Kings keep pace, but Avalanche take control with 3–0 series lead

Apr. 23, 2026 — Los Angeles, Calif. — Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O’Connor (25) and Los Angeles Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg (31) in Game 3 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea

The gap between the Los Angeles Kings and the Colorado Avalanche was clear long before the puck dropped in this first-round series. One entered the postseason as the NHL’s most complete team, finishing with 55 wins, 121 points and the Presidents’ Trophy. The other fought through the margins, setting an all-time league record with 33 overtime games and 20 overtime losses, just to secure a playoff berth.

Three games in, that gap has shown up on the scoreboard.

The Kings sit in a 0–3 hole despite their efforts. Game 1 and Game 2 both ended 2–1, with the Kings holding Colorado’s high-powered offense in check on the road and coming within four minutes of returning home with a split. The Avalanche, who scored a league-best 298 goals during the regular season (3.63 per game), managed just four total goals across those two games.

Game 3, a 4–2 loss in Los Angeles, underscored the gap between the two teams. The Kings didn’t get overwhelmed, as they haven’t for most of the season — the opponent simply capitalized on their mistakes in key moments. A turnover by Drew Doughty behind his own net led to one goal. A missed one-timer from Adrian Kempe on the power play turned into a shorthanded goal the other way. A mismanaged line change late, with Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg heading to the bench, effectively sealed the game with an empty-net goal.

“Yeah, definitely,” Doughty said of the preventable goals. “I definitely thought some were avoidable, but that’s the way she goes sometimes. We’re not going to give up. We’ve still got another game at home and it’s a must-win game, obviously, and we’re going to give it our all.”

What stands out most is Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche, the league’s leading goal scorer with 53 in the regular season, who has been held without a goal and limited to one assist through three games — a reality that highlights the imbalance. Colorado’s mistakes don’t carry the same weight because of its depth, speed and ability to generate offense from multiple sources. The Kings don’t have that luxury, where every missed chance, including 13 missed shots through two periods in Game 3, according to coach D. J. Smith, becomes magnified.

Ultimately, execution is the difference. The Kings have shown they belong in the postseason, but they have yet to show they are the better team.

Historically, the odds are overwhelming. Only four of 213 teams in NHL history have come back from a 3–0 deficit in a best-of-seven series. The last to do it? The Kings themselves in 2014.

If there is a silver lining, it’s history. But it may be slimmer than the margin for error in Game 4 in Los Angeles, where the Kings must win to avoid a sweep.