The Colorado Avalanche is looking to win the first of 16 games, starting in Game One of the first round against the Los Angeles Kings. Sunday afternoon’s game will kick off the festivities at Ball Arena.

Colorado took the season series over the Kings by winning all three games, most recently in March. They’ll be looking for another four en route to Mission 16 wins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Colorado Avalanche (0–0–0)

The Avs have a fresh slate going into the postseason after a historic regular season. They ended the regular season on a three-game win streak, most recently against the Seattle Kraken in a shutout on Thursday night.

Colorado ended the regular season with a record of 56–16–11 for a record 121 points. They’ve known their status for a long time, and now are ready to chase down 16 wins.

They’ll do it with a relatively healthy squad. Josh Manson and Nazem Kadri had been out at the end of the regular season but are expected to be good to go. Cale Makar recently returned from injury. Of course, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Gabriel Landeskog have all been roaring to go. Can they start the journey off on the right foot?

Projected Lines

Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Parker Kelly – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Gabriel Landeskog – Nazem Kadri – Nicolas Roy
Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Logan O’Connor

Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Brett Kulak – Sam Malinski
Brent Burns – Josh Manson

Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood

Los Angeles Kings (0–0–0)

LA is limping into the postseason after losing to the Calgary Flames on Thursday night. This matchup was most likely for them, facing a team in the postseason for the first time in four years that isn’t the Edmonton Oilers.

Los Angeles finished with a regular-season record of 35–27–20. The Kings will ride the wave of one final ride for Anže Kopitar. But they have scoring thanks to the acquisition of Artemi Panarin, Adrian Kempe, and Quinton Byfield.

Defensively, they may have some questions around Cody Ceci and Joel Edmundson. Those questions also carry into the net, where old friend Darcy Kuemper might not be the first choice. Nonetheless, they will look for a major upset at the start of their own run to 16 wins.

Projected Lines

Artemi Panarin – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Trevor Moore – Quinton Byfield – Alex Laferriere
Joel Armia – Scott Laughton – Jared Wright
Mathieu Joseph – Samuel Helenius – Taylor Ward

Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson – Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin – Cody Ceci

Anton Forsberg
Darcy Kuemper

Game Details

Time: 1:00 p.m. MT

Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, TNT, truTV, HBO Max, FDSNSC (LA)

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM/AM 950