The Kings had no chance. They simply weren’t ready. The first round was child’s play for Colorado, and it was tough seeing Anze Kopitar, one of the classiest players in the NHL, end his remarkable career getting throttled at home in front of the home crowd. The Avalanche have had the Kings number since the first time they faced each other this season. There’s no surprise that the Kings were anticipating the embarrassment on a national stage against the league Juggernaut Colorado Avalanche.
LA is by far the worst team in the playoffs, and the only reason why the Kings were in the playoffs was due to acquiring Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers a few months ago who ended the season as the Kings top scorer. Also, LA had just enough overtime losses during the regular season that still counted as points which are crucial when fighting as a wild card team for a playoff spot.
Now, Colorado awaits their opponent for the next round between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild, which has been a commensurably matched series. Dallas is a lot more physical, but Minnesota is a lot faster and a much better matchup for Colorado. Both are Top 3 teams behind Colorado. Both are highly skilled and stacked with a ton of depth to take pressure off the first two lines. Iron sharpens iron, but when there are two teams beating the hell out of each other for 5 or more games in a series, it gives the resting team a huge advantage.
Nathan MacKinnon weighing in on their 8 days of rest before getting back on the ice for the 2nd Round of the Playoffs:
“We’ve got a couple days here to reset, but we know the challenge at hand with either team it’s going to be extremely difficult. You know it’s only going to get harder and harder, but I feel like we’re up for it.”
- – Colorado Avalanche (FW), Nathan MacKinnon
Nathan MacKinnon started the series off slower than desired but came alive today, scoring his first two goals in the playoffs. Goaltender Scott Wedgewood saved 24 of 25 shots today and ended the series against LA, saving a total of 96 shots out of 101 shot attempts. Artturi Lehkonen was Colorado’s best performer of the series with (2 goals, 2 assists) 4 points.
The Avalanche have sat at the top all year long and remain favorites to win the Stanley Cup after just completing their 6th sweep in franchise history. The next round will be a handful for the Av’s but if they can continue at this rate the Stanley Cup will be heading back to Colorado.
Dante Robinson | Senior NHL Analyst for The NSR Network
