DENVER -- The Los Angeles Kings dropped Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round to the Colorado Avalanche 2-1 at Ball Arena on Sunday.
For the first time in five years, the Los Angeles Kings did not open the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a divisional showdown against the Edmonton Oilers. However, they did start the postseason with a date against the Presidents' Trophy winner, a team who finished the regular season with 121 points.
Despite owning the third-worst penalty kill in the NHL and facing the league's most dynamic offense that features that top goal scorer in Nathan MacKinnon, Los Angeles held Colorado scoreless on four power-play opportunities.
"It's a chess match," Mikey Anderson said. "It's nice to build on that and hopefully carry that forward."
Colorado got the scoring started when Artturi Lehkonen collected a rebound off the stick of MacKinnon and sweep it past Forsberg with 4:31 left in the second period. The assist marked MacKinnon's 71st in his 96th career postseason game.
The Avalanche doubled the lead in the early stages of the third period when Joel Edmundson mishandled the puck in the Kings defensive zone, allowing Logan O'Connor, who did not record a goal in the regular season, to swoop up the loose puck and race defenseman Cody Ceci to the front of the net before flipping one over Forsberg's glove.
Apr 19, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor (25) celebrates his goal in the third period against the Los Angeles Kings in game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena.
Game 1 presented unfamiliar territory for Scott Wedgewood, who made his first postseason start and saved 24 of 25 shots to en route to Colorado's 2-1 victory. Wedgewood came into Game 1 fresh off a remarkable regular season in which he led the NHL in goals allowed per game, save percentage and ranked fourth in total wins. The 33-year-old became the third-oldest goalie in NHL history to earn a win in their first playoff start.
"I think we can do a little more offensively by challenging their defense and making it harder to make saves," Scott Laughton said.
Anton Forsberg, who entered the postseason coming off his first career NHL Star of the Week honor, made his Kings playoff debut and saved 28 of 30 shots.
Artemi Panarin collected the lone Los Angeles goal in his first playoff game as a member of the Kings on a power-play with 2:22 remaining, firing a wrist shot that found its way through traffic with the help of Anze Kopitar at the top of the crease.
Los Angeles could not generate a shot on goal after the Panarin score, leading to a loss in the opening game of the best-of-seven series with Colorado.
Los Angeles will look to even the series Tuesday night in Game 2 before heading home to Crypto.com Arena for Game 3 on Thursday.
NOTES: Game 1 between Los Angeles and Colorado showcased physicality on both sides, with 84 hits combined between the two teams. The Kings came into postseason play posting the fifth-worst power-play conversion rate after scoring just 17% of the time in the regular season. The Kings had the edge in the dot, winning 55.6% of face-offs in Game 1. Prior to Panarin's 22nd postseason goal of his career to cut the lead in half, Los Angeles struggled on the man-advantage – failing to score on the first three power-play chances. Defenseman Brandt Clarke picked up his first career playoff assist as the secondary helper on the Panarin goal. Kopitar, who is set to retire after 20 seasons with the Kings, began his 11th Stanley Cup Playoffs and notched his 104th postseason appearance in Sunday's loss to Colorado.