Los Angeles Kings (35-27-20, in the Pacific Division) vs. Colorado Avalanche (55-16-11, in the Central Division)
Denver; Sunday, 3 p.m. EDT
LINE: Avalanche -264, Kings +214; over/under is 5.5
NHL PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND: Avalanche host series opener
BOTTOM LINE: The Colorado Avalanche host the Los Angeles Kings to begin the Western Conference first round. The teams meet Monday for the fourth time this season. The Avalanche went 3-0 against the Kings during the regular season. In their last regular season meeting on March 2, the Avalanche won 4-2.
Colorado is 55-16-11 overall and 26-9-6 in home games. The Avalanche have an 18-2-6 record when scoring a power-play goal.
Los Angeles has a 35-27-20 record overall and a 20-10-11 record on the road. The Kings are 26-4-11 in games they score at least three goals.
TOP PERFORMERS: Martin Necas has 38 goals and 61 assists for the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon has five goals and five assists over the last 10 games.
Artemi Panarin has 28 goals and 56 assists for the Kings. Adrian Kempe has scored 10 goals with three assists over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Avalanche: 7-2-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.7 assists, 2.8 penalties and 5.6 penalty minutes while giving up 1.9 goals per game.
Kings: 6-2-2, averaging 3.1 goals, 4.5 assists, 3.1 penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
INJURIES: Avalanche: Nazem Kadri: day to day (finger), Josh Manson: day to day (upper body).
Kings: Kevin Fiala: out for season (leg), Alex Turcotte: day to day (undisclosed), Jeff Malott: day to day (undisclosed), Andrei Kuzmenko: day to day (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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