The Stanley Cup Playoffs have arrived, and with that comes eight incredible first-round matchups to analyze.
Yesterday we previewed the Eastern Conference action. Today, we turn to the Western Conference, which took until the final day of the regular season to wrap up.
Colorado Avalanche vs Los Angeles Kings
What to Know
The Colorado Avalanche coasted through another stress-free regular season, tearing up the Western Conference en route to another Presidents' Trophy. A roster teeming with star power, the Avalanche are unquestionably in "Stanley Cup or bust" mode and will begin their quest for a fourth Stanley Cup against a Los Angeles Kings team with heaps of playoff experience—and heaps of problems across the lineup.
The Colorado Advantage
You can look at this two ways. The first is that any optimism on the Kings' side really is about one month of hockey because this Kings team struggled all season long. We are talking about a team that ended the year with a -22 goal differential and just 22 regulation wins, tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for 30th in the NHL.
But more compelling is the reality of what this Avalanche team is: a hockey juggernaut. It's a freakish combination of top-end star power through guys like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, backstopped by incredible depth, that allows the Avalanche to comfortably roll four lines and three pairings. The average Colorado game saw them winning by 1.2 goals; six players (including MacKinnon and Makar, plus Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Artturi Lehkonen, and Parker Kelly) scored 20 or more goals; the Avalanche goaltending group finished with a 90.8 save rate, easily best in the NHL.
Oddsmakers have priced Colorado as an 84 per cent favourite to advance in Round 1, way ahead of any other favourite.
The Los Angeles Advantage
It's important to recognize this Kings team is not the same team we saw in the earlier parts of the year. Since turfing head coach Jim Hiller on March 1, Los Angeles is sixth in even-strength goal differential (56 per cent goal share), and it's in large part due to a coaching decision to load up the top line.
Since acquiring Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers in early February, Panarin, Kempe, and Kopitar have played 330 minutes together at even strength with devastating effect. From a talent perspective, it is on the short list of one of the best lines you will find in hockey—elite defensive play down the middle of the ice by way of Kopitar, with two wingers in Panarin and Kempe who are wizards at generating offence.
Colorado will have its hand full with this group.
Player to Watch
This may not have been goaltender Darcy Kuemper's best season, but he is exactly the type of veteran goalie you want in a series where you know you are undermanned. And he's a goalie Colorado knows well—it was Kuemper who manned the net for the Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche in 2022, stopping 90.2 per cent of shots faced over the 16-game run.
Pick
This Kings team may be a bit better than what their full-season numbers indicate, but they are in a world of trouble in this matchup. Of note, the aggregate score during their regular-season matchups was 13-5 in favour of Colorado.
Avalanche in five.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights won the Pacific Division title for the fifth time in nine seasons in what can only be described as a "down year" for the organization, which even included a shocking late-season coaching firing. Vegas has been one of the most reliably dominant teams since entering the league in the 2017-18 season, and their roster is absolutely loaded with playoff experience.