After dispatching the Los Angeles Kings in four games, the Colorado Avalanche now get some well-earned rest before the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Everyone could use it, some more than others.

“I think it’ll be good for everybody to rest up here for a few days, but especially a 41-year-old,” Gabriel Landeskog said with a smirk on his face.

Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) and defenseman Brent Burns (84) in the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 30, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

That 41-year-old is Brent Burns. The veteran of over 1,700 NHL games averaged over 18 minutes per game during the first round for the Avalanche. There’s also a very good argument to be made those four games against the Kings were four of the best he’s played in an Avalanche uniform, as he finished second among Colorado blue liners in expected goals-for percentage, behind only Cale Makar.

The Avalanche next meet the winner of a Stars-Wild series that entered Monday in a 2-2 tie.

Burns averaged over 3 minutes per game on the penalty kill, a unit that played very well in the first round, provided the Kings hadn’t pulled their goalie to make it a two-man advantage. Burns was smart with the puck in all situations and played with a bit more bite.

It’s hard for anyone to play a physical brand of hockey for all 82 regular season games, but for the 6-foot-5 Burns, he would pick and choose when to throw his body around. That wasn’t so much the case in the first round. He played physical and had some nastiness to his game.

And if you’re an opposing forward, that can’t be fun to deal with.

“It’s scary too, because that’s a man’s man, right?” Scott Wedgewood said of Burns’ increased physicality. “He might get mistaken for Sasquatch a couple times in his life. When he gets angry, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of it, but he’s still smart with it. I think he hits properly. He knows how to use his body, knows how to box guys out and he can still move and play the game.”

Colorado Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood, bottom left, makes a save as Edmonton Oilers’ Matt Savoie, center top, and Vasily Podkolzin (92) are knocked down by Avalanche’s Brett Kulak, top right, as Avaanche’s Brent Burns (84) looks on during second-period NHL hockey game action in Edmonton,Alberta, Monday, April 13, 2026. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Twenty-two years into his NHL career, Burns is still in search of his first Stanley Cup ring. If his play against the Kings is any indication, he’s awfully motivated to get that ring.

Toward the end of Game 2, Burns and Kings icon Anze Kopitar both went for a puck in the corner, like they have dozens of times against each other over the course of their careers. In a regular-season game, Burns might have just sealed him off looking to make the safe play.

This isn’t the regular season, though. Burns tossed Kopitar, a large man himself, down to the ice, separating him from the puck entirely and sending the Ball Arena crowd into a frenzy.

“I love it,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s easy to pick him out of the pack because that’s what it is: it’s physicality. He’s still playing the same way, moving the puck the same way, but there’s an engagement level from the physical side of it that really stands out when you watch it. That, to me, is Burnsy’s way — his urgency, desperation, understanding I know I can play this way and I’m going to do it right now to help our team win.”

If you’re on the Avalanche bench, how can you not be inspired watching someone like Burns still going all-out at this stage in his career? In many ways must be inspiring.

A large chunk of the core on this Avalanche team has already won, having experienced the highest of highs by reaching the top of the mountain in 2022. The desire to get back on top is high from this group, and the added motivation of helping Burns get his first ring doesn’t hurt either.

“It’s incredible that he’s competing as hard as he is,” Makar said.

Colorado Avalanche’s Cale Makar (8) brings the puck across the blue line against Los Angeles Kings during the first period of Game 4 in the first round of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Sunday, April 26, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Scott Strazzante)

“It goes a long way,” Landeskog added. “I think everybody feeds off that. Somebody (that’s) been so consistent for so long and obviously we know what’s at stake for everybody but especially him. To see how badly he wants it and be a part of this and what an impact he makes on a nightly basis, it’s huge.”

The Avalanche will take a few days off before returning to practice on Wednesday at Family Sports Center.