NHL: Nathan MacKinnon scores twice as Avs race away to sweep Kings

Nathan MacKinnon powered the Colorado Avalanche with two goals and an assist as they closed out the host Los Angeles Kings, 5-1, on Sunday to complete a sweep of their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series.

MacKinnon, who led the NHL with 53 goals in the regular season, opened his scoring account for the playoffs with a standout performance. Cale Makar, Nicolas Roy, and Devon Toews also scored for Colorado, while Gabriel Landeskog contributed two assists.

“When you need big moments, those players usually deliver, and he did tonight,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of MacKinnon. “Our power play stepped up early, and that goal was huge for us.”

Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves for Colorado, which now advances to face the winner of the Dallas Stars–Minnesota Wild series, currently tied at 2-2.

Joel Edmundson scored the lone goal for Los Angeles, with assists from Adrian Kempe and Alex Laferriere. Anton Forsberg stopped 27 of 31 shots in the losing effort.

The Kings had early power-play chances, but it was Colorado that struck first with 6:47 left in the opening period when MacKinnon converted a one-timer from the left circle off a feed from Nazem Kadri.

Makar doubled the lead midway through the second period before Edmundson briefly pulled the Kings closer. However, the Avalanche regained control in the third with goals from Roy and Toews, extending the lead to 4-1.

With under six minutes remaining, Los Angeles pulled Forsberg, but MacKinnon sealed the win just 20 seconds later with his second goal of the night.

Kings interim coach D.J. Smith acknowledged the gap in execution, saying Colorado “is a strong defensive team with a lot of offense” and deserved the series win.

The defeat also marked the final game for Kings captain Anze Kopitar, who is set to retire after a 20-season career in which he led the franchise to two Stanley Cup titles. As the final minutes ticked away, fans at Crypto.com Arena honored him with chants of appreciation.

-Field Level Media/Reuters