COL 8–4 LAK Final · W
Avalanche/Schedule/Recap Wed, Sep 30, 2026 · 2026-27 regular season
Colorado Avalanche
COL · 1-0-0
8–4
FinalW
Los Angeles Kings
LAK · 0-1-0
1ST2ND3RDT COL 21041029829 LAK 11321215430 goals · shots on goal
Season opener for both teams ·First meeting this season — the Avalanche lead the season series 1–0
COL 1-0-0 · LAK 0-1-0 · First meeting this season — the Avalanche lead the season series 1–0

Avalanche beat the Kings

The Avalanche earned it: 4.0 expected goals to 2.7, and a 8–4 win to show for it. Darcy Kuemper allowed 4.8 more goals than expected from the shots he faced.

▶ Recap ↗ ▶ Condensed game ↗
Video opens on NHL.com.
★ NHL first starNathan MacKinnon COL · C · #29 2 G · 0 A · 2 P

Who had the better chances

The Avalanche created the better chances: 4.0 expected goals to 2.7, on 29 and 30 shots on goal.

COL 4.0 xG · 29 shots LAK 2.7 xG · 30 shots
0
1
2
3
4
1st 0.8 · 1.0
2nd 1.6 · 1.2
3rd · the swing 1.6 · 0.5
Tap a numbered goal to see how it happened.
Deserve to winReplay this game 100 times with average goalies and the Avalanche win 68.
COL 68%LAK 32%

Goals and penalties

12 goals · 8 penalties
← Avalanche shoot this way Kings shoot this way →
On net Missed Bigger = better chance 1Goal, numbered to the list
1st period
PEN
04:48 Andre Lee· Delaying game puck over glass
Nelson scored on this power play
2 min
Minor
1
06:33 Brock Nelson PP
Jaden Schwartz, Nazem Kadri · Power play (Lee, delaying game puck over glass) · snap shot, a low-percