Artturi Lehkonen had a shorthanded goal and set up another, while Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves as the Colorado Avalanche clawed its way to another victory, 4-2, Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. The Avs now lead the best-of-7 series 3-0, and will go for a sweep here Sunday afternoon in Game 4.

Lehkonen led a 2-on-1 while shorthanded and tried to set up Logan O’Connor with a pass. The puck went off Adrian Kempe’s skate and between goalie Anton Forsberg’s legs for what proved to be the game-winning at 7:39 of the final period.

“I was for sure trying to pass to OC on the back side there,” Lehkonen said. “Luckily it went in. It was for sure a little bit of a different kind of goal, but I’ll take it.”

The Kings were desperate in this contest and had the more dangerous offensive chances early on. Wedgewood, who led the NHL in save percentage (.921) and goals against average (2.02) during the regular season, continued his incredible run with another strong effort.

The high-flying version of the Avs has yet to arrive in this series, but the defensively-sound edition backed by strong goaltending continues to be enough against an inferior Kings club.

Lehkonen’s goal became the game winner after Los Angeles cut Colorado’s lead to 3-2 with 4:03 remaining. Adrian Kempe re-directed a shot-pass from Artemi Panarin with Jack Drury in the penalty box for the Kings’ third power-play goal in three games.

Brock Nelson ended any doubt, shooting the puck into the empty net with 2:18 remaining. Anze Kopitar, who has announced he will retire when this season ends, smashed his stick off the boards in frustration. He knows his last NHL game could be Sunday.

Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Cale Makar — the three highest scorers on the highest-scoring team in the NHL this season — have one point each in this series. It has not mattered.

“That¶¶Òõap how you’re going to win this time of year,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “We’re doing it as a group. Those guys are checking like dogs and working really hard, both ends of the rink. That¶¶Òõap the way it¶¶Òõap going to have to be for us to win. There’s going to be plenty of opportunities, plays that are going to have to be made, and those guys will make them.

“You see some of that tonight. Cale doesn’t score if Nate and Lehky aren’t in front of the net. Those are plays that aren’t going to show up on the score sheet but are super important this time of year.”

Cale Makar put the Avs back in front at 12:12 of the second period. Lehkonen intercepted a pass by Drew Doughty behind the L.A. net to start the play. Makar took a pass from partner Devon Toews at the left point, then danced across the top of the zone before slinging a shot through traffic for his first goal of the postseason.

Landeskog scored on the one-year anniversary of his return from a three-year absence to give the Avalanche an early lead. Nicolas Roy sent the puck towards the top of the zone and Landeskog was able to stretch and corral it near the blue line.

The Avs captain threw it back towards the Kings net. It went wide, but bounced off the end boards and hit Anton Forsberg’s skate before it crossed the goal line at 5:29 of the first. It was Landeskog’s second goal of the series, and second in as many games after he scored late in Game 2 to force overtime.

Trevor Moore scored L.A.’s first even-strength goal of the series to even the score at 5:55 of the second. It was a chaotic shift. Quentin Byfield had a chance as he drove the net a few seconds earlier, but he was the guy shoveling the puck there. Moore went to the net and the puck went off his body and in.

Josh Manson left the game with an injury earlier in the second period after Joel Edmondson checked him awkwardly into the Kings bench. He returned for one shift — he was tangled up with Moore at the net front and took a high-sticking penalty on the play. Manson did not return to the game after serving the penalty. A team spokesman said he was out with an upper-body injury.

“Unbelievable,” Wedgewood said of the defense corps playing a man down. “We’ve got a good structured game plan back there. They were smart with it. A couple chances (the Kings) did get, they only got one. I didn’t feel like they were whacking away on three or four chances or getting things back to the seam after a rebound.

“It sucks going down a guy, especially when they push in third period, things like that. But I couldn’t be prouder.”

Kelly had spent his first season with the Colorado Avalanche watching and admiring Gabe Landeskog’s attempt to come back from knee issues. Then, when it was time for the captain to finally return, Kelly was mesmerized.

It was Game 3 against the Dallas Stars, 1,032 days since his last appearance in an NHL game.

“I remember going out for warmups that game and it’s basically 95% full already in the lower bowl, at least,” Kelly said. “I’ve never experienced walking out into warmups and having that much of the crowd there already. It just goes to show how much it means to the city, the fans, to our team in the room.”

Landeskog will take the ice Thursday night for the Avs in Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena. There will be no extra fanfare.

It was one year ago — April 23, 2025 — that Landeskog became the first player to return to the NHL after having knee cartilage transplant surgery. When he was announced in the starting lineup, it was one of the loudest moments in the history of Ball Arena.

“It was an exciting day for sure,” Landeskog said. “A lot different than this year. I still remember it like it was yesterday, but a very different feeling this year. Obviously we’ve had a long regular season lead up. So, yeah, a lot more comfortable this time around.”

