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Colorado Avalanche draw Los Angeles Kings in first round of Stanley Cup playoffs

By
Jack Lowenstein
Assignment Desk Editor, CBS Colorado
Jack Lowenstein is a digital media producer and assignment desk editor with CBS Colorado. At the news desk in Denver, Jack takes pride partnering with public servants every day to confirm necessary information through local, state and federal agencie
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Jack Lowenstein

/ CBS Colorado

It's been a complete season of dominance for the NHL team in Denver, Colorado. The players, the coaching/training staff and the front office all played a part to get the team to this juncture. The Colorado Avalanche have set themselves up for a major postseason run. The regular season is over, and the Avs secured the Central Division title, the Western Conference title and the President's Trophy. 

The focus now is the first round: The Colorado Avalanche will face off against the Los Angeles Kings to begin the quest for the Stanley Cup in the 2025-26 postseason. 

Colorado Avalanche v Los Angeles Kings
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 2: Jeff Malott #39 of the Los Angeles Kings and Brent Burns #84 of the Colorado Avalanche battle for the puck during the first period at Crypto.com Arena on March 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Juan Ocampo/NHLI via Getty Images

This will be the third meeting between the Avs and the Kings in the playoffs all-time, and the first time both teams have met in the first round. But it's been some time since both hockey teams have met in the playoffs. The Avs and the Kings both reached the Western Conference Final in back-to-back seasons in 2001 and 2002. Both times, the series went to 7 games, and both times, the Avs showed up in the pivotal moments and defeated the Kings.

This season, the goal since first puck drop has been the ultimate prize for the Colorado Avalanche -- the Stanley Cup. Many of the current Avs players know what it takes to get to the final round, and then claim Lord Stanley for the team, the organization, the fans and the city. 

The core of Colorado's 2021-2022 Stanley Cup championship team is still there heading into the first round. That includes captain Gabriel Landeskog, who worked for years to heal and return as a contributor and a leader of his team following long-term injury after the previous Cup run.

Center Nathan MacKinnon continued to lead by example on the ice and proved to be, once again, in the conversation for the Hart Memorial Trophy as league MVP. With the regular season coming to an end, Nate had secured the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the first time by finishing the season as the league's leading goal scorer. He finished with 50 or more goals for the second time in his NHL career. 

The Avalanche regular season would not have been as successful without its two netminders in Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood. Wedgewood assumed the role as starter to begin the season, while Blackwood continued to recover from injury. 

Wedgewood did not waste this opportunity. He didn't simply log minutes for the Avs; he became one of the league's most dominant backstoppers in goal, finishing the regular season as the league leader in goals against average (2.02) and save percentage (.921). Despite the impressive effort, the Avs starter appears to be on the outside of talks for , awarded annually to the league's best goaltender. 

Still, when Blackwood returned, the pair proved to be the most successful tandem in net, and they went on to allow the fewest goals during the regular season, earning the tandem the . 

And Cale Makar remains among the group of elite defenseman in the world, and will remain among top conversations for the Norris Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL's top blueliner. 

Every player's role on the Avs is well-defined, and it's how the players have fulfilled those respective roles that has allowed for the regular season dominance. It now must translate to the requirements of the playoffs, which demands teams to find that extra gear needed to go deep into the postseason.

With home ice advantage secured by the Avalanche every step of the way, Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday, April 19. The puck drop is now set for 1 p.m. MT at Ball Arena in Denver. The along with ways to watch is available on .

© 2026 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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