Home HOCKEY NHL NHL Playoffs: Avalanche vs Kings Game 4 – Colorado Wins 5-1, Sweeps Series

NHL Playoffs: Avalanche vs Kings Game 4 – Colorado Wins 5-1, Sweeps Series

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Avalanche sweep Kings
Avalanche sweep Kings
 

Colorado beats Los Angeles 5-1 in Game 4 to sweep series on Anze Kopitar’s final night. MacKinnon scores twice, Wedgewood allows just 5 goals in series.


Avalanche complete sweep of Kings in Anze Kopitar’s last game. MacKinnon nears Forsberg, Makar climbs D-man playoff goal list...


The Colorado Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 in Game 4 on Sunday, completing a series sweep in Anze Kopitar’s final NHL game.

 
Colorado became the second team to sweep a series this postseason after Carolina did it to Ottawa on Saturday.

 
The Avs have now swept six of eight playoff series in which they’ve led 3-0 since moving to Denver for the 1995-1996 season.


Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood gave up no more than two goals in any game of the series, allowing just one goal in three of the four games for five total.


Colorado now awaits the winner of the Dallas-Minnesota series, which is tied 2-2 after the Wild’s overtime win Saturday.




Kopitar got a final standing ovation from Kings fans in the last two minutes, with “Thank you, Kopi!” chants breaking out as the clock ran out.


First Period: Avs Strike on Second Chance

The Avalanche came up empty on the game’s first power play but converted on their second chance.




Nathan MacKinnon, the NHL’s leading goal scorer this season, notched his first goal of the playoffs to give Colorado a 1-0 lead.


 

The goal was MacKinnon’s 56th in the postseason, putting him three away from passing Avs great Peter Forsberg for second in franchise history.

 
Gabriel Landeskog picked up his first assist of the playoffs on the play.

 
Both clubs had two power plays in the opening period, but only Colorado scored. The Avs outshot the Kings 11-7 despite being outhit 16-5.


Second Period: Makar Adds to the Lead

Colorado doubled its lead early in the second period.


Cale Makar scored his second goal of the series to make it 2-0 just under six minutes into the frame.




The tally was Makar’s 24th career playoff goal, leaving him one shy of Scott Niedermayer’s 25 for 17th most by a defenseman in NHL history.


It was also his fourth goal in a potential series-clinching game, moving him past Sandis Ozolinsh for 
the most in Avalanche history.




The Kings pushed back late in the second.


Joel Edmundson scored his first goal of the playoffs, assisted by Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere, to cut the deficit to 2-1.


After seven combined penalties in the first, the second period had none.

  


The Avalanche restored their two-goal lead early in the third.

  
This time it was Nicolas Roy, who scored his second goal of the playoffs to make it 3-1.


Soon after Colorado pushed the lead to two, Brock Nelson took a two-minute hooking penalty to give the Kings a prime chance to get back in it.


But Los Angeles couldn’t convert. The Kings entered Game 4 at 3-for-13 on the power play with one goal in each of the first three games.


The Avalanche then shut the door on any comeback when Devon Toews scored his first goal of the series to make it 4-1.

 

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MacKinnon and Landeskog each picked up their second assists of the night. For Landeskog, it was his 45th career playoff assist, three away from passing Ozolinsh for seventh in Avs history.


MacKinnon added his second of the game into an empty net with 5:38 left, pushing the lead to 5-1.

  
The Kings made sure Colorado felt it, outhitting the Avs 50-21 in the series finale.




Colorado finished with a 32-25 edge in shots in Kopitar’s final game after a 20-year career.

 
The loss marked the fifth straight first-round exit for Los Angeles. The Kings haven’t advanced past round one in seven playoff trips since winning the Stanley Cup in 2013-2014.
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