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.”

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.

The Avs will face the Los Angeles Kings at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon at Ball Arena. It will be the first Stanley Cup Playoffs start for Wedgewood. He’s appeared in four NHL postseason games in relief.

Wedgewood, 33, is the eighth-oldest goaltender to get his first playoff start in NHL history, per NHL stats. He’s the oldest to do so since Anton Khudobin got his first in 2020 for the Dallas Stars.

Wedgewood finished the regular season at 31-6-6 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.02 goals against average — both were the best in the NHL among qualified goalies. He and Mackenzie Blackwood captured the William Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goalies who played at least 25 games for the club that led the NHL in fewest goals allowed.

Sure, there were other great stories. The Buffalo Sabres returning to the playoffs, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the Pittsburgh Penguins back to relevance and the rise of Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer are just a few.

But the Avs broke the league for half a season with a historic start. They’ve been atop the NHL standings every day since Nov. 1. The 121 points is among the top 10 in league history.

Nathan MacKinnon scored the most goals. The Avs as a team scored the most and allowed the fewest.

It goes beyond just the on-ice results. The Nordiques-inspired uniforms were the most talked-about fashion choice. Colorado won the trade deadline by adding Brett Kulak, Nicolas Roy and then Nazem Kadri at the last minute.

Even the introduction of a remix of as the team’s entrance music at Ball Arena, a nod to the 30-year anniversary with an all-time classic from 1996, was a huge success and immediately among the 3-5 best in the NHL.

Now, it’s time to find out if this will be remembered as one of the greatest teams of all-time. Win 16 more games, and it will be true.

“I think everyone understands the reality of how hard it is to win,” Avs goalie Scott Wedgewood said. “I think (the regular season) just makes you hungrier to prove it. It wasn’t just a fluke. It wasn’t just, ‘We got lucky and won some games and all that.’ I think we all know what kind of team we are when we play the right way.

“I think the mentality is just don’t squander this opportunity, this lineup, this expectation.”

Every NHL player wants to win the Stanley Cup. None of them cares about style points or how the path to get there will be remembered. It’s the same with fans of every NHL team.

No one in St. Louis cares if the 2019 Blues aren’t remembered as one of the all-time greats. No one in Dallas cares if the first thing some people outside of Texas think about with the 1999 Stars is Brett Hull’s skate.

Every Cup winner is a champion forever.

But some have been more revered than others throughout history. There are certain years where the champion is just synonymous with all-time excellence, even decades later. It’s 1977 and the Canadiens, 2002 and the Red Wings. It’s early, but 2022 and the Avalanche is a strong contender.

The Avs have put themselves in a position to be included in that group.

“It’d be special,” Avs forward Logan O’Connor said. “I think for us, it’s don’t look too far ahead. Cliche as that sounds. I think it starts with L.A. It starts with Sunday at 1 p.m. and it’s taking care of business in the first period. I think it’s easy this time of year to get over-excited and forecast and watch other series and see what’s going on, but I think the biggest thing is just no distractions and worry about the group we have within here.

“I think if we do the right things and play to our game plan, trust each other, play to our identity, great things are going to happen.”

Winning so much and in such dominant fashion has put the Avalanche in this position. The Avs stopped being a team that could win the Cup and became the team that should win the Cup months ago.

The trade deadline additions and the strong finish only reinforced that. The expectation to win a championship has been the same inside the Colorado locker room since Day One of training camp. The external expectations have risen dramatically since then.

“I think the group knew what we had, and even more so after the deadline,” Avs center Brock Nelson said. “But I think we’ve got a pretty good mindset that even with trying to set out to be the best team in the league for the regular season, we never really strayed from (our focus). Obviously a couple off games, but I think we stuck with it. And the main focus is to win a Stanley Cup. We know we’re not there yet, so there’s still a lot of work to be done. One singular focus now, starting with this first round.”

No team is destined to win the Stanley Cup, especially in the salary cap era. Even the most dominant regular-season teams that did complete the job — think 2013 Blackhawks and 2022 Avalanche — still had some moments of adversity along the way.

Everyone also remembers the most dominant teams that didn’t reach the finish line. Think the 2011 Canucks, the last club to finish first in goals for and first in fewest goals against. Or the 2019 Lightning and 2023 Bruins, which both flamed out in all-time first-round upsets.

Barring terrible injury luck, there isn’t any middle ground left for this Avalanche team. It’s either win 16 games and become one of the all-time greats, or this group joins the latter list of what ifs and what could have beens.

“There has to be a mentality there, that we’re willing to go and earn what we want,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We’re not deserving of anything. It’s all going to be about the way we play and being willing to earn it.

“I think all of our guys understand that. We’ve been through some heartache here in the first few rounds of playoffs, and I think that’s still fresh in our minds.”

Avalanche vs. Kings matchups: Who has the edge?

Kings: 35-27-20, 90 points; 2.68 goals per game (29th), 2.90 goals against per game (8th)

Avalanche: 55-16-11, 121 points; 3.63 goals per game (1st), 2.40 goals against per game (1st)

Offense

The Avs just missed being the only NHL club to score 300 goals this year, but their 298 was still seven more than Carolina in second and 78 more than the Kings. Colorado hasn’t had its full allotment of forwards together very often since the additions of Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy before the trade deadline, but everyone is expected to be ready for Game 1.

It’s the best forward group in the league if everyone is healthy. Nathan MacKinnon led the league in goals and should be a Hart Trophy finalist for the third straight year. Martin Necas collected 100 points for the first time in his career. Brock Nelson fired home 33 goals and formed a dominant two-way tandem with Valeri Nichushkin.

Kadri will likely center the third line and Jack Drury the fourth, but Ross Colton could end up on any of the bottom three lines. Parker Kelly’s 21 goals would be tied for third on the Kings. He could play on the fourth line for the Avs.

The Kings did make a big splash for Artemi Panarin and then added Scott Laughton just before the deadline. Panarin and Adrian Kempe with Azne Kopitar between them is a very nice top line.

Byfield has been hot lately and is a strong No. 2 center. Colorado’s depth should be a massive advantage. Kevin Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko would make this group look a lot more formidable, but both are injured any may not play in this series.

Advantage: Avalanche

Defense

Cale Makar missed some games with a minor injury, then returned and looked quite ready for the postseason. Will coach Jared Bednar start him with Devon Toews, or will he split them up? Brett Kulak has faced the Kings each of the past four postseasons with Edmonton. He could play with Makar and allow Toews to continue to skate with Sam Malinski, one of the breakout performers of the season.

Josh Manson missed the end of the regular season, but is expected to be ready for Sunday, and to be paired again with Brent Burns. The Avs led the NHL in offense from defensemen for the sixth consecutive season.

Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson lead the Los Angeles blue line. Doughty is 36 and played the fewest minutes per game of his career. Brandt Clarke is an offensive specialist who the Avs are going to try to pin at his end of the ice. The Kings added both Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci this offseason to play in games like this. Colorado’s top forwards will be delighted to see them on the ice.

Advantage: Avalanche

Special teams

The power play has been Colorado’s weak link all season, but it’s been less of one since the Olympic break. The Avs finished 27th with the man advantage … but the Kings finished 28th. And Colorado was 16th at 21.4% with the extra man after the break.

Meanwhile, the Avs’ penalty kill has been consistently elite all season. Colorado finished first in the league on the PK. Los Angeles has the worst penalty kill in the playoffs — 30th overall this season, and last since the Olympic break at 67.9%. The Kings can be dangerous shorthanded, and that’s been an issue for the Avs at times this season.

Advantage: Avalanche

Goaltending

The Avs won the William Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals this season. Scott Wedgewood led the NHL in goals against average (2.02) and save percentage (.921). Mackenzie Blackwood started the year 13-1-1, but has scuffled at times in the second half of the season. Both just missed out on representing Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper was on that Canada team after a strong start to the season. He may not be in net Sunday against his former team, though. Anton Forsberg has taken control of the position, winning five straight starts down the stretch to help L.A. qualify for the playoffs before dropping the finale to Calgary. Forsberg has a .914 save percentage since the Olympic break, while Kuemper has an .867.

We could see all four goalies in this series.

