It was a quick transition into the Colorado Avalanche’s first-round series with the LA Kings. Now, we wait for that pivotal second-round series with the opponent still undetermined. Here are our thoughts on how that Kings sweep unfolded and on what to expect moving forward.
Who was your first round MVP?
Adrian: Artturi Lehkonen gets my vote, although Scott Wedgewood was close. I gave the nod to Lehky because he did his thing despite LA’s stay-at-home approach, once again showing the teflon talents
he brings to the table no matter the ask.
Matthew: Gabe Landeskog gets my vote here. This was his first full playoff series since coming back from injury (remember, he did sit for the first two games against Dallas last season before making his return), so to have this team finally have its captain, along with all of the leadership and other intangibles he brings, going into the playoffs alongside the rest of the roster cannot be understated.
The captain’s game-tying goal in Game Two was the counterpunch the Avs needed to force overtime, and his goal that Anton Forsberg deflected into his own net created the first big goaltending mistake in the entire series; after that goal, Forsberg surrendered six more goals through the rest of the series—two more were scored on empty nets—which was more than the Kings scored in all four games combined. Both of his goals were turning points in each game, and in the playoffs, skill and luck can be your best friend, and for the Kings, it became their worst enemy.
Jess: There are a few different guys I want to pick here, but Scott Wedgewood was awesome in this series. He did absolutely everything you could’ve asked him to do and then some, especially in the first two games, where LA was kind of giving Colorado their best punch, for lack of better verbiage, and keeping those games tight to give themselves a chance to win. Ultimately, when you give up five goals total across four games, it’s extraordinarily difficult to say anything negative about your goalie’s performance. Again, Wedgewood did exactly what was asked of him and then some throughout this series. He was phenomenal, and a big reason why the Avs were able to be patient throughout those games and ultimately win them.
Jackie: All the above are good options but my first inclination was to nominate Lehkonen and after mulling it over I’m sticking with the crafty Finn. He led the team (tied) with two goals and four points, one goal opened the series and the shorthanded goal in Game 3 was a dagger for the Kings. Lehkonen combined it with one of the team highest expected goals performance at over 59%. He’s known for big series clinching strikes but the all-around performance he put in this short opening series receives the MVP nod from me.
What was your favorite moment of the Kings series?
Adrian: My favorite moment has to be when head coach D.J. Smith asked media members if the Avalanche “could expect to win only winning two goals” just to see them, in fact, be unable to tally more than two goals in any of the four losses.
Jackie: Nothing is more exciting than scoring a goal for a win in overtime, so Nicolas Roy’s strike to take Game 2 was the best moment for me. That game was really the only actual chance LA had in this series and evoked a touch of drama, which the Avalanche were able to overcome in the extra frame.
Matthew: This may come as a surprise given that the focus should be on the Avs, but in this one-time circumstance, my favorite moment was seeing the send-off that Anže Kopitar received after the final buzzer. I’m not saying that as taking delight in the end of his career; in fact, far from it! The respect that he received from the Avs during the handshake line, even from the support staff, in addition to the crowd cheering, “Kopi! Kopi! Kopi!” and the final salute at center ice, evoked memories (albeit under vastly different circumstances) of Adam Foote’s final shift during the final game of his career. Had this series ended in five games, both Kopitar and those fans would have been robbed of that opportunity to give him the farewell he rightly deserved.
Jess: Cale Makar’s goal in Game 4 stands out, where he outworks a Kings defender, gets the puck down in front of the LA net, and finishes. That was a moment that reinforced to me that LA was not going to win this series, no matter how close they could keep it during games. They have some offensively skilled players for sure, but there’s a reason they play the way they do, and it’s because they don’t have a Cale Makar or anyone close to his level, for that matter. The whole series and NHL Playoffs experience has just been awesome as well. This is truly the most wonderful time of the year, in my opinion, and I’ve loved staying up late to watch these playoff games while I try to muster up the effort to finish my last few assignments throughout these next few weeks before graduation next month.
Biggest surprise thus far?
Adrian: How under the radar Scott Wedgewood’s play continues to be. I know I’m also a guy who passed up on him for first-round MVP, but I gave my reasons. Scott was the best goalie in this series, and Forsberg played well.
Matthew: Sam Malinski has been very impressive here in this opening round. He averaged nearly 20:00 of ice time during the first round, which ranks third among all Avs defensemen and fifth overall among all skaters. His role was already set to change with the departure of Sam Girard, and those extra minutes that he logged without Cale Makar in the lineup towards the end of the regular season allowed him the opportunity to show what he could do in expanded minutes. He put that experience to action with the loss of Josh Manson for the balance of both Game Three and in Game Four. No matter who the Avs draw in the second round, it’ll be interesting to see if Malinski can continue to shine against what will be a much more difficult opponent.
Jess: Personally, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how content Colorado has been to play with their opponent instead of against them, if that makes sense. I feel like if you go back even to last year’s iteration of the Avalanche, they would not have been so content to play with the Kings and adapt to their slow, heavy, defensive play style, and they would have gotten frustrated and tried to impose their game and make the Kings play with them. Instead, Colorado certainly seemed to understand what game the Kings were going to have to play in this series, and they were perfectly fine adapting to it, being patient, and waiting for their opportunities to capitalize instead of trying to force everything and make LA adapt to their play style. The one time in the series when the Kings strayed from their play style and opened it up against the Avs was in the third period in game four to try, and Colorado had a bit of a field day with them when they did, and we got to see exactly why the Kings had to play the way they did in this series. All that to say, that content to play with their opponent and be patient that Colorado demonstrated in the first series has pleasantly surprised me, and that tendency will certainly serve them well as we continue throughout these playoffs.
Jackie: I was surprised that the momentum of some tangible power play improvement at the end of the regular season didn’t carry over to the postseason, yet anyway. A big goal on the man advantage from Nathan MacKinnon helped win Game 4 but going 1-for-11 especially against LA’s 30th ranked penalty kill wasn’t what I expected.
What are your expectations in facing either Dallas or Minnesota in the next round?
Adrian: I want another workman-like approach in round two. It shouldn’t matter who the opponent is if the Avalanche play to their capability. Take the emotion out of it and play the right way.
Matthew: I’m expecting another long series, no matter who survives that first round deathmatch between Dallas and Minnesota. I expect Martin Nečas to raise his offense in round two, after registering a pair of assists in the opening round against Los Angeles. Fair or not, this is the time that he needs to reward the faith that Chris MacFarland put in him after signing that long-term contract in the fall. The Avs need all the offensive firepower they can get, and if he can catch fire, it’ll force whoever is defending the top line into a “pick your poison” situation. This is the time for Nečas to take that next step and become the next premier right wing for the Avs.
Jess: I’m not expecting either Dallas or Minnesota to play a game that’s as slow and defensive as LA, but I feel like you should expect that play from both of them to a degree, so I expect and hope the Avs will have a similar approach and be patient and wait for their opportunities as they come when playing against either team.
Jackie: After a very drama-free opening series with the Kings I’m expecting a very emotional series against either Central Division rival. There will be some adversity and we will see exactly how the Avalanche measure up and handle those valleys. There hasn’t been such an intense and pivotal string of games for this club in quite some time. Buckle up.
