DENVER, CO — Ball Arena was the stage, and playoff hockey was the entertainment. Fans and pundits alike were not disappointed in the slightest.
The arena and its patrons started in a frenzy, and as Gangsters Paradise rang out, the frenzy built into downright bedlam as the white pom poms flew.
With three Stanley Cup banners wading in the noise, the Colorado Avalanche began their journey toward hopefully adding to the collection with the LA Kings standing in their way as first-round foe.
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Will the Presidents’ winning Colorado Avalanche assert their dominance, or will LA prove pesky early in round one?
The Game
From puck drop, one thing was made very clear: the Avalanche were prepared and ready to get off on the right foot.
The pressure on the Kings’ netminder, Anton Forsberg, built and built; however, the Avalanche couldn’t cash in.
The Kings created a flurry of chances of their own late in the first frame, but a bit of puck luck and mostly stellar play from Wedgewood kept things tied at one.
A no-goal first period is likely exactly what the LA Kings players and staff had in mind, so I’d count that as a win for LA in period one.
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The second frame began with much of the same.
Colorado’s second power play of the night led to some great chances, including a doorstep look for Landeskog, but the puck didn’t go in.
The Avalanche appeared to score a goal, but it was immediately waved off for goaltender interference.
Fans were understandably displeased as it appeared that Drew Doughty’s check on Jack Drury caused the contact in the crease.
Inevitably, Jared Bednar would challenge the play.
The call was upheld, and the Avalanche would have to kill a power play.
I believe that, although the contact from Doughty was well away from the net, Drury couldn’t do much more to stay out of the blue paint.
After the game, Jack said it all happened too fast and didn’t give his opinion.
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Finally, after all of the attacks Colorado was bringing to the table, it was none other than Artturi Lehkonen who broke the scoreless tie, in typical fashion!
Lehky’s goal looked strikingly similar to his series-clincher back in 2022 against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final, in that Artturi was there to net a rebound and give his side the 1-0 lead. The Avalanche would hold that lead heading into the third period.
Next up on the goal-scoring train was Logan O’Connor, who, a few short months ago, hadn’t played any NHL hockey this season. His goal would give Colorado a 2-0 lead in the third period.
The Kings would cut the lead to 1 with a power-play goal from Artemi Panarin with just over 2 minutes to go, but Colorado held on to take the first game of the series by a 2-1 score.
Takeaways
There are very few environments in hockey like Ball Arena during the playoffs. The place was rocking, and during a game where the heavy favorites didn’t tally a goal in the first period, they stayed engaged and loud beyond the first wave.
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This is why the NHL playoffs are so fascinating. No matter how the 82 games before the playoffs go, it’s still about who can win 4 games first, and the Kings played like a team with nothing to lose.
It was a low-scoring affair, but Colorado did control this one from the onset. Just took time to net one.
Scott Wedgewood with a playoff win to get things started, and I’m not sure the Avalanche could ask for more on that front.
Surprisingly, head coach Jared Bednar was unaware that it was Scott Wedgewood’s first start. That, or he was playing that up to make the point that you wouldn’t have noticed it was Scott’s first.
Good for Scott, who more than earned his place as the starting netminder here in Colorado.
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Did the Avalanche do a good job of sheltering their tender? Absolutely, but when he was on his own, he stood tall.
Upcoming
Same place, but different time (8:00 p.m. MT) as the Colorado Avalanche and the LA Kings meet for game two at Ball Arena on Tuesday.
Let us know what you thought of this contest in the comments!
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