Landeskog joined the Avs for Game 3 against the Stars and almost instantly became one of the best players in the series. That was remarkable, considering the layoff, but how his body would respond to a full season of hockey was another matter.

When Landeskog showed up for training camp, the plan was … very to be determined. How much could he play? How effective could he be over an 82-game schedule?

Landeskog played in 60 games for the Avs. He dealt with two of the most painful injuries imaginable — broken ribs after crashing into the goal post in South Florida and then a Cale Makar shot to his groin area that required surgery. But, he also did not miss a game to manage his knee.

It’s an unanswerable question if he would have needed to have been available for all 82 games, but it’s still yet another remarkable data point in his comeback story.

“I didn’t really know what to expect, to be honest,” Landeskog said. “I was kind of open-minded coming into the season. I just didn’t know what to expect. I was prepared to maybe miss time at the start, but I knew I was just going to go into it and kind of get to know my body again, get to know my knee and how much it can handle with so many games. I think I’ve been very pleasantly surprised all year with how it’s handled all the things I’ve thrown at it.”

Landeskog had 14 goals and 35 points in 60 games. It was a slow start, in part because he had multiple goals taken away by official reviews. He had 18 points in the 25 games that preceded the rib injury.

Regardless of his production, how the Avs played when he was available became a recurring theme. Colorado went 45-7-8 with the captain in the lineup, just an absurd pace that helped the Avs cruise to the Presidents’ Trophy.

“I think our team does react differently (with Landeskog) and I think our team, there’s something about his ability to help our guys remain focused and even keel, it¶¶Òõap hard to explain,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “But it¶¶Òõap a different reaction from our team, a different mentality from our team when he’s in the lineup.”

Players like Kelly heard stories about Landeskog after arriving in Colorado. It was the way other veterans on the team revered Landeskog, even when he hadn’t played for three seasons.

This year, Kelly has seen what all the hype was about.

“Guys who have been here were like, ‘You gotta wait to see what it’s like when he’s back in the room,’ ” Kelly said. “It¶¶Òõap so cool to see it through your own eyes, and not just like be a fan and watch on TV or see interviews, hear stories. When he speaks, man, it’s unbelievable. He’s always got the right thing to say. He knows when to say it, at the right time, the right tone. You see his willingness to stand up for teammates.

“I don’t know if there’s a mode, but if you can go on NHL26 and build the captain, you just copy Gabe Landeskog. That’s what you’re going to build. He has it all, man. … Just feel super lucky to play with him and super happy for him to get back in the lineup, do as well as he’s done this year, making an impact every night. Yeah, it’s pretty special to see.”

Almost.

It’s been choppy. It’s been grimey. The Kings are winning on special teams.

And yet the Colorado Avalanche left for Los Angeles on Wednesday with a 2-0 series lead, emboldened by its work without the puck, patience and signs that this may be a more well-equipped group to survive games like this than previous editions.

“I’m happy with the way we’ve been sticking with it, and we have absolutely no problem playing this way. I think we like playing this way,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said early Wednesday morning after a 2-1 overtime win in Game 2. ” We know what we need to do to be successful and to be be hard to play against defensively. For us, that’s kind of where our game starts is our checking game.”

Colorado was the most explosive offensive team in the NHL this season. The Avs led the league with 297 goals.

That has been the club’s identity, at least externally, quite literally since the franchise moved to Denver. Colorado has scored the second-most goals in the NHL over the past 30 seasons, behind only the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Joe Sakic. Peter Forsberg. Nathan MacKinnon. Cale Makar. A bunch of their highly-skilled friends.

Jared Bednar fostered offensive excellence with this group with an aggressive, attacking mindset, backed by game-breaking talent and quality depth players. Guys arrive in Denver from other NHL clubs and just get better offensively.

But all that overshadows how the 2025-26 edition of the Avalanche became the league’s best team in the regular season. Bednar has always stressed defensive solidity first, and the offense will flow from there. This team also allowed the fewest goals.

This team, shaped by recent postseason failures and additions that have made it the deepest Avs group since 2022, has bought into that idea. And against an inferior opponent that wants to play a grind-it-out style, the Avs’ defensive prowess has stood out.

“We know (the Kings) going to check hard and play the right way and they’ve been consistent at that all year and so have we,” Bednar said. “I liked our checking game again tonight. We’re digging in on the defensive side of things.

“That¶¶Òõap how we have to win. It¶¶Òõap good practice. It¶¶Òõap something we’ve been talking about all year, the importance of the defending, and I’m happy with the commitment that we’re getting from our guys.”

While the Avs have only scored four goals in the first two games, the most important number so far might be zero — as in, Colorado is the only team that has yet to allow a goal at 5-on-5. The Avs have controlled this series when it’s been played at 5-on-5.

Los Angeles goaltender Anton Forsberg has been very good, but Scott Wedgewood has been a little better. The Avs have remained patient, bolstered by their confidence in Wedgewood and their ability to find offense when needed.

