Martin Necas set up Gabriel Landeskog’s tying goal with 3:35 left in the third period, then helped push the Colorado Avalanche past the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in overtime Tuesday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference first round. The win put Colorado ahead 2-0 in the best-of-seven series.
Necas sent the puck to Nathan MacKinnon at 2:22 of overtime, but Brandt Clarke got in the way and blocked the shot before Colorado finally finished the job. It was the kind of sequence that showed why the Avalanche have leaned on Necas since landing him in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes and Jack Drury on Jan. 24, 2025.
Necas has answered with the best season of his career. He finished the regular season with 100 points, including 38 goals and 62 assists in 78 games, far beyond the 83 combined points he had last season between Carolina and Colorado. MacKinnon said he has been unreal all season, and coach Jared Bednar said Necas has grown in confidence, in his role and in the system the Avalanche play.
The numbers explain why Colorado is so dangerous now. Necas was briefly sidelined in concussion protocol after a hit from Mikey Anderson at 9:41 of the first period, but he returned and kept driving play. That mattered in a game that stayed tight until the third-period equalizer and then swung on a single overtime chance. Scott Wedgewood called him probably one of the best neutral-zone skaters in the league, a useful label for a team trying to control every inch of ice in April.
There is still work left, but the Avalanche have put themselves in position to press the series in Los Angeles. Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday at Crypto.com Arena at 10 p.m. ET, and a third straight win would leave the Kings staring at a near-impossible climb.