WHO: Los Angeles Kings (0-1) @ Colorado Avalanche (1-0)
WHAT: 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs – Round 1, Game 2
WHEN: Tuesday, April 21 @ 7:00 PM Pacific
WHERE: Ball Arena – Denver, CO
HOW TO FOLLOW: VIDEO: FanDuel Sports Network So-Cal, ESPN – AUDIO – ESPN LA 710, ESPN LA App & LA Kings App – TWITTER: @dooleylak & @lakings

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The LA Kings will look to even the best-of-seven series tonight in Game 2, coming off a hard-fought, 2-1 defeat in Game 1 on Sunday afternoon.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Forward Artemi Panarin scored his team’s only goal in Game 1, a power-play tally in the third period, as he became the 13th player in Kings history to score a power-play goal in his playoff debut with the organization. Forward Alex Laferriere and defenseman Brandt Clarke tallied the assists on the play, giving Laferriere four assists over his last four playoff games, dating back to last season.

KINGS VITALS: The Kings did not practice on Monday and held a full morning skate earlier today at Ball Arena.

Would think Anton Forsberg is tonight’s projected starter between the pipes for Game 2, off a great showing in Game 1. Forsberg delivered a stout effort in Game 1, his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut, as he made 28 saves on 30 shots against in the 2-1 defeat.

For reference, here is the Game 1 lineup for the Kings –

Today’s @LAKings Line Rushes –

Panarin – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Armia – Laughton – Wright
Malott – Helenius – Joseph

Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci

Forsberg
Kuemper

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) April 19, 2026

Unsure on any potential changes for tonight’s lineup. I would not envision any changes on the blueline or within the Top-9, so if anything were to change, I’d expect it to be on the fourth line. More on that below.

AVALANCHE VITALS: Colorado has split the first two games in each of its last three opening-round series, including 2023 at home versus Seattle, and brings the 1-0 series lead into tonight’s Game 2.

Per the Colorado team account, here’s how the hosts lined up on Sunday in Game 1 –

Round 1️⃣ Game 1️⃣ pic.twitter.com/SP7O2F7FIo

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 19, 2026

Colorado got goals from forwards Artturi Lehkonen and Logan O’Connor in their Game 1 win. Lehkonen has now scored in three of his last four playoff games, dating back to last season while O’Connor’s goal was the game winner, the second game-winning goal of his career in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Storyline Of The Day – Tip Of The Forsberg
Prior to Game 1 on Sunday, the last playoff game at any level Anton Forsberg had started was Game 4 of the 2016 Calder Cup Finals.

He was playing for a Lake Erie Monsters team that had actually eliminated Adrian Kempe and the Ontario Reign in the Western Conference Finals. Forsberg won Game 4 in shutout fashion to help lead his team to the title.

Nearly 10 years later, Forsberg was back in the crease for a playoff game, with heightened circumstances. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are a different animal but you wouldn’t have known it if you watched Game 1. Forsberg looked sharp, composed and dialed in, as he did for most of the month of April. As has been noted, Forsberg’s April splits were arguably the best in the NHL but as we all know, everything resets after Game 82.

Per both SportLOGIQ, which measures goals saved above expected and Natural Stat Trick, which measures goals saved above average, Forsberg saved just shy one goal saved above by both metrics. It was a good showing, in which he allowed two goals but prevented several others, keeping the Kings within firing distance across the 60 minutes. Certainly did his job in Game 1.

“He’s in exceptional shape, he works hard at it, he’s been given an opportunity and he’s doing a good job,” Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith said. “He’s doing a good job. He’s always been kind of second fiddle to the top dogs but he’s getting an opportunity and he’s doing real well. He’s giving us a chance to win.”

Coming into the playoffs, I think that there was obviously an inclination that Forsberg would start, based on his performances down the stretch, but the Kings were non-committal between he and Darcy Kuemper, who has a far more established history and pedigree, including a Stanley Cup championship with these Colorado Avalanche in 2022.

Right now, though, while experience is important, relying on those who are peaking at the right time is even more important. That certainly pointed towards Forsberg, who has played some of the best hockey of his career during the month of April.

“At this time of the year, you need whoever is performance, whether that be him or a forward or a [defenseman],” Smith added. “Whoever is playing the best is going to play.”

Both goals the Avalanche scored on Sunday came from the inner slot, meaning that Forsberg handled everything else that came his way. The highlight-reel saves on Grade-A chances are important but not allowing one that was well-defended, from the outside, is also important. Forsberg stopped all of those kinds of shots last time out and it helped keep the Kings where they needed to be, within reach in the final stages.

“He made the saves when we needed him, he kept us in that game, he kept it at 2-1, 2-0, they had chances there late in the third, where it could open up a bit,” defenseman Brian Dumoulin said of Forsberg. “He’s been giving us a chance to win every game and that’s all you can ask for.”