The low scoring has led to some anxious moments, and it’s only two games. Maybe the Kings will find a way to create more without allowing the floodgates to open at the other end of the ice.

The Avs would like to create more. They did create more in Game 2. The score looks the same, but Colorado had control of the game for much longer stretches than it did in Game 1.

At a minimum, the Avs have shown they don’t need to blink if the games in this series continue to be a grind. The Kings may have bolstered their belief by staying with the Avs for two games at Ball Arena, but those contests have had a similar effect for the club that’s already up 2-0.

“Playoffs are going to be hard,” MacKinnon said. “It’s a really good team over there. They’re playing hard. We’re playing hard. It¶¶Òõap low scoring, but it’s fun hockey. I thought we played pretty solid. I thought we had a lot of good looks, generating a ton. Their goal has been really good. Our goalie has been really good.

“It’s playoff time. You definitely can get frustrated during the regular season, but playoffs … there’s no time for that. You got to be, you know, 100% in, team-player positive and you’ve just got to stick with it. I feel like we’re doing a lot of good things and we’re up to it.

“It’s low-scoring games, but it¶¶Òõap not about the amount of goals. Just got to get some wins.”

“I made a couple of nice plays and got a couple of shots on that (Kings crease) and obviously was lucky to get one,” Avalanche forward Nicolas Roy reflected when asked about his scrappy overtime goal, the one sending Colorado into Los Angeles on Thursday night with a 2-0 series lead.

“But again, I like to be in this area (of the crease), and a lot of those goals are scored there. So I try to be there as much as I can.”

The Nic of Time came 7:44 into overtime late Tuesday, not long after the referees had gifted the K.O. Kings a 1-0 cushion — forcing Marty Necas to go reverse 5-hole with Gabe Landeskog and claw the Avs back.

The 6-foot-4 Roy, acquired from Toronto for a first-round pick at the trade deadline this past March, is built like the girder of an old-time baseball park. He’s strong, lean, sturdy, and hard as all heck to see around during parts of the action.

In the Colorado spirit, once Big Nic started camping in Los Angeles goalie Anton Forsberg’s crease, it was only a matter of time before somebody started a fire. While Roy and Kings defender Brandt Clarke swapped shoves in front of the L.A. net, the Avs’ Josh Manson collected a feed from Nazem Kadri, cocked his stick back, and fired from the blue line.

With that, Brandt blocked Manson’s wrister, only to lose the rubber as it trickled under him. An alert Roy leaned in and shoveled the loose puck past Forsberg to end one of the weirdest playoff nights in Ball Arena history.

“(Roy has) been awesome,” Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon said later. “I mean, he’s a great player. He’s a really smart player, awesome guy. (Joel Kiviranta) almost scored right before him, and then (Roy) found a way to get it done.”

Avs 2, Kidney Punch Kings 1. They found a way. They found a Roy, in spite of it all. Hockey justice is supposed to be blind in April. But not nearly as blind as the zebras that worked Avs-Kings Game 2.

Artemi Panarin lofted the puck over Colorado net-minder Scott Wedgewood on the power play with 6:56 left in the third period to break the deadlock, giving the underdogs a 1-0 lead. But ain’t it funny how officials didn’t notice the cross-check in front of the Avs goal, as Los Angeles’ Scott Laughton shoved Devon Toews halfway to Littleton?

Cale Makar? Elbow to the chin.

Marty Necas? Elbow to the nose.

That second one, a cheap shot by the Kings’ Mikey Anderson, is a felony in 45 states. On Tuesday, it was two minutes for roughing.

From four blind mice in stripes to in-game stadium repair, it turned into one long, strange trip of an evening. The second period had a little bit of everything. Everything, that is, except a goal.

Some goaltenders raise the roof. Wedgewood rattled the windows — helping to break the glass that separates Avs fans from the Kings’ bench.

Not directly, mind you. See, roughly 3:12 into the second stanza, Wedgie stoned a penalty shot awarded to the Kings’ Quinton Byfield, the result of a particularly curious call on Cale Makar. The Avs goalie dove hard to his left, extending a glove to stop the Los Angeles forward’s backhanded try.

With that, the superb gave way to the surreal. Ball went justifiably bonkers over Wedgewood’s stop. So bonkers, in fact, that the glass partition behind the L.A. bench completely shattered due to repeated banging by Avs faithful. The collision sent a shower of shards into the back and shoulder of unsuspecting Kings coach D.J. Smith and his staff.

And cue the oddest of odd playoff delays. The away bench had to be cleared as cleaning and maintenance crews rushed in to sweep up debris. New glass was installed after a 17-minute delay, during which both teams remained on the ice.

In hindsight, the stoppage might have slowed down a chance for the Avs to immediately capitalize on the juice generated from Wedgewood’s penalty save.

“That’s a different one,” said Avs coach Jared Bednar, who took a stray puck to the face against Vegas earlier this month. “I mean, stuff happens.”

