The Colorado Avalanche are one game away from a sweep as they prepare to face the Los Angeles Kings on the road for Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round series Sunday.
However, don’t mistake the chance for a sweep as the Avalanche dominating the Kings. The first two games in Denver were 2-1 games, and in Game 2, the Avalanche needed a goal from Gabriel Landeskog with 3:35 left in regulation to force overtime.
Thursday’s Game 3 in Los Angeles was another tight affair that Colorado pulled out 4-2 thanks to a Brock Nelson’s empty-netter sealing the win with 2:18 left.
Colorado will likely be down a key player Sunday. Sturdy defenseman Josh Manson took a hit from Joel Edmundson with about 90 seconds in the first period Thursday. He tried to play in the second period, but exited for good with 12 minutes left in the period.
On Saturday, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters that Manson was still sore and unlikely to play Sunday.
Manson has two assists in the series, including a helper on Landeskog’s Game 3 goal. Both Manson and fellow blueliner Devon Toews share the lead in assists for Colorado in the series.
Forward Artturi Lehkonen leads Colorado with three points on two goals and an assist. He scored a short-handed goal with less than 13 minutes left in Thursday’s game to give the Avalanche a 3-1 lead.
On Friday, Kings coach D.J. Smith told reporters there would be some changes to the lineup. However, Smith said there would not be any drastic moves, with maybe a couple new faces and possibly reconfiguring the top two lines.
“Honestly, they get a bounce on the first goal,” Smith said. “If we get a bounce, we’re sitting here with a different story. So, I think you got to stick with what you’re doing. You just got to do it better, longer and harder.”
The Kings, who scored the fourth-fewest goals (220) in the regular season, have been led by Artemi Panarin. The forward acquired in early February from the New York Rangers has two of the team’s four goals in the series. He shares the lead in points with Alex Laferriere, who has three assists.
The closeness of the games should not come as a surprise. Colorado, which allowed the fewest goals (197), and Los Angeles, which allowed the seventh-fewest (238), are in one of only two first-round series that feature both teams ranked in the top seven in goals allowed.
Colorado also led the league in goals scored (298). However, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Cale Makar, who all averaged better than a point per game in the regular season, have so far been held to just three points combined in the series. Makar, a defenseman, has the only goal amongst the trio.
Each playoff series presents a different challenge, Bednar told reporters Saturday. This series has put the defense to the test, which he said it has passed, but the coach said the Avalanche’s best game this series could be yet to come.
“For all we know, if you’re fortunate to move on, this can be the best defending team that we play in the whole entire playoffs,” he said. “You have to be prepared to hit the ground running and play the way you need to play right away without having any lapses.”