Advantage: Avalanche

Avalanche vs. Kings: 5 storylines to watch

1. Who is in net? The biggest unknown for the Avs is how the goalie situation is going to work. Scott Wedgewood has been the better goalie for a long stretch now, but Mackenzie Blackwood is still the long-term No. 1 goalie for this organization. Jared Bednar has said he will continue to play both guys.

2. Befuddle Byfield? The Kings top line is very good. Quinton Byfield has 11 goals in the past 15 games and centers the club’s go-to shutdown line. This could be a coming out party for him nationally if he comports himself well against MacKinnon and Co. If the Avs can keep him in check and make the Kings a one-line team, that should make this a short series.

3. Corral Clarke? 23-year-old Brandt Clarke is the type of offensive defenseman who can change games. The Kings also try to shelter him with a lot of offensive zone starts. Similar to Byfield, containing Clarke is a path to shutting down the Kings’ offense.

4. Power up? The Kings have some of the worst special teams in the league, in both phases. They’ve also had issues on specials teams during the playoffs the past few years. Colorado’s power play had a great March, but PP1 was in the garage for most of April because of injuries to Cale Makar and Nazem Kadri. This could, even should, be a chance for the Avs to find some success on the power play. And going close to perfect on the PK in the series isn’t out of the question.

5. One trip? These Kings have had a weird year. The coach got fired. They won 35 games. Everyone has counted them out. But … they’ve been better with Artemi Panarin and since Anton Forsberg got hot. They will play all of the motivational cards — nobody believes in us, we have nothing to lose, let’s win one series for Azne Kopitar before he retires. The Avs need to take control of this series early, not let up and make one trip to sunny Southern California, not two.

Avalanche vs. Kings series predictions

Corey Masisak, beat writer:  Once upon a time at another publication, I picked the Kings to win the Stanley Cup in five games. My boss asked how I could pick them in such a short series and my response was “because I can’t pick them in three.” This is that type of series, as long as the Avalanche take care of business early and don’t let the Kings start to believe. The Kings will try to slow game down, drag the Avs down into the mud and make it as coin-flip in nature as possible. They’re going to hope Anton Forsberg stays hot. They have a few standout players, but the Avs are much deeper. It would take a lot of things going wrong for this to be a long series, and catastrophic-type stuff for the Kings to win. Kings won that Cup Final in five games, by the way. And it was over in three. Avs in five.

Sean Keeler, sports columnist:  What better way to start a 2022 nostalgia tour than by waving hello (and good-bye) to old friend Darcy Kuemper in the first round? Chances are the former Avs net-minder won’t play much, unless MacKinnon, Necas & Company batter Anton Forsberg, the Kings’ likely No. 1 goaltender, early. And they could. The Avalanche swept all three meetings this season by an average score of 4.3-1.7 and haven’t posted fewer than four goals in any tussle against the Kings since December 2023. L.A.’s only chance is to muck it up, slow it down, and try to make things as ugly as possible — the Kings feature the lowest-scoring offense of any postseason team at 2.68 goals per game. Context: The Avs averaged 2.36 goals by the end of the second period. Get ‘er done, get ‘er done quick, and rest up for the bare knuckle brawl that’s looming in the next round. Avs in five.

Troy Renck, sports columnist:  The President¶¶Òõap Trophy is a curse. But not in the first round. Not against the Kings. This is an ideal matchup for the Avs to work up a sweat before taking on the Dallas Stars. The Kings failed to manage a point against Colorado this season, outscored 13-5. The Kings received the interim coach boost – 11-6-6 – but they simply can’t score enough to avoid getting swept. Who is going to stop Nathan MacKinnon? Or Marty Necas? Or Cale Makar? No one, that’s who. Avs in four.

Lori Punko, deputy sports editor: The President’s Trophy winning Avs against the 20th best team in the NHL? It should — and most likely will — be a cakewalk for the Avs. Facing the Kings is a gift for MacKinnon & Company, but they need to take care of business and not look past this series to the winner of the Wild-Stars battle. Colorado got healthy at the right time, and if they dominate like they should, the Avs will be the better rested team going into the second round. Avs in five.