The rough stuff happened early and often. Manson separated Laughton from his spine with 10:28 to go in the first. After Wedgewood smothered a Trevor Moore wrister on a Kings 2-on-1, a full-scale donnybrook exploded near the Colorado net.

Once order was restored, the assailants skated to the Los Angeles end of the ice. But not all — Necas got sandwiched between the Kings’ Mathieu Joseph and Anderson at center ice, a collision punctuated by Anderson reaching up to elbow the Avs winger right between the nostrils.

Meanwhile, Artturi Lehkonen boarded a dude behind the Los Angeles net with the subtlety of an Estes Park elk. Somebody grabbed Sam Malinsky, and we had another scrap, only on the other end, and with everybody on the dance floor.

When the dust settled for a second time, Brett Kulak got four minutes — two for roughing, another two for cross-checking — in the box, and Anderson only had to serve two in his box on a roughing charge.

Nevertheless, the chippy persisted. The Kings’ 6-foot-5 forward Jeff Malott bopped the 6-foot Makar in the face with 4:18 left in the opening period as they hovered above Wedgewood’s crease just before a stoppage in play.

Necas got a little of his back in the Avs’ last possession of the opening 20 minutes, shoving Anderson into the boards behind the Kings’ net a few seconds ahead of the stanza-ending horn. Why should Vegas and Utah have all the fun?

“I guess I’d better keep my head up, huh?” . “No bicycles on the highway.”

The goalie duel continued, even as the Avs generated a 3-on-1 with 4:26 left in the second stanza, a rush that had the natives rising to their collective feet again.

Only Necas dished to Landeskog rather than ripping one while he had a good look. That little hesitation gave Forsberg enough time to snuff out the danger.

Shoot, Marty!

Ah, shoot, Marty.

Playoff Necas rebounded. With 3:35 left in regulation and the Avalanche down, 1-0, Marty camped out behind Forsberg’s left shoulder, waited for help, and found an open Landy cutting into the crease. No. 88 slipped a perfect diagonal pass between Forsberg’s leg pads and onto the stick of the Captain, who didn’t miss — lighting the lamp and sending another grindy contest into overtime.

In case of awful officiating, just break glass. And call on Roy to clean up the NHL’s mess.

“I’m joining a group of guys (in Colorado) that have built something really good here,” Saint Nic said of Avs life. “(I’m) just trying to chip in as much as I can, help these guys out in any way I can.”

No bicycles on this highway, kids. Here today. Goon tomorrow.

Sean Keeler: Friday, when you toss in the snow and the USWNT? So cool. Literally. Saturday? Electric. Sunday? TCB. As in, Take Care of Business. And, by golly, the Avs better. When it comes to the first two rounds of the playoffs, there’s more pressure on Bednar to not get upset, because a.) He’s been here longer and everyone’s opinion on the big guy — pro or con — is pretty well set in stone by now; b.) You’re the No. 1 seed; c.) Bednar’s contract is up after next season. The Kings are the kind of first-round opponent the Avs should dispense of quickly — but they’re also the kind that are going to make you absolutely work for it. The Kings are going to hit you late. Hit you early. Hit you coming off the dang bus. Ugly hockey with a hot goaltender is Plan A for any underdog, and Bednar has to prove for the next eight days or so that he can win 3-2, 2-1, 1-0 kind of slugfests. So far, so good.

Renck: Outcomes microwave expectations. The Nuggets shot poorly and still smashed the Timberwolves in Game 1. It cemented the notion that Denver is capable of reeling off 16 victories over the next two months. But it is not likely. Having to go through the Spurs and Thunder creates a path more suited for a mountain goat. This is the first reason Adelman has less at stake. The second? Injuries provided him cover all season. The Nuggets secured the No. 3 seed because of his dynamic offense and ability to help role players reach their potential. But if Denver loses to the Spurs, for instance, it will be viewed as a disappointment, not a crash out. The same cannot be said for Bednar if the Avs fail to reach the Stanley Cup Finals.

Keeler: The outside noise will be louder for whatever the Nuggets do (or don’t do) this spring. The road’s tougher. The tension’s higher. Adelman’s regular season had more twists and turns than Nikola Jokic’s over 30 now, and everybody knows we’re unlikely to see his kind of NBA greatness in Denver gold, for this long, ever again. Josh Kroenke loves all his assets equally (wink), but let’s also be real: He’s a hoopster, not a puck head. The highest-up in KSE have the last word on Nuggets business. When it comes to the Avs, they’re more likely to defer to Joe Sakic and Chris MacFarland and admit they know what they don’t know. Unlike the end of the Michael Malone Era, Bednar’s led a comparatively calm, steady ship. Sakic digs that. C-Mac digs that. So do Josh and Stan.

