The Colorado Avalanche enter Round 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs as the Presidents’ Trophy winners after a franchise-record 121-point season, and now Nathan MacKinnon and the Avs open a must-watch Western Conference showdown with Anze Kopitar, Quinton Byfield and the Los Angeles Kings. Colorado swept the regular-season series 3-0 and finished as the NHL’s top seed, making this DNVR Avalanche series preview the place to hear how the Avs can use their elite depth, speed and special teams to take control of this matchup. We break down the biggest Colorado Avalanche vs. Los Angeles Kings matchups, X-factors and predictions, including why MacKinnon and Colorado’s forward depth could overwhelm LA in a best-of-seven series. Don’t miss our full Avalanche playoff analysis ahead of Game 1 in Denver as the Avs begin their Stanley Cup chase against the Kings.
Timestamps:
0:00 – Series Preview
1:25 – Kings Matchups
4:03 – LA’s Top Players
9:16 – Lineup Battle
14:45 – Defense Matchups
20:44 – Goalie Edge
22:04 – Avs X-Factor
29:22 – Series Prediction
#nhl #hockey #coloradoavalanche #avalanche #goavsgo #avs #lakings #kings #avalanche
18 Comments
Avs in 5. They do the nice guy thing and let kopi get 1 more win at home then they win at close the series at home
We want the cup
Damn you guys making me nervous now
Not beating this BAD team in 4 or 5 is a failure imo. Also, to people thinking a weird upset can happen, like AJ has said a lot over the week, this Kings team is nowhere near those big upset teams like Columbus and Panthers of the past.
Man it’s so good to have AJ on the pod. Bailey and Rudo are great, but AJ brings something that really completes the team
Pretty please bring back Rudo hosting 🙏
16 WINS CMON!!!!!! This is what we have worked and played for ALLL season!!!!! CMON!!!! Bring it home!!!!
Meh they didn't think we could beat the last presidents trophy winners either …
AVS have 9 REAL losses at home in 41 games…only team in the NHL with single digits-they are fine. There's no shootouts or 3 on 3 in playoffs. AVS in 5-my major concern for a 1st round upset loss died once Vegas & Utah eliminated themselves as potential 8 seeds in the last week,& Edmonton took care of business vs Vancouver the last game. Short of our goaltending being awful,& theirs being great-which is always possible-the AVS,& Edmonton should have the biggest mismatch wins in 1st round. And should get several days off while the Dallas-Minny game 7 winner (I say Minny)-has to IMMEDIATELY get on a plane to Denver-at altitude,& against a much more rested & presumably more healthy AVS in like 48 hrs.
That's why you SHOULD CARE if it's 4,5,6 or 7 Rudo. Plus somebody could get hurt in game 6 or 7. You are right heads must roll if they do blow it but I'm not concerned. And AJ is spot on-itll only get tougher next yr. Teams like Minnesota & Utah should be better,more experienced,& probably will fix their 2C hole this summer. And teams like Anaheim,& SJ will probably go from pretender to actual contenders. Plus I fully expect Drury to have to get traded this summer,& probably Nichuskin or Colton also. You just can't keep all these guys-especially 5 legit NHL quality centers. AVS should be real good next yr but maybe not quite as deep.And I fully expect the West will be better at the top,& middle with Utah,& Anaheim getting playoff experience,SJs kids only getting better.
And if Minny trades Wallstedt &/or some of their assets-which they have a decent amount of prospects,& picks (even after the Hughes trade)-for a Robert Thomas,Trochek-whoever (Austin Matheuws?)-this summer or by next deadline…look the fuck out. They could be sitting here at 115-120 pts 12 months from now. Even if they don't I expect they'll also only get better. And at least next yr-I certainly don't see Dallas,Vegas or Edmonton falling off a cliff. Chicago has potential & Seattle,& LA are reportedly about to spend big. I don't expect the AVS window closes after this run-I expect at least 2 more legit chances at deep runs. But I do think this is by far the best chance this core will ever again have. Nelson,Kadri,Toewes,Landy & others getting older. They still should be good-but I can't forsee a scenario where this roster is AS GOOD or AS DEEP on paper next yr-whatever happens this spring.
I've said it elsewhere but I'll say it here, too. The synopsis of this series preview should start and end with this: The Kings pride themselves on keeping games low-scoring and being slightly above league average in 5-on-5. The Avs are the league's best team in 5-on-5 by a mile, and have scored no fewer than four goals in each of their three multi-goal wins against the Kings this season. At this point, something will need to go horribly wrong for the Avalanche if this series is longer than a gentleman's sweep.
Literally no one in the league can “take away” Nathan MacKinnon in the playoffs, especially not the Kings.. Just look what he did to Dallas last year— 7 goals in 7 games, 11 pts total. He was literally still leading the league in goals after the 2nd round and he didn’t even play in it. He lit them up. Blackwood & Bednar lost that series for us last year.
Also, Lehkonen needs to be on the 1st line. Not Landeskog. He needs to be on the 2nd line. His hand eye coordination is absolutely SHOT, he fans on literally everything. He can barely coral a pass without it hopping off his stick, and he’s slow as molasses. He’s back really just to be the emotional leader, he is NOT what he was in 2022. He was 29 and still in his prime when they won the Cup; he’s 33 now coming off a bad knee injury with his reflexes shot.. It needs to be Lehkonen. He has always played awesome with MacKinnon. He is a grinder, and a dog on the forecheck/backcheck; he will win puck battles.. And, he can actually knock in quick passes from MacKinnon and score. When Landeskog tries to he whiffs and it ends up hittin the opposite wall.. Mack, Lehkonen, and Necas needs to be line 1.
No shade, but I've been a DNVR ride or die since the BSN days and the only time my viewship fell off was when AJ went part-time on the pod. Having him back has rejuvenated DNVR Avs big time. So, welcome back. And please stick around this time!
It’s a battle royal , the regular season stats are irrelevant!
Avs in 3 lol
Kings vs the world
Love having AJ on the pod. Avs in 3
Avs and Nuggets Championship Parade Coming soon mi amigos!
There's no way Colton should play with Naz, he's not a finisher. Kelly at least has scored 20 goals. It makes zero sense if Colton plays with Kadri.