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Los Angeles Kings left wing Trevor Moore, center, scores on goaltender Scott Wedgewood, right, as defenseman Josh Manson defends during the second period of Game 3 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/AP<\/p>\n
Buffalo Sabres center Noah Ostlund celebrates after his goal against the Boston Bruins during the third period in Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Boston.<\/p>\n
Charles Krupa\/AP<\/p>\n
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) heads to the locker room following a loss to the Buffalo Sabres in Game 3 of a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series, Thursday, April 23, 2026, in Boston.<\/p>\n
Charles Krupa\/AP<\/p>\n
Anaheim Ducks left wing Jeffrey Viel, second from right, celebrates his goal with teammates as Edmonton Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram, left, stands in goal during the third period of Game 3 in the first round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs series Friday, April 24, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif.<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/AP<\/p>\n
Montreal Canadiens’ Lane Hutson celebrates after his winning goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning during overtime of Game 3 in a first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in Montreal, Friday, April 24, 2026. (Christinne Muschi\/The Canadian Press via AP)<\/p>\n
Christinne Muschi\/AP<\/p>\n
The Los Angeles Kings know all about coming back from a 3-0 deficit in the NHL playoffs.<\/p>\n
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The Kings trail the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 in their first-round series heading into Sunday’s Game 4. Los Angeles was down 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2014 postseason before rallying for the win.<\/p>\n
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They went on to capture the Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be loose now,\u201d Kings interim coach D.J. Smith said. \u201cYou know the end result if you don\u2019t win. Sometimes when that happens you grip it a little less and you make a play maybe you wouldn\u2019t have made early on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe No. 1 thing you can\u2019t do is get down on yourself, get down on your team, get down on your teammates. I don\u2019t see any of that in the room. \u2026 I don\u2019t feel for one second that anyone in that room doesn\u2019t think we can win our next hockey game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colorado leads a series 3-0 for the eighth time in franchise history. The last three times the Avalanche advanced in four games, including twice during their 2022 Cup run.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins<\/p>\n When\/Where to Watch: Game 4, Sunday, 2 p.m. EDT (TNT)<\/p>\n The Bruins will try to avoid a 3-1 deficit when they get back on the TD Garden ice against the Sabres on Sunday. The Bruins were 29-11-1 at home this season \u2014 tied for the most home wins in the league \u2014 going more than three months and 13 games without losing in Boston.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Sabres’ 24 away wins were tied for the most in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve been a good road team. We’ve put together some really good stretches on the road where we’ve played really well,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “I said you’re going to get a different type of atmosphere, but just believe in the way we need to play. And I thought we executed that to a \u2018T.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The teams had an extra day off after Game 3, which Buffalo won 3-1 to reclaim the home-ice advantage it earned by winning the Atlantic Division for its first playoff berth since 2011 \u2014 a drought that is the longest in NHL history.<\/p>\n The Bruins feel like they’re on the right track after scoring first in all three games.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a confident bunch here, and one game doesn\u2019t change that,” Boston forward Mark Kastelic said. “We\u2019ll have a good two days here to reset and continue to push forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings<\/p>\n When\/Where to Watch: Game 4, Sunday, 4:30 p.m. EDT (TNT)<\/p>\n Series: Avalanche lead 3-0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Known for their speed and scoring, the Avalanche have shown their defensive prowess, too, by winning a pair of low-scoring games.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re comfortable winning a 1-0 game. If it\u2019s a little bit more run-and-gun, you can do that, too,\u201d Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. \u201cIf it\u2019s physical, you\u2019re able to do that. It\u2019s well-rounded players that can play a 200-foot game that give you the best chance to win, and we have a team full of them.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kings have added incentive to prolong the season \u2014 Anze Kopitar. The Kings captain is set to retire after the season.<\/p>\n And Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns has an added incentive to end it quickly: He was on the 2014 Sharks team that blew a 3-0 lead to the Kings.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens<\/p>\n When\/Where to Watch: Game 4, Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN)<\/p>\n Series: Canadiens lead 2-1<\/p>\n All three games of the series have gone to overtime, with the Canadiens winning twice to improve to 21-6-6 in one-goal games this season.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Montreal\u2019s fourth line was a plus-3 in Game 3 and the Canadiens are ahead in the series despite not getting a 5-on-5 goal from their top line. Juraj Slafkovsky, who is on the No. 1 line, had three power-play goals in the series-opening 4-3 victory.<\/p>\n The Lightning are beating themselves with penalties and defensive lapses, including three breakaways on Friday night. They have to figure it out quickly or they\u2019ll be heading toward their fourth straight first-round exit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve held some pretty darn good players to limited chances in this series,\u201d Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. \u201cWe\u2019re just not capitalizing the way we think we can do some things. Our execution has to be (better), we have to elevate now. And it feels like we\u2019ve had bits and pieces of this series where we\u2019ve been pretty darn good, and on the other side of it it\u2019s been a struggle at times.\u201d<\/p>\n Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks<\/p>\n When\/Where to Watch: Game 4, Sunday, 9:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The two-time defending Western Conference champion Oilers appear to be in a bit of trouble against the upstart Ducks, who have scored 16 goals in the first three games to seize the series lead.<\/p>\n After four consecutive years of long springs stretching into summer, Connor McDavid and his teammates have looked weary. They\u2019ve made far too many mistakes in their own zone, with star defenseman Evan Bouchard standing out for his giveaways and errors in the Oilers\u2019 7-4 loss in Game 3.<\/p>\n \u201cAny time you let in seven, it\u2019s not a goalie problem,\u201d Oilers defenseman Zach Hyman said. \u201cIt\u2019s just (about) defending better. We didn\u2019t give ourselves a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Ducks are comfortable playing firewagon hockey as a mediocre-to-poor defensive team with the talent to outscore its mistakes, particularly with the backing of its frenzied home crowd at Orange County\u2019s first playoff hockey in eight years. The fans will be fired up again when the Ducks attempt to push Edmonton to the brink of its first opening-round exit since 2021.<\/p>\n AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham, Pat Graham and Rob Maaddi contributed to this report.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n<\/a>
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