LOS ANGELES \u2014 Maybe it shouldn\u2019t have been a surprise that the Avalanche so easily absorbed the Kings\u2019 desperate, game-opening push with L.A.\u2019s season on the line in Game 4.<\/p>\n
The Colorado Avalanche were inevitable for four straight games, sucking the life out of the Los Angeles Kings whenever the outmatched underdogs pushed for control in a game. Nathan MacKinnon\u2019s first goal of the series gave Colorado control in the first period of Game 4. By the time Cale Makar picked up the puck on the offensive line, exploiting Taylor Ward in a mismatched one-on-one before sniping short side past Anton Forsberg, the impending sweep was clear.<\/p>\n
Colorado can win in too many ways, with too many depth players capable of playing on ordinary teams\u2019 No. 1 lines. The battle level might have been close, as were the scores in the individual games. But there was never anything but a sense of control about the Avalanche as they turned a hard-working Los Angeles team into a first-round formality, beating the Kings 5-1 in Game 4.<\/p>\n
When the Kings\u2019 first-period push led to two power plays, the Avalanche put on a penalty-killing clinic. There was Artturi Lehkonen putting star scorer Artemi Panarin in his pocket. There was Jack Drury diving to turn Anze Kopitar\u2019s faceoff win into a clearance for the aggressive Avalanche penalty kill.<\/p>\n
And then there was MacKinnon himself, striking 16 seconds into Colorado\u2019s first power play \u2014 an inevitable interference penalty caused by Lehkonen being too much for Brian Dumoulin to handle in front of the Kings\u2019 net. Trade deadline acquisition Nazem Kadri \u2014 the \u201cthird line\u201d center who played the No. 1 role for Calgary most of the season \u2014 was the player who found the seam for MacKinnon. Makar\u2019s second-period brilliance held as the game-winning goal, while Nicolas Roy and Devon Toews added to the onslaught in the third period.<\/p>\n
Colorado\u2019s depth of star power was too much for Los Angeles, just as it has been for NHL teams since the puck dropped on the 2025-26 season. The Avalanche trailed for just three minutes and 21 seconds this series\u00a0\u2014 the time between Panarin\u2019s Game 2 goal and captain Gabriel Landeskog\u2019s equalizer in the third period.<\/p>\n
The end of Game 4 took an emotional turn, with \u201cKopi! Kopi!\u201d and \u201cThank you, Kopi!\u201d chants breaking out in honor of Kopitar\u2019s final game in the NHL. Kopitar, who\u2019d announced that this would be his final season at the start of training camp, was visibly emotional in the game\u2019s dying seconds, throughout the post-series handshake line, and again during a final salute to Kings fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a hell of a ride,\u201d Kopitar said in an emotional postgame press conference.<\/p>\n
MacKinnon (and Avalanche power play) breaks through<\/p>\n
Nathan MacKinnon entered Game 4 without a goal this series. Colorado\u2019s power play entered without a goal, too.<\/p>\n
By the end of the first period Sunday, neither of those statements were true. Early in Colorado\u2019s first power play of the game, MacKinnon drifted across the slot, where Kadri found him with a pass. MacKinnon one-timed it past Anton Forsberg. The Rocket Richard Trophy winner pumped his fist.<\/p>\n
The breakthrough was inevitable. Kings head coach D.J. Smith was asked before the game how it could be that MacKinnon could have zero goals yet Los Angeles had no wins. As the reporter landed on MacKinnon\u2019s stat line, Smith took a moment to knock on the wooden table in front of him for luck. It wasn\u2019t enough, MacKinnon got on the board, and the Avalanche never looked back. His empty netter made it 5-1 Avalanche with 5:38 to go in the third period, assuring Colorado the sweep.<\/p>\n
The end of the road for Kopitar<\/p>\n
Anze Kopitar\u2019s career has ended at Crypto.com Arena, in front of the only home crowd he\u2019s ever known in his 20-season NHL career. He was visibly emotional during a final salute to the 18,145 fans in attendance, who gave him a standing ovation after the postseries handshake line.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt hit me (with) about five or six minutes to go that this could be it. For the last 20 years, I\u2019ve never experienced that emotion. \u2026 Now it\u2019s done. It\u2019s hard to comprehend,\u201d Kopitar said.<\/p>\n
The Kings\u2019 captain was moved by the response he got from Kings fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was hard to keep it together, really. Being here for 20 years \u2014 more than half of my lifetime \u2014 it\u2019s extremely special. This has been home for us for 20 years and I really appreciate the fans,\u201d Kopitar said.<\/p>\n
Kopitar finishes his career with 452 goals, 864 assists and 1,316 points in 1,521 regular season games \u2013 the 38th-highest point total in NHL history. His playoff numbers \u2013 27 goals, 62 assists, and 89 points in 107 playoff games \u2013 are 143rd-best in NHL history. The 38-year-old Slovenian center\u2019s resume includes two Stanley Cups, two Selke Trophies as the league\u2019s top defensive forward, three Lady Byng Memorial Trophies as the league\u2019s most gentlemanly player, and one Mark Messier Leadership Award.<\/p>\n
Kopitar\u2019s zero points in four games was part of the reason Los Angeles was swept; like so many Kings, he was unable to turn the tide against Colorado\u2019s sheer volume of star power. His backhand drive early in the third period nearly gave the Kings some life and he had Martin Ne\u010das tied up on Devon Toews\u2019 4-1 goal. It wasn\u2019t enough to save the series, but Kopitar\u2019s efforts were noble in defeat.<\/p>\n
Kopitar\u2019s strongest postgame emotions were reserved for his two children, Ne\u017ea and Jakob. He thanked his wife, Ines, profusely, saying that their kids were kind and respectful above all else. He said he\u2019s studied his daughter\u2019s instructions for ponytails.<\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s excited to become a full-time dad: \u201cNow they get to wake up in the morning and come barging in the room and see me there. That\u2019s what they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kopitar will finish his career as the Kings\u2019 all-time leading scorer, passing Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne on March 13 with his 1,308th point. It is likely that Los Angeles retires his No. 11, with Kopitar\u2019s status as one of the all-time-great Kings players assured.<\/p>\n
How does Kopitar want to be remembered?<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a good teammate. \u2026 And, I guess, as a two-time Stanley Cup champion. That works.\u201d<\/p>\n
Are the Avalanche the Stanley Cup favorites?<\/p>\n
Colorado has three first-line centers in MacKinnon, Kadri, and Nelson, the best defenseman in the world, and a supporting cast that is so deep in star power that Necas, Gabe Landeskog, and Lehkonen get discussed as complementary players. Meanwhile, Scott Wedgewood and MacKenzie Blackwood give them an elite goaltending tandem.<\/p>\n