Renck: Bednar has shown growth this season. He seems more willing to experiment, and demonstrated common sense by sticking with Scott Wedgewood in goal. Management has always exercised patience with Bedsy. But fans will not. In the recent ESPN top 50 ranking of players in the postseason, the Avs featured three in the top 10 — MacKinnon (first), Cale Makar (fourth) and Martin Necas (10th). And Wedgewood came in at No. 34. It is impossible to have this kind of star talent and steady third-and-fourth-line grinders and not be favored. Bednar is under more pressure, but must remain aggressive. Adelman, in some ways, has nothing to lose after the first round. Bednar must see his situation as everything to gain.

Keeler: And as much as we harp on Joker’s window, the Avs have long since pushed all their chips to the middle of the table. They’re bringing nine players who are 31 years or older into the postseason grind. Gabe Landeskog is 33. Naz Kadri is 35. Brent Burns is 41. If it’s not now, is it never? Should Bedsy get bounced before the second round, Stan Kroenke might have no choice but to change horses in a race he’d prefer to leave alone.

Drury tracked down the puck in the neutral zone and chipped it back into the Los Angeles end. His reward was a hard hit from Kings tough guy Jeff Mallott into the boards inches away from TNT analyst Brian Boucher.

Just as Drury offered a two-handed response, Logan O’Connor was flipping the puck over Anton Forsberg’s glove and into the Kings’ net for a two-goal lead 5:50 into the final period of a Game 1 victory at Ball Arena.

“Got the puck there, was just trying to put it in (the offensive zone),” Drury said. “OC’s so fast. I feel like he does that a lot, where he isn’t even in the picture and then all of a sudden, he has the puck. So it’s a great effort by him.

It was a grind-it-out Game 1 for the Avalanche, and a great start to the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the club’s “identity line.” O’Connor was the hero, scoring the game-winning goal. It was his first since the 2025 postseason.

In between were 12 long months.

“Super happy to get it out of the way,” O’Connor said. “Felt like our line over the course of the last couple weeks here during the season, we were continuing to build things. Just try to stick with our game plan. For us, our game translates well to playoffs. It¶¶Òõap a lot of simplicity and muck it up and just wear teams down. It was nice to get that one and finish the job off.”

O’Connor had two goals and six points for the Avs in their seven-game series loss to the Dallas Stars a year ago. He was one of the team’s best and most consistent players throughout the epic series.

Then, for the second straight year, he needed hip surgery. He missed the end of the 2023-24 season and the 2024 playoffs because of the first hip issue.

He had offseason surgery to correct the second. The timeline for him to return was early November. But then a second, still undisclosed issue popped up. Weeks went by without the answers he needed or a plan for recovery and return.

It limited him to the final 13 regular-season games, allowing a quick tuneup before the most important part of the campaign.

“I mean, he’s worked so hard,” said Avs captain Gabe Landeskog, who missed three full regular seasons with knee issues. “Obviously, he was able to come back the last month or so, but hasn’t found the score sheet. We’ve just kept telling him to save them. Save them until we really need him, and tonight we needed it, and he put it in. It was great — well deserved.”

O’Connor thought he had his first NHL goal in 358 days a little earlier in this contest. He ripped a shot past L.A. goalie Anton Forsberg, but Drury had been knocked into the netminder by Kings defenseman Drew Doughty just before the puck sizzled by him.

The goal was waved off for goalie interference, and the decision was upheld after the Avs challenged. Undeterred, that line kept working.

Eventually, they were rewarded with another goal from O’Connor, and there was no doubt it would count.

“For OC, I’m really happy for him,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “That’s a long road to get back, and Gabe had gone through (a) similar thing. Being out of the lineup is the worst thing when you’re a player, because you’re just wanting to help and you’re wanting to make an impact. Then you come back and your game’s not going to be 100%. It’s not going to be the top tier right away.

“He’s continuing to work through that to be effective, always committed, always going to work, always going to do everything he can for the team … He’s been really good, and we know he can chip in on the offensive side of things. He did tonight, and I expect he’ll continue to make an impact.”

Depth is a clear advantage for the Avalanche in this series. Colorado’s fourth line exploited that in Game 1.

Drury, O’Connor and Joel Kiviranta were the team’s best regular trio, generating 62.3% of the expected goals while on the ice together at 5-on-5, according to Money Puck.

Bednar’s trust in his “identity line” at this time of year is a staple of the best Avs teams during his tenure. It’s not surprising that while others around him have changed, O’Connor always seems to end up on that line by mid-April.

“It’s hard work and relentlessness,” Bednar said of his fourth line. “They spent the bulk of their time playing in the offensive zone and pursuing pucks. I think that’s exactly what we need from them. We saw it from them last year in the playoffs … It’s a highly-effective line that I can trust against anybody, and that’s all because of the hard work and commitment that they have.”

“A little anxious to get going, but the 1 p. m. game, you don’t really have much (time) to think about it,” Avs goaltender Scott Wedgewood said after stopping 24 of 25 Los Angeles shots in a 2-1 Stanley Cup Playoffs victory. “So just get up, prep, and go. And once we got a few shots on and settled down, the crowd was into it. First TV timeout, I was talking to (fellow goalie Mackenzie Blackwood), just kind of felt like my heart rate was a little high. But once we got going, it just felt like normal again.”

