Avalanche vs – Cale Makar scored the tiebreaker as Colorado held off the Los Angeles Kings 4-2, taking a commanding 3-0 series lead.
LOS ANGELES — The Colorado Avalanche closed in on the next round with another win that felt both earned and a little bit lucky, beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-2 to take a 3-0 series lead.
Cale Makar’s tiebreaking goal landed the decisive blow. Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves in his first playoff series start. and Colorado now needs just one more result to advance.. For fans watching the focus shift from individual matchups to the bigger picture. the message from this series has been clear: the Avalanche are tighter defensively. and when the goals come. they come at the exact moments that swing momentum.
Gabriel Landeskog and Artturi Lehkonen scored for Colorado. with both strikes shaped by deflections—first a wrist shot from Landeskog that caromed off the end boards and Forsberg’s skate. then Lehkonen’s pass during a fast odd-man rush that ricocheted through Forsberg’s legs off Adrian Kempe.. Those “bounce” goals don’t erase the structure that created them. but they do matter in playoff math. where margins shrink and every bounce becomes a potential turning point.
Colorado’s control showed up most in how it handled the Kings’ best moments.. The Kings managed to get on the board twice and finally found two goals in the series. but they couldn’t create the tying sequence after Kempe’s power-play tally with 4:03 remaining.. Brock Nelson’s empty-net goal with 2:18 left sealed the score and ensured Los Angeles would return home staring down elimination on Sunday.
There’s a reason the Kings feel trapped in this series’ rhythm.. Nathan MacKinnon, the player Colorado leans on for offense, has been kept off the scoresheet so far.. Yet Colorado has still found ways to win, largely by spreading production across different lines and different game states.. Colorado coach Jared Bednar pointed to that approach after the latest result—saying offense has been difficult to generate at times. but that different players have stepped up in different situations.
For Los Angeles, the underlying problem is not effort—it’s efficiency.. Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe supplied the offense this time, and Anton Forsberg kept the score respectable with 19 saves.. Still. Colorado has allowed only four goals across three games. and the Kings have struggled to translate chances into sustained pressure.. Misryoum has often seen playoff series decided by the difference between “looks” and finishes. and in this case the Kings have missed too many of the latter.
What makes this series so stark is how quickly it moved from competing to almost coasting on results.. After grinding out two 2-1 wins in Denver. the Avalanche took care of business again in Los Angeles with fundamentally sound hockey. then added the finishing touch when opportunities arrived.. The narrative has become tougher for the Kings: Los Angeles is now facing the prospect of being eliminated in the first round for a fifth consecutive season. and this defeat marked a seventh straight playoff loss dating back to last spring.
Cale Makar’s performance underscores why Colorado’s defense has become the foundation for everything else.. After a Norris Trophy-level regular season. the star defenseman has continued to deliver in the postseason—this time by creating separation at the precise time the Kings threatened to narrow the gap.. Misryoum will be watching how Makar and the Avalanche back end play when the series shifts to a single-game mindset on Sunday. because Colorado’s ability to manage the puck and take away space has been the quiet constant.
A key human note inside the game: Josh Manson left Game 3 early with an upper-body injury, and Bednar said he’ll be re-evaluated before Sunday’s matchup. Injuries can change line matchups and reduce margin for error, so even with a 3-0 lead, Colorado will need to protect its depth.
Now the stakes turn almost immediate.. Game 4 is set for Sunday in Los Angeles. and a loss would end Anze Kopitar’s 20-year NHL career—an emotional storyline that adds weight beyond the scoreboard.. For the Kings. the challenge is straightforward: break down Colorado’s structure faster than it can reset. find ways to score without relying on perfect timing or luck. and avoid another game where a small lapse becomes a goal.
Colorado, meanwhile, is one win away from moving on.. But playoff hockey rarely rewards complacency. and with deflection goals and tight goaltending already playing a role. Misryoum expects the Avalanche to treat the final step as something earned—because the Kings will arrive desperate. and desperation often produces the fastest. ugliest kind of hockey.