3 Avalanche-Kings bold predictions for 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs

For the first time since 2002, the Colorado Avalanche, who won the Presidents’ Trophy, and the Los Angeles Kings will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, renewing a long-dormant postseason rivalry between the two Western Conference clubs.

For fans of both teams who are old enough to remember their last playoff meeting, the Kings pushed the Avalanche to the brink in a hard-fought seven-game series before Colorado ultimately prevailed. A similar storyline unfolded the year prior in 2001, when Los Angeles again forced a decisive Game 7, only for the Avalanche to emerge victorious on their way to capturing the second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

Those Avalanche teams were led by multiple Hall of Fame players, including the likes of Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Patrick Roy, and former Kings blue liner and captain Rob Blake. Meanwhile, the Kings had multiple former Avalanche players stemming from the blockbuster Blake trade in 2001, including Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller, along with names like Ziggy Palffy, Glenn Murray, and Felix Potvin.

As it is over the passage of time, there are new names on both sides of the situation. The current Avalanche continue to be led by the phenomenal duo of Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, along with other names like Martin Necas, Devon Toews, and MacKenzie Blackwood. Meanwhile, this is the last run in the career of Anze Kopitar for the Kings, who is surrounded by Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield, and the newly acquired Artemi Panarin.

It also marks the first time since 2021 that the Kings will not have to battle the Edmonton Oilers in the opening round of the postseason, and they’ll be attempting to make the second round for the first time since their most recent Stanley Cup win of 2014. Meanwhile, the Avalanche have yet to advance past the first round since their most recent Stanley Cup win, which took place in 2022.

With the series set to get underway on Sunday afternoon in Denver, let’s take a look at a few bold predictions.

Colorado’s Jennings Trophy-winning goaltending will be the difference

While the main draws for the Avalanche is understandably the deadly offense provided by the aforementioned duo of MacKinnon and Makar along with several other complementary pieces, one of the keys for Colorado this season has been its goaltending.

The duo of MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood earned the William Jennings Trophy, which goes annually to the goaltending duo that allowed the fewest goals in no less than 25 games. The Avalanche as a whole allowed a league-low 197 goals, which will be the main reason why the Kings, who were 29th in the NHL with just 2.68 goals per game, won’t overcome them.

Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar recently touted their improved defense and goaltending as reasons why they have as good a chance as any team to win the Stanley Cup this year.

“Improving on the defensive side of it, we’ve become a stingier team and harder to play against, is goal No. 1. So, that one means a lot,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of the Jennings via NHL.com.  “It’s good for those guys, they’ve both been exceptional all year, the team’s defended well and consistently in front of them, so I like that award as much as any other one.”

Kings won’t be able to withstand Avalanche’s explosive offense

Back to the aforementioned offense for the Avalanche, led by Nathan MacKinnon. He once again showed why he’s one of the top three players in the NHL, thanks to another incredible performance. He won the Rocket Richard Trophy after scoring 53 goals, a new career-high mark in his career. Additionally, Colorado as a whole came in first overall in the NHL with an average of nearly four goals scored per game.

While the Avalanche’s power-play percentage came in at a puzzling 17.1 percent efficiency this season, it should have no problem against the Kings’ poor penalty-killing unit, which was ranked 30th overall.

Avalanche will send longtime Kings forward Anze Kopitar into retirement 

As stated, this is the final playoff appearance for Kopitar, who inherited the Kings’ captaincy from Dustin Brown several years back, and who also became the highest-scoring player in franchise history this season.

Not only was he instrumental in both Kings’ Stanley Cup wins of 2012 and 2014, but he has also made a strong case for himself to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

However, Kopitar’s dream scenario of retiring as a three-time Stanley Cup winner won’t come to fruition. This will be his final postseason series, and unfortunately for the Kings, it won’t end in a happier fashion than each of their last four losses in the opening round to the Oilers.

Final Prediction: Avalanche win in six games

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