04/26/26 06:36:00
Printable Page
04/26 18:35 CDT MacKinnon leads Avalanche to 5-1 win and 1st-round sweep of LA
Kings, ending Anze Kopitar's career
MacKinnon leads Avalanche to 5-1 win and 1st-round sweep of LA Kings, ending
Anze Kopitar's career
By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --- Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist, Nicolas Roy
and Devon Toews scored in the third period, and the top-seeded Colorado
Avalanche swept the Los Angeles Kings out of the first round of the Stanley Cup
playoffs with a 5-1 victory in Game 4 on Sunday.
Cale Makar also scored and Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves as the Presidents'
Trophy-winning Avs ended the 20-year career of Kings captain Anze Kopitar, who
announced his pending retirement in September.
The Slovenian center is the top scorer in franchise history and a two-time
Selke Trophy winner, and he was a star on the Kings' two Stanley Cup
championship teams in 2012 and 2014 before spending the past decade as their
captain. The Kings crowd repeatedly chanted "Kopi! Kopi!" in the final minutes
of the blowout, and he got standing ovations when he came out for his final two
shifts.
With a masterful four-game demonstration of the roster-wide talent on a team
ready to win it all, Colorado advanced to face the winner of the heavyweight
first-round series between Dallas and Minnesota. Those clubs are tied heading
to Game 5 on Tuesday, meaning the Avs will get at least five consecutive days
off before the second round, and quite possibly more.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL
|