Kyle Newman, sportswriter:  Colorado makes an opening round statement: After winning the Presidents’ Trophy, they are in these playoffs to be the first winner of the trophy since the 2013 Blackhawks to also raise the Stanley Cup. Getting Cale Makar back from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for a few weeks down the stretch of the regular season is a boost to a roster already loaded with enough firepower to easily dismantle the Kings. The Avs will take care of business at home for a 2-0 lead in the series, then win a couple on the road to clinch the series by next Sunday in Los Angeles. The Kings put together a nice five-game win streak towards the end of the season, but their porous defense will be no match for the Avs’ top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas. Expect a lot of Colorado scoring blitzes in this series, as seen in the season opener when the Avs scored three second-period goals in a 4-1 win. Avs in four.

Marietti spent nearly a decade with Bednar playing and coaching for the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL, but he had moved on by the time the Colorado Avalanche coach had become the head guy. Bednar was a young head coach, but he had some issues with a key player on the team.

One day, this player was late. The team was preparing to leave North Charleston on a road trip. Everyone was on the bus. As it was leaving the parking lot, the player arrived.

“This player kind of liked to do his own thing. He wasn’t a team-first player,” Marietti told The Denver Post. “Jared was like, ‘Nope. Keep going.’ They went to the game, won the game and then Jared put the guy on waivers.”

It wasn’t a popular move with the fanbase. But Marietti saw it as a defining moment in his friend’s early coaching career.

“When I heard that, I was like, ‘Yeah, Jared is legit.’ He’s not taking any (expletive). He’s going to do it his way. That was pretty ballsy. But he said look, ‘We are professionals and we’re going to act like professionals.’ And they ended up winning the championship.”

Bednar won the Kelly Cup with the Stingrays in only his second season as head coach. He won the Calder Cup in 2016. He won the Stanley Cup in 2022. His credentials as a very successful hockey coach are impeccable.

Now, as the Avs prepare for the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Bednar has the best team in the NHL and another chance to cement his legacy. A second Cup would silence all of the criticism after Colorado has failed to advance past the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs the past three tournaments, and put him on a track to potentially make the Hockey Hall of Fame.

“He was always and still is the same way as far as being a stickler for details,” Marietti said. “He says, ‘Do this or do that,’ or back then, if his coach said, ‘Do this or do that,’ he stuck to the chalkboard. He was a guy who played by the rules when it came to the game plan. That¶¶Òõap the same way he coaches. Buy into the system, and the system will take care of itself.

“He’s the kind of guy who is going to sell whatever it is you need. If you need him as an (ECHL) veteran or a ditchdigger, he’s going to be the best veteran or ditchdigger out there.”

An old school coach who has adapted

Bednar has certainly evolved from that young guy finding his way in South Carolina. He was a bit of a journeyman as a young player — four WHL teams, two ECHL teams, a year in the IHL before settling in with the Stingrays.

The Kelly Cup in 2009 kicked his coaching career into another gear, but his first AHL head coaching job only lasted two seasons. He spent time with three different organizations while coaching in the AHL before the Avs gave him a shot at the NHL level.

Bednar doesn’t have one specific mentor or a guy he’s modeled himself after. Bryan Maxwell had a big impact as his coach with Spokane in the WHL. Jason Fitzsimmons gave him his first coaching job with South Carolina. He worked under Jim Playfair and Brad Larsen as an AHL assistant.

“I was always fortunate to be surrounded by really good people,” Bednar said. “I learned a lot from all of those guys. I think you take a little bit from every coach you’ve ever had, what you liked, what you didn’t. The guys you meet at the conferences, like the NHLCA. Guys you work with, guys you coach against — you just kind of gather information from everywhere and develop your own style.”

Bednar was a tough, rugged defenseman. He was an old-school player who played for plenty of old-school coaches.

There is still some of that in how he coaches. But he’s also been able to adapt in a lot of different areas, and it’s a big part of why he has the fourth-highest winning percentage (.569) in league history among coaches with at least 600 NHL games.

“I think his demand level went up. I noticed that,” former Avs star Mikko Rantanen said. “I think that¶¶Òõap how we became a better team there, too. Every year, he started to demand more and more. I think he obviously got more comfortable, too, as a coach.

