Avalanche sweep Kings to advance to the second round

The Avalanche got the lead in the first period and never looked back. Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring with his first goal of the 2026 playoffs, followed by Cale Makar to make it 2-0. Joel Edmundson got one back for the Kings, but the Avalanche offense was too much. Nicolas Roy and Devon Toews scored in the third to make it 4-1, and MacKinnon scored the empty-netter to clinch a 5-1 win.

It’s an emotional loss for the Kings. Long-time Kings legend Anze Kopitar announced earlier in the season that the 2025-26 season would be his last. He spent his entire 20-year career with the Kings, winning two Stanley Cups.

The Avalanche will now play the winner of the Dallas Stars-Minnesota Wild series. The series is currently tied at 2-2.