Avalanche push Kings to the brink. What's really at stake the rest of the series?

LOS ANGELES — With the Colorado Avalanche up 3-0 on the Los Angeles Kings after Thursday night’s 4-2 win, the final result of this first-round series feels inevitable. Yes, the Kings came back from the same deficit in 2014 series against the San Jose Sharks. But the 2025-26 Kings don’t have peak Anže Kopitar, Drew Doughty or Jonathan Quick, and the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche both scored the most goals in the league and allowed the fewest.Advertisement