“I always liked how detailed he was, about the game style and how we want to play. He was always very detailed about opponents and what they’re going to do. And he works hard. I know he works hard off the ice, on the computer and stuff. It¶¶Òõap well-deserved, the career he’s had as a coach. I’m happy for him.”

Bednar was never a star player, but a huge part of his success with the Avs has been his relationships with the world-class players that have driven this era of success. His ability to relate to everyone, up and down the lineup, is paramount.

His ability to communicate what he wants, set a standard for how the team is going to play, and then allow players to flourish within that system has helped this Avalanche team finish first in the NHL in both goals for (298) and fewest goals against (197).

They are just the fourth team since 1967 to accomplish the feat.

“I love how calm he is. There’s no confusion around the subject,” former Avs forward Jonathan Drouin said. “When he tells you something, you know what he’s talking about. You know what he wants from you. He’s very detailed as well. It was very simple, very easy to understand him. He’s very detailed in what he wants his team to do and he’ll tell you straight up.

“It goes to the foundation they’ve built there and the players they’ve had. You just put in the work, you do what you have to do and you go home. But you’re enjoying the time. I always had a smile on my face. There’s a reason they’ve had so much success in Colorado.”

‘You can’t just be a hardo’

There was a while he was leading the club to its first double-digit win season in seven years. He was borrowing from a line from Jon Gordon’s book, ‘The Power of Positive Leadership’ that said ‘great leaders are demanding, not demeaning.’

That is, in a nutshell, a huge part of modern coaching in any sport. Several of Bednar’s players, both past and present, believe it perfectly describes his coaching style.

“There are coaches out there that yell and scream all day. Then when that doesn’t work, they’re kind of out of bullets,” Avs star Nathan MacKinnon said. “So then, what? You’re going to be nice now? What¶¶Òõap your next plan? We’re all intelligent humans. I think there has to be a good, intelligent message coming from the coach of like why are we doing something wrong, why do we need to change something?”

MacKinnon has played for two coaches over the past two seasons. He’s also spent a lot of time with Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper preparing for and playing in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“It¶¶Òõap no coincidence that they’re the two longest-tenured coaches,” MacKinnon said. “You can’t just be a hardo every single day. It¶¶Òõap just painful. I couldn’t imagine it, to be honest, just coaching with straight emotion and no logic or reasoning would be tough.”

Bednar played for a lot of coaches like that growing up. He can be an emotional guy.

He will rip into his team in the media after a particularly porous effort, but it’s pretty rare. And it’s almost never because of one bad night. One of the tentpole’s of Bednar’s coaching throughout a long season is to break it into 10-game segments, and only when he sees a downward trend in effort or defensive responsibility does he really get agitated.

During the Avalanche’s HALO analytics conference last month, Bednar revealed that he rarely goes in the locker room after games. He used to. He loved celebrating wins with his players at the ECHL and AHL levels.

But, part of his growth as a coach was to take a step back. The players don’t need him to celebrate, and they don’t want to hear him yelling at them minutes after a game ends. He lets everyone cool off, goes over the video and meets with the players the following day.

“I think he prepares the most of any coach I’ve been coached by,” Avs goalie Scott Wedgewood said. “I’ve never seen him come in and single out anybody or expose one person. I think he controls the room well. He gives everybody both sides of it – what¶¶Òõap working, what¶¶Òõap not working, why it¶¶Òõap not working and what you can fix.

“It¶¶Òõap not just, ‘This doesn’t work. (Expletive) fix it.’ Well, what the (expletive) does that mean? He’s very good at giving you context on both sides of what point he’s trying to get across.”

Bednar’s team meetings have become a well-known staple of his identity as a coach. His ability to blend analytics with video clips has made believers out of players old-school and new.

Players come to the Avalanche and are blown away by the level of detail in the club’s pre-scout meetings on game days. They see his ability to self-scout at both the team and individual levels, and find ways to improve.

One of Bednar’s adjustments as a coach that is specific to his time with the Avs is how much input he seeks out from the players in all sorts of aspects — whether it is game-planning for an opponent, tinkering with the power play or when to practice. The Avs even famously changed when they travel to accommodate MacKinnon’s postgame workout routine, which several other players partake in as well.

