Overview
- The Avalanche swept Los Angeles in Round 1 with a 5-1 clincher at Crypto.com Arena, which doubled as the final game for retiring captain Anze Kopitar.
- The defeat was the Kings’ fifth straight exit in the opening round, raising pressure to rethink the roster and direction.
- The Athletic’s Eric Stephens urges a full rebuild, citing reliance on Adrian Kempe, Artemi Panarin and Kevin Fiala for goals, an undynamic defense, a thin prospect pool and Quinton Byfield not yet proving he is a No. 1 center.
- Other reporting points to a retool under GM Ken Holland, with an early call on interim coach D.J. Smith and a trade hunt for a top-six center given a lean free-agent market, with names such as William Nylander or Robert Thomas discussed in speculation.
- Goaltending stays unsettled after Darcy Kuemper’s late slump and Anton Forsberg’s playoff starts with a 2.70 goals-against and .909 save rate, and both netminders enter the final year of their contracts.