Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg, right, protects the near post against the Calgary Flames’ Victor Olofsson, center, as the Kings’ Scott Laughton, left, checks Olofsson during the third period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Mikey Anderson, left, and Scott Laughton, right, check the Calgary Flames’ Blake Coleman during the first period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Trevor Moore, front, checks the Calgary Flames’ Zayne Parekh to the ice during the first period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Adrian Kempe, left, and the Calgary Flames’ Mikael Backlund, right, race for the puck during the first period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Artemi Panarin, left, is checked by the Calgary Flames’ Matt Coronato during the first period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Kings captain Anze Kopitar, right, crashes into Calgary Flames goalie Arsenii Sergeev as he grabs the puck during the first period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Adrian Kempe, right, looks on as Calgary Flames goalie Arsenii Sergeev kicks away his shot during the first period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Adrian Kempe, left, and the Calgary Flames’ Mikael Backlund race for the puck during the first period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Quinton Byfield, right, scores past Calgary Flames goaltender Arsenii Sergeev (40) during the second period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Quinton Byfield, center, celebrates his goal with teammates Trevor Moore, left, and Alex Laferriere during the second period of their game against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Kings defenseman Drew Doughty, left, checks the Calgary Flames’ Joel Farabee during the second period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Joel Edmundson, right, checks the Calgary Flames’ Blake Coleman during the second period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Trevor Moore, right, is checked by the Calgary Flames’ Hunter Brzustewicz during the second period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg deflects a shot with the butt of his stick during the third period of a game against the Calgary Flames on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Kings’ Mathieu Joseph, right, is checked by the Calgary Flames’ Adam Klapka during the third period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
The Calgary Flames’ Zayne Parekh (19) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period of a game against the Kings on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg, right, protects the near post against the Calgary Flames’ Victor Olofsson, center, as the Kings’ Scott Laughton, left, checks Olofsson during the third period on Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Calgary, Alberta. (Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press via AP)
CALGARY, Alberta — The Kings spent the past few weeks surging their way into the playoffs.
The reward for that effort is a first-round series against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche.
Arsenii Sergeev made 27 saves to earn the win in his first NHL start, Zayne Parekh broke a third-period tie and the Calgary Flames beat the Kings, 3-1, on Thursday night in the regular-season finale for both teams.
The Kings finished in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference and will square off with the Avalanche in a best-of-seven series that begins Sunday at noon PT in Denver.
“For us, I don’t think it matters,” Kings coach D.J. Smith told NHL.com. “Whoever we were going to play, we’d be the underdog and kind of coming from the back, we’re playing well. We know there’s going to be spurts where they’re going to be really, really good. But we’re going to have to look at it and manage those times. We’ve got some guys playing well here as well, so we’re going to find out.”
The Kings brought an eight-game point streak (6-0-2) into the finale with the potential to ascend as high as second place in the Pacific Division, but wins by the Ducks (5-4 against the Nashville Predators) and Edmonton Oilers (6-1 against the Vancouver Canucks) locked them into the second wild card regardless of their result against the Flames.
“Last month of the season’s probably been the best month for this team,” Kings captain Anze Kopitar told NHL.com. “You’re carrying maybe the most momentum you’ve had all year into the postseason at the right time.
“Now this is a whole different animal. The intensity ramps up, everything ramps up. Every mistake, every little play magnifies now and we’re going to have to go out there and compete and just work our [butts] off.”
Quinton Byfield scored his fourth goal in the past three games for the Kings (35-27-20, 90 points), and Anton Forsberg made 18 saves.
Morgan Frost, Zayne Parekh and Joel Farabee scored and Zach Whitecloud had two assists for the Flames (34-39-9, 77 points), who missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Sergeev, who made several spectacular saves in his debut, was recalled from Calgary of the AHL on an emergency basis with Devin Cooley out (illness).
The Kings had a 10-2 shots advantage in a scoreless first period, but they weren’t able to beat Sergeev, whose best save came midway through the frame when he reached behind to make a paddle save on a shot by Trevor Moore.
The Flames’ Adam Klapka hit the crossbar with less than 30 seconds left in the opening period.
Frost opened the scoring at 5:21 of the second period when he tipped in a pass from Matvei Gridin on a power play for his 22nd goal of the season.
Byfield tied it less than two minutes later when he converted a goal-mouth pass from Moore for his 24th goal of the season. Byfield has four goals and five points in his past three games and has scored in six consecutive road contests.
“He’s just playing confident, he’s playing loose,” Smith told NHL.com. “He’s making plays. I think this is the player that I, myself, envisioned him always being. I think (what) a lot of people don’t understand with ‘Q’ is he learned the game the right way, playing under ‘Kopi’ and all these other centers that were ahead of him when he got here.”
Parekh broke the tie 6:08 into the third period when he ripped a shot past Forsberg from the left circle after controlling the puck and skating in that part of the ice for a few seconds.
Farabee scored into an empty net with 40 seconds left to reach 20 goals for the season.
Kopitar, who has announced he will retire when his 20th NHL season ends, played in his final regular-season game and finished with 452 goals and 864 assists for 1,316 points in 1,520 career games.
The Calgary fans gave him a standing ovation during a play stoppage in the middle of the first period. After the game, each member of the Flames lined up to shake Kopitar’s hand, a scene that has played out repeatedly as he makes his final visits to different arenas.
KINGS VS. AVALANCHE SCHEDULE
All times are PT
Game 1 – at Avalanche, Sunday, noon, TNT, truTV
Game 2 – at Avalanche, Tuesday, 7 p.m., ESPN
Game 3 – at Kings, Thurs., April 23, 7 p.m., TNT, truTV
Game 4 – at Kings, Sun., April 26, 1:30 p.m., TNT, truTV
x-Game 5 – at Avalanche, Wed., April 29, TBA
x-Game 6 – at Kings, Fri., May 1, TBA
x-Game 7 – at Avalanche, Sun., May 3, TBA
x – If necessary