The nicest thing you could say about Wedgewood — “Wedgie” to the Ball Arena faithful who chanted his name repeatedly Sunday — was that his first-ever career NHL postseason start, at age 33, looked pretty much like one of his normal, composed regular-season outings in burgundy and blue.

For the most part, he kept the action in front of him. If not for a funny bounce in the third period, he would’ve kept every puck in front of him, too. Nineteen even-strength saves, five power-play saves, no muss, no fuss.

“We have so much trust in him and he’s super-composed,” Avs forward Logan O’Connor said Colorado’s now-official 1A net-minder. “Super-positive all the time, whatever the circumstances are. And we know if we have breakdowns, which are going to happen, he’s got our back throughout that. And just seeing his game grow, (as a) late bloomer, having the best season he’s had in his career right now at the perfect time for our team has been special to watch.”

Wedgewood, sitting to O’Connor’s left on the Avs’ makeshift stage, lit up at that one.

“Thanks, dude,” the goalie said.

It couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of bums. And chippy bums, at that. The Kings went into this series with a lot of bark and almost no offensive bite. Los Angeles let its elbows do most of the talking Sunday, and the message was clear: We have no chance in heck to beat you clean, so you wanna throw down some gloves and dance?

Clarke shoved O’Connor at least once. With eight minutes left in the contest, Kempe bonked Cale Makar in the back of the head, then went to the box for mixing it up with captain Gabe Landeskog, who came to Makar’s defense, shortly thereafter. At least it served the top-seeded Avs a taste of what’s to come — eight straight weeks of knuckle sandwiches.

“Absolutely, the intensity and physicality (are) going to ramp up as the rounds go on here,” O’Connor, the Mayor, a scrapper and poacher built for playoff hockey, noted after scoring his first goal since last April 26. “We know teams are going to want to try and push us out of games. We feel as though we can push back just as hard. I think that’s one great thing about our group, is the versatility within our locker room.

“You want to go (the style of a) 1-0 game, we like to think we can beat you at that. Track meet, if it happens, we’ve got that. Physicality, we have guys that are willing to step up. You know, as that happens, just try not to get frustrated with it. Teams are going to try and get under our skin, get under Cale (Makar’s) skin, whatever it may be, and I think it’s just on us to continue to respond with playing the right way, being disciplined, and continue to just stick to our game plan without getting frustrated.”

With that, Wedgewood leaned into the microphone and grinned.

“Not much more I can add,” the goalie deadpanned.

He added more than enough between the pipes. Wedgewood had to be on his tootsies early — the first 11 minutes were a snooze-fest, by and large. At the 9:06 mark of the opening stanza, the two teams had combined for as many giveaways (seven) as shots.

“I think just the atmosphere of it, you know, regular season-wise, you can get into some lulls throughout the game,” Wedgewood noted later.

“It’s always like you’re engaged, you’re going, and then once the TV timeouts or whistles go, I kind of flush it. Almost rely on (flushing) it, kind of like a golf shot. Each play, you’ve got something coming at you to dial in … And (that) just seems to kind of keep my brain from just being on all the time and getting exhausted and then also being completely out of it.”

Sunday proved more labor than love. The Kings have only two paths for pulling off an upset in this series: Either boring the Avs to death while hoping goalie Anton Forsberg can somehow steal a win; or goading multiple Colorado stars into assault and battery charges, and suspensions, along the way.

Los Angeles spent most of Sunday slowing the tempo and trying to drag a faster, better team into the mud with them. With 4:31 left in the second period, Nathan MacKinnon wristed a low line drive from the right faceoff circle that Forsberg parried but couldn’t corral. Enter Artturi Lehkonen, who swooped into the crease to clean up with Doughty still riding his back, remaining upright and curling the rebound around Forsberg’s right leg to finally light the tamp. When No. 62 cocked his head back to scream in chorus with the crowd, it felt like sweet relief as much anything else.

“They’re a tight-checking team, physical team, good team,” Avs scrapper Jack Drury said. “But we are, too.”

And until the final three minutes, Wedgewood met the moment as a No. 1 Cup goalie. With five minutes left in a scoreless first period, No. 41 turned away an Artemi Panarin wrister. With 3:11 left in a scoreless first period, The Avs veteran stoned a Trevor Moore wrister, then hung in while Doughty missed an open net.

“WED-GIE!”

“WED-GIE!”

“WED-GIE!”

Forty seconds into the second stanza, Wedgewood produced another nice save on a wrister by hard-charging Alex Laferriere. He held firm on the Kings’ first power play following the Avs’ unsuccessful replay challenge midway through the stanza.

“WED-GIE!”

“WED-GIE!”

“WED-GIE!”