In Game 2, the pressure is likely to mount even more, meaning the Kings will need Forsberg to deliver another showing like he gave in Game 1. So far, since he’s been given the bulk of the starts, he has been able to continue his strong level of play. The moment has yet to feel too big for him and that’s been important, for someone who hasn’t really had this kind of spotlight at the NHL level. It’s only going to get brighter and the Kings will need similar things when it does.

“He’s been great for us down the stretch, he’s made some huge saves when you need him to,” defenseman Mikey Anderson said of Forsberg. “He’s been calm, he’s collected, he’s a good guy to have back there. Whether it’s him, Darce or whoever we have, they’ve both been great for us, but it was good to see him continue his good play.”

3 To Watch For –
– The Kings penalty kill was dialed in during Game 1.

Called into action four times, the Kings went 4-of-4 on Sunday, with a couple of extremely impressive kills along the way. During the regular season, Los Angeles ranked 30th of the 32 teams in the NHL but come the postseason, those numbers all reset to zero. The Kings were able to win the special teams battle in Game 1, which gave them a chance against Colorado.

“Really good,” forward Alex Laferriere said of the PK in Game 1. “Those guys have a lot of really talented players out there and it’s hard to keep them off the scoresheet. Anytime we’re able to do that is really good and I thought it created a lot of momentum for out team.”

In terms of adjustments, that’s now the name of the game. As things reset between the regular season and playoffs, it has to be the same thing between playoff games. It worked in Game 1, but will the same thing work in Game 2, against a team that may have changed things up themselves?

The Kings made a detailed plan heading into Game 1 and now it’s about small tweaks of things that maybe didn’t work as well while continuing to do the same things that worked well. You have to consider, though, that the things that worked well are probably things Colorado is looking at too, things they might want to alter or change, and there is a ton of top-end talent on that power play. Can’t expect every night to be perfect, but it’ll remain very important.

One thing that went well was Scott Laughton going 3-of-4 in the faceoff circle on the PK, which allowed for a couple of early clears. It may sound small, but immediately seeing two minutes become say 1:40 is a massive start and it gives you a chance to deny a zone entry and dwindle that number even further. Against Edmonton, every Oilers power play felt four minutes long, because the Kings rarely ever got that reprieve.

“It was really good, I thought our defensemen and Bergy were really good and we were good off faceoffs, a lot of talk,” Laughton added. “They’ve got a lot of firepower over there, it’s a lot to deal with and handle, but I thought we had a great pre-scout and figured it out [in Game 1].”

They did a good job there in Game 1 and will need to continue that in Game 2, whether through the same formula or not.

– In terms of tonight’s lineup, let’s see what we get here.

Personally, I would keep the Top-9 together, as it was assembled in Game 1.

The top two lines go without saying and I thought the third line had an extremely hardworking night and were able to hold their own. They actually had the best expected goals for numbers among any forward line. Joel Armia drew two penalties, though he also took two, and Laughton was excellent in the dot, on top of a team-high five shots on goal. Didn’t think the moment looked too big for Jared Wright either. Thought his speed was again noticeable and he made a few things happen.

The Kings will need some kind of production from that line throughout the series, so you assess these things game-by-game. For tonight, I wouldn’t touch it.

The fourth line was on the ice for the game-winning goal against and took a penalty, on a night when they got hemmed in pretty routinely. That goal came on a neutral-zone turnover and those just can’t happen for that line. You want to see them help set the tone physically but they were in the defensive zone for most of Game 1. Colorado’s fourth line is more of a third line and that’s a tough matchup, but it’s an important matchup. The Kings need better minutes from that group going forward.

“Yeah, that’s fair,” Smith said, when asked if he needs more from that line tonight. “If you look at last game, their so-called fourth line scored. Our fourth line has been really good for us, over stretches, since I’ve taken over. We need them to be good in this series and we need to get them some minutes to provide other guys more time and to have harder shifts. If I’ve got to shorten it too early, it doesn’t help our team. They have really good depth, so they’re going to be a really big part of this and we’re going to need them.”

I wouldn’t expect drastic changes, but however that line looks tonight, they need to provide more than they did on Sunday. We’ll see what we get. If personnel remains the same, the Kings need a better night from that line in Game 2.

– Lastly, I suppose you could call this an injury update, but asked Brian Dumoulin about the play in Game 1 when he blocked a shot with the side of his leg and had to be helped off the ice.

“It just hit a nerve and my leg went numb,” he said this morning. “I haven’t had that sensation before, but it seemed like a lot of people knew where it hit and what was going on. As soon as I got back to the bench, it kind of came back and I was good after that.”

Scary in the moment, any time you see a player need assistance getting back to the bench, but ultimately good news. Dumoulin didn’t miss all that much time and was able to take his regular shifts and finish the game. He’s good to go for Game 2 and beyond. Thought he was very strong in Game 1 and that pair, per MoneyPuck, had strong underlying metrics when on the ice. Dumoulin has a ton of playoff experience, familiarity and comfort. Kings will need that level of play continued heading into Game 2.

Kings and Avalanche, 7 PM puck drop on Pacific time, 8 PM local here in Denver. See if the Kings can find a way to level this series before heading home for Game 3 on Thursday!