“I think a lot of my beliefs are the same,” Bednar said. “But because of the time that I’ve spent with some of our guys and our key players, I think there’s a lot more give and take, a lot more communication, sharing of ideas. They’re the ones playing the game. I want to know what they’re feeling in this situation, what they’re seeing in different situations, how can we help? What information do they need? You kind of learn that it’s just experience, even then naturally start giving them the stuff that they need, based on conversations I couldn’t have with guys six years ago.

“It’s always evolving, but the trust factor with our players that we have now has grown over time, I know what to expect from them. I want them to know what to expect from me. So things then naturally change to a certain degree.”

‘I wouldn’t want another coach’

This is Bednar’s 10th season with the Avs. He guided them from the bottom of the league to the mountaintop, and has lived in a “Stanley Cup or bust” world, with all the expectations that come with that, for more than half his tenure now.

Colorado just set a franchise record for points in a season. The external expectations have not been this high since 2022, in part because of how the Avs bulldozed through the first half of the schedule.

Bednar’s ability to fuse his old-school sensibilities and strong communication skills with modern tactics, information and player management are a huge part of why this Avalanche team could be on the precipice of a second championship in five years.

“(Bednar) is a very smart guy, and that¶¶Òõap why it doesn’t feel like it¶¶Òõap been too long,” MacKinnon said. “He’s been my coach for 10 years and he’s great. He’s just great at communicating, and he’s a great guy. The guys really enjoy being around him.

“It¶¶Òõap nice to have someone put some thought into what they’re going to say every day. I wouldn’t want another coach.”

But Brett Kulak will.

While the Colorado Avalanche was finishing off a record-breaking regular season Thursday night with a 2-0 victory against the Seattle Kraken at Ball Arena, the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers both won their final contests as well. That chain of events means the Avs will face the Kings in the opening round.

It also means Kulak will face them for a fifth consecutive year. Game 1 is Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Ball Arena.

“That’s pretty crazy,” Kulak said. “They had a little bit different-looking teams each year, and they competed hard. I know there were multiple times when we were down in the series. They had us on the ropes a few times. That’s just how the playoffs work sometimes.”

The Kings have not won a playoff series since lifting the Stanley Cup in 2014. Edmonton has knocked them out in the first round four years running, though Los Angeles did have a lead in three of the four series.

Scott Wedgewood made 22 saves Thursday night against the Kraken and pitched his fourth shutout of the season. He and Mackenzie Blackwood secured the William Jennings Trophy as the Avs allowed the fewest goals in the league — 25 fewer than the Dallas Stars.

Wedgewood became the first goalie in franchise history to lead the NHL in both goals-against average (2.02) and save percentage (.921). Patrick Roy led the league in GAA in 2001-02, but no Avs/Nordiques netminder had finished first in save percentage.

The Avs clinched the Presidents’ Trophy as the regular-season NHL champions a week ago, but the win against Seattle established a new franchise record with 121 points — two more than 2021-22 club.

“A solid, solid season,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Consistent, not too many lulls where we didn’t play very close to the we could play. … I thought it was a focused group from start to finish. And now the fun stuff starts.”

Wedgewood was one of the best stories of the regular season for the Avs, but so too was Parker Kelly. He added another goal Thursday night, stretching his career-best total to 21 to go along with 35 points. Kelly, who earned a four-year, $6.8 million contract extension in July that runs through 2030 after one season with the club, had more goals this season than he had points in any of his first three NHL seasons.

A host of regulars did not play for the Avs against Seattle, but Bednar said everyone on the active roster will be available Sunday when the Kings come to town. Nick Blankenburg, who will likely slide back to No. 7 on the defensive depth chart, had the first goal against the Kraken — his second in four games. He also had another disallowed by an offsides challenge.

While the Avs raced to a historic 31-2-7 start, there were some mixed results in the second half of the season. Colorado was still able to eventually cruise to a division title, top seed in the Western Conference and home-ice advantage throughout the postseason, but the Stars did narrow the gap shortly after the Olympic break.

But, then the Avs finished the campaign with an 11-3-1 run and left no doubt.

“I’m happy with our finish,” Bednar said. “Guys finished strong. I’m happy with where our team’s at going into this. Get them rest here, get them up to speed on L.A. and turn them loose.”