As the Avs led 2-0 with 11:13 left in the third, the Colorado goalie found himself literally wedged into his left post while the Kings stabbed at his ankles. Nothing.

“WED-GIE!”

“WED-GIE!”

“WED-GIE!”

And 2.94 goals for the game. Los Angeles also whiffed on two open nets in the first 40 minutes. Luck be a Landy!

“What did you think of Scott Wedgewood’s first NHL playoff start?” Avs coach Jared Bednar was asked.

To this, the stoic Bednar raised an uncharacteristic (and bruised) eyebrow.

“Ever?”

“Yup,” the scribes murmured.

“Didn’t know that.”

“That said, what can you say about his game?”

“I thought he was fantastic,” Bednar replied. “Yeah, did everything he needed to do. Obviously, bigger stakes, more emotion, but played the exact same way that he’s been playing for us all year.”.

Ever the cad, Bednar still wouldn’t commit to saying Wedgewood when asked if 41 would be his starter for Game 2 on Tuesday night.

“Not going to answer that,” the Avs coach groused.

He doesn’t have to. The scoreboard did it for him. There’s a reason the Kings are walking kinda funny into Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Here’s the full schedule and how to watch each game as the Avs embark on their 2026 playoff run starting Sunday at Ball Arena.

Avs vs. Kings playoff schedule

Game 1: 1 p.m. Sunday, April 19, Los Angeles at Colorado, ALT, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX (Final: Avs 2, Kings 1)
Game 2: 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, Los Angeles at Colorado, ALT, ESPN (Final: Avs 2, Kings 1)Ìý
Game 3: 8 p.m. Thursday, April 23, Colorado at Los Angeles, ALT, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX (Final: Avs 4, Kings 2)
Game 4: 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26, Colorado at Los Angeles, ALT, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX
*Game 5: TBD Wednesday, April 29,  Los Angeles at Colorado
*Game 6: TBD Friday, May 1, Colorado at Los Angeles
*Game 7: TBD Sunday, May 3, Los Angeles at Colorado
*If necessary

The Avs had just checked off two of their three most-important goals for the regular season in one fell swoop. Colorado clinched the Central Division title and the top spot in the Western Conference with a 3-1 victory against the St. Louis Blues.

It was eight years to the day that Gabe Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon helped the Avs return to the playoffs by defeating these Blues at Ball Arena in a Game 82, winner-take-all showdown for a golden ticket to the NHL’s postseason tournament. This was a very different postgame atmosphere.

It felt like another Tuesday night in a season full of them. Landeskog even feigned ignorance about what they had just accomplished.

“We’re not all the way there yet,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “The goal for us started with winning the division and the conference (but) we still need another win to get first overall. We’d be crazy not to chase that at this point. It’s important, if you get to where you want to go, you might as well try and get your home ice, especially after a season like this.

“It feels great. I mean, we’re not throwing parades or that kind of stuff yet so, but we’re happy with where we’re at. We should celebrate it a little bit, because it’s a big goal of ours to start the year and we’ve accomplished part of it.”

For a group that has been in Stanley Cup or bust mode for at least the past six seasons, the Avs have kept the focus on what got them here — the process that led to a historic 31-2-7 start, and allows them to lock in and dominate a desperate team with far more motivation to show up and play well on a Tuesday night like this one.

How they played against the Blues was more important than celebrating a season-long accomplishment.

“Our focus has been trying to get our game to a point where we feel really about it defensively and offensively,” Landeskog said. “I really liked our game (Tuesday) night. I thought all four lines checked really hard. We created a lot of scoring chances. In the third period, I though we gave up a little bit too much, but they’re desperate. They’re playing for their lives at that point.”

The Avs are only 20-14-3 since that historic march to 69 points in 40 games. There have been lots of injuries. When two of their top-eight skaters (Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen, Brock Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin and Landeskog) are missing, the Avs are 9-10-3.

When one or none is missing, the Avs are 11-4-0 since the white-hot start. That version of the Avalanche is still in there. Colorado showed it Saturday afternoon in Dallas, and again Tuesday night in St. Louis.

It was the third game in four nights against a red-hot team trying to make a miracle save of its season. The Avs came out and suffocated St. Louis for the first two periods.

“I don’t have to see it for 60 minutes for every game the rest of the way,” Bednar said. “But we need to see it enough to secure our goals and making sure everyone is confident in the way we play and the trust you have in your teammates that you can do it the right way. That’s another big step for us (Tuesday) night.”

Bednar made it clear there is still one more to go. The Avs need some combination of two points gained or two lost by the Carolina Hurricanes to wrap up the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage through the Stanley Cup Final.

Beyond that, the Avs’ main goals through the final five games will be to get everyone as healthy as possible, and hopefully see a couple of strong outings from Mackenzie Blackwood, who has scuffled recently. There wasn’t a celebratory vibe in the cramped visitors locker room at Enterprise Center, but the Avs know one thing they’ve earned — fewer nights in small, unfamiliar rooms like this one once the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.

