Kings vs. Avalanche preview: Playoff rematch opens new season

The Colorado Avalanche host the Los Angeles Kings at Ball Arena in their season opener Wednesday night—a rematch of last spring’s Western Conference first-round sweep. Both clubs enter at 0-0-0, but the storylines are anything but blank. Peter Laviolette makes his debut as Kings coach, Drew Doughty takes over as captain following Anze Kopitar’s retirement, and Colorado’s Jared Bednar arrives fresh off signing a four-year contract extension that runs through the 2030-31 season, according to ESPN.

Kings vs. Avalanche game information

• Date: Wednesday, Sept. 30
• Time: 10 p.m. ET
• Venue: Ball Arena, Denver
• TV/Streaming: TNT, truTV

Colorado finished last season with a franchise-record 121 points and won the Presidents’ Trophy before Vegas swept the Avalanche in the conference final, per NHL.com. That points total capped a run that included the four-game dispatch of the Kings in the opening round.

Los Angeles outlook

Laviolette takes over a Los Angeles roster looking for its first playoff series win in years, and his coaching resume speaks for itself: he ranks seventh in NHL history in wins with 846, according to NHL.com. He most recently coached the New York Rangers for two seasons before the Kings hired him.

Darcy Kuemper is listed as the Kings’ probable starting goaltender for the opener, per the official data. Backup Anton Forsberg allowed a goal on 25 shots in Wednesday’s 2-1 preseason win over Anaheim, per CBS Sports.

Los Angeles carries a thin blue line into Denver. Defensemen Jakub Dvorak (upper body) and Otto Salin remain on injured reserve, while Joel Edmundson and Corey Perry are day-to-day. Forward Jan Jenik is also on injured reserve.

Colorado outlook

Bednar, the winningest coach in franchise history, enters his 10th season behind Colorado’s bench with his job security settled. General manager Joe Sakic called him “the best coach for this group” in a statement announcing the extension. Colorado has reached the playoffs in eight of Bednar’s nine seasons, with a Stanley Cup in 2021-22.

Mackenzie Blackwood is projected to start in goal for the Avalanche. Colorado will be without forwards Zachary L’Heureux and Logan O’Connor, both on injured reserve with lower-body injuries, plus Georgii Merkulov and Taylor Makar, who are also on IR. Goaltender Trent Miner remains sidelined as well, according to the official data.

Key matchup: Nathan MacKinnon vs. a retooled Kings blue line

Nathan MacKinnon enters his 14th season, all with Colorado, chasing back-to-back Rocket Richard Trophies after leading the league with 53 goals last season. No player has repeated as the NHL’s goal-scoring leader since Auston Matthews in 2021 and 2022, per NHL.com. MacKinnon also finished third in Hart Trophy voting behind Nikita Kucherov and Connor McDavid.

He will face a Kings defense already missing Dvorak, Salin and possibly Edmundson, thinning the group tasked with containing Colorado’s top line on opening night.

What to watch

Doughty’s first game as Kings captain arrives with Laviolette calling the shots behind the bench for the first time, a pairing built to end a postseason drought against the very team that ended their last one. For Colorado, the question is whether a roster missing five players to injury can still execute the depth scoring that carried it to 121 points a year ago. Both teams return to action later this week as the 2026-27 regular season continues around the league.

Reporting from FOX Sports, CBS Sports, ESPN and NHL.com contributed to this story. Official statistics: ESPN (official league data).