Colorado and Los Angeles opened their Western Conference First Round series Sunday at Ball Arena with two Avalanche regulars back on the ice and one key Kings addition already changing the shape of the matchup. Nazem Kadri and Josh Manson both practiced Saturday before Game 1, and Kadri said he was ready after missing five games with a finger injury.
Kadri’s return gives Colorado another forward with production down the stretch after the Avalanche acquired him from the Calgary Flames on March 6. He has nine points, including four goals and five assists, in 16 games with Colorado. Manson, who has missed the past three games with an undisclosed injury, has 31 points in 79 games for the Avalanche, with five goals and 26 assists.
The series began with the Avalanche carrying the pressure of the Presidents’ Trophy and the recent memory of a 4-2 win over Los Angeles on March 2. That result came before the Kings’ lineup got a major jolt of its own when they acquired Artemi Panarin from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4, then played him for the first time on Feb. 25 after the 2026 Winter Olympic break.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar said the Kings are more dangerous offensively than they were before, pointing to the way the club has reshuffled its lines since adding Panarin. He described the combination of Adrian Kempe, Anze Kopitar and Panarin as a dangerous line and said Los Angeles has played well since the break and since Panarin joined the team.
Los Angeles interim coach D.J. Smith, who took over after Jim Hiller was fired on March 1, pointed to Colorado’s top-seeded regular season as the reason the Avalanche entered the series as the favorite. He said his group would need special performances from one, two or maybe three players over a two-week stretch, and he believes the Kings have that kind of talent in the room.
The numbers make the opening game more than a formality. In the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, teams that took a 1-0 lead in a best-of-7 series went on to win 535 of 787 series, an all-time mark of.680. Colorado won 53 games in the regular season and finished 53-22-7, while Los Angeles reached the postseason with Panarin on a hot streak of 27 points in 26 games, including nine goals and 18 assists.
The first game also put the injuries in sharper focus. Kadri said it felt great to get back on the ice, noted that the injury was not a lower-body issue, and said he had stayed in condition by skating a day or two after getting hurt. For Colorado, that matters because the Avalanche cannot afford a slow start against a Kings team that has already shown it can change shape quickly.