“There’s no do or die for it, but if you have the opportunity, you’re going to take it,” goalie Scott Wedgewood said after another strong start. “Home ice is super important. It’s an advantage. You spend more days at home in between rounds.

“Hopefully that will pay dividends for us.”

Think back to before the Olympic break. The Avs struggles reached a nadir when they went 0-for-17 with the extra man leading into the break, dropping Colorado to dead last in proficiency at 15.1%.

What was an obvious refrain? They need to shoot the puck more.

Well, the Avalanche had the second-most shots on goal in the NHL on the power play from the start of the season until the Olympic break. .

Part of the reason for that is Colorado earns a lot of power plays because of its style of play, so often the percentage-based stats and the accumulation numbers don’t quite line up. It was also, in part, because the Avs had so many power plays that lasted the full two minutes, which gave them more opportunities to put shots on goal.

The biggest issue wasn’t the quantity, but the quality of those shots, with a little bit of bad luck and other minor variables mixed in.

So what changed, and when? There have been several factors that led to a big improvement in March, when the Avs went 15 of 48 on the power play — the third-best rate in the NHL at at 31.3%.

“The change was long before the break,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “The detail within the change was consistent, kind of before the break.”

Getting more quality shots

So what’s different since the break? Nazem Kadri is here, and that’s part of it. But a much bigger part is … the guys on PP1 are just executing better. They’re completing more passes, making better decisions and finding more high-quality looks.

“I have to lean like … the details, the execution, the hunger, the mindset, attitude, buy-in – to me, that’s on the players’ side of it,” Bednar said. “So 70/30 execution side of it, and all those things I just mentioned over like a change in plan since the break.”

Aesthetically, the Avs power play clearly looked better in the few games after the Olympic break. The fresh start after some time apart clearly helped. It looked more consistently dangerous, like a power play featuring a top-3 collection of talent in the NHL naturally should.

The goals started to come shortly after. Kadri’s arrival has given the club a defined first unit when everyone is healthy — Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Brock Nelson and Kadri. There’s no obvious net-front guy, like Gabe Landeskog or Valeri Nichushkin, but Kadri has become something of a poacher for the Avs on the opposite side of the ice from MacKinnon and Necas.

Mikko Rantanen brought the hammer from the right circle and scored some insane redirect goals near the side of the net. Kadri’s involvement has been more varied, but in him and Nelson, the Avs have found a balance of lefties to complement the MacKinnon-Necas duo.

Here is a look under the hood at the Avs’ power play and where it ranked in some key metrics, before and after the Olympic break (through March 31):

All stats are from or

The number of shots is about the same, but the quality is up across the board. Colorado’s expected numbers being so high is a big change — even in past seasons when the Avs’ power play was among the top 5-10 in the league, their expected numbers often lagged behind.

The reason? MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen, plus a net-front guy or two, can outshoot expected models with raw finishing talent.

If we look at the per-60-minute numbers, that weeds out Colorado’s ability to rack up volume solely from having so many power plays. It’s a better indicator of sustainable success.

The per-60 numbers are slightly lower than the volume numbers, but they still represent a dramatic improvement. That is much closer to the sweet spot the Avs are trying to find.

They have guys like MacKinnon, Makar and now Necas who can turn a so-so scoring chance into a goal with a nasty shot. But finding better looks more consistently has made everyone more dangerous.

How does that look at the individual level? The differences in both who is shooting and how much are noticeable.

Here’s before the Olympic break, both at the team level (on ice shot attempts per 60 minutes) and individual (shots on goal per 60 minutes):

As a reference, the Florida Panthers are the best team in the league over the course of the full season at 115 shot attempts per 60 minutes on the power play. The Vancouver Canucks are 10th at 106.72.

Now, here’s after the Olympic break, for the guys who have settled in on PP1:

Obviously, the shot attempt numbers are outstanding. MacKinnon’s is a little less because he stays out with PP2 a lot, and most teams’ second unit won’t put up the same numbers as the top group.

Kadri has been a big help, likely as much for his work with puck retrievals and his passing as upgrades over Victor Olofsson, who was out there because he can really shoot it (it just didn’t go in very often for him in Denver).

One of the biggest adjustments, though, is Necas. He’s putting way more shots on net. That has helped in a couple of ways. For one, he can really, really shoot it, which leads to more goals. A more spread-out approach is also helping to open up space for everyone.

It will be interesting to see whether more opposing teams try to pressure Necas and take him away, or whether the track record of MacKinnon and Makar keeps PKers from giving them more space.

“I think we have the talent there to be a top power play in the league,” Bednar said. “And it’s not a short stretch anymore, either. So they’ve been doing good things and getting rewarded for it. Every goal we get and every discussion we have, we expect it to sort of keep growing.

“And there’s a lot of good conversations between those guys on like, hey, did you see this. Let’s try that. And then it’s just kind of starting to click and come together for us.”