Original story found on Hockey Mountain High

The Colorado Avalanche had to battle to beat the Los Angeles Kings in Game One of the Stanley Cup Playoffs 2–1 at Ball Arena on Sunday. Colorado had to fight to even get on the score sheet, and LA made things close at the end.

Ultimately, it was a subpar performance by the Avs’ standards. The Kings played a good game to frustrate them and were able to hang with the Avalanche for most of the game.

View From the Mountaintop

Colorado had a tough time and was slow-going through the first half of this game. Particularly, the first half of the second period was the most dangerous time for the Avs. The game had remained scoreless for some time and was benefiting LA the longer it went on. They had numerous chances, which were either stopped or missed the net.

Logan O’Connor thought he broke through with a goal, but it was waved off immediately after goaltender interference by Jack Drury. The challenge that followed from Jared Bednar was an interesting decision and could have hurt them, but didn’t. Artturi Lehkonen broke the deadlock, and LOC followed up in the third period. Both of them stepped up in a big way, entering playoff mode. Nicolas Roy and Joel Kiviranta also had solid games.

Speaking of Kiviranta, his presence in the lineup was an interesting one. Concerns arose regarding the player selection and the designated goalie. The team decided on Kiviranta instead of Ross Colton, whom they scratched. Parker Kelly earned himself a promotion to the second line, moving Gabriel Landeskog down to the third line. Meanwhile, Scott Wedgewood got his first career Stanley Cup Playoff start and was phenomenal. He made the big stops when he needed to, finishing with 25 saves. From here, it will be interesting to see if Bednar wants to bring Colton back into the lineup for someone else, give Mackenzie Blackwood some playing time, or keep riding the hot hands and hang with the same lineup.

Up Next

Game Two against the Kings comes on Tuesday night, back at its usual late time of 8:00 PM MT at Ball Arena. ESPN and Altitude Sports will broadcast the game.