent a team where the Avs will take names and crush dreams. Los Angeles features a terrific storyline as Anze Kopitar is retiring at season’s end. The Kings wisely had Kopitar, a classy, 20-year veteran, deliver an emotional goodbye to the fans after playing his final regular-season home game at Crypto.com Arena. It would have been awkward to address the crowd after getting swept in the playoffs. The Avs have steamrolled the Kings this season, going 3-0 and outscoring them 13-5. Colorado features the league’s best offense. Despite being a postseason regular, the Kings are offensive, ranking 29th in goals per game. The Kings, with their soft remaining schedule, are the Avs’ most likely opponent and easiest. Take the empty net.
Keeler: The Kings are also doing a mini-Nuggets, riding a four-game win streak — the longest active streak among West squads — into Monday’s action. I don’t have much hesitation about drawing Los Angeles first, but one of the few (other than Kopitar nostalgia) is running into a little guy on a heater. I remember how helpless the Predators’ defense looked chasing around the burgundy and blue in the opening round of ’22. This time around, you’d think Nashville is going to make the Avs work for it. Or work harder for it, at least. Colorado and the Preds split the regular-season series, Nashville has won at Ball, and perennial pest Ryan O’Reilly’s still lurking in the Music City — that is, as the “Mac” half of “Mac N Cheeze,” and no, What a time to be alive.
Renck: You can be the vibes guy. And reflect on the past. My vision is through the windshield. The Avs don’t require a first-round challenge, and the Predators are dangerous enough to make things interesting. Colorado needs exercise, reps, not a struggle against Nashville. The Avs will be measured by their postseason, their ability to return to the Stanley Cup finals. This is not chess. Give me the Kings, good health and all momentum headed into a cage match versus Dallas.
Keeler: You leave a marker with a No. 1 seed. You leave a legacy with a Cup. Of the last five NHL champs, only one faced a first-round series that went longer than five games — and that was when the Lightning held off the Panthers for a 4-2 series win back in 2021. A long Cup run is about winning battles of attrition, series after series, until you’re the last man standing. Heroes slip. Heroes fall. Heroes rise. Besides, don’t the Avs still owe La-La Land for Peter Forsberg’s spleen 25 years ago? Warm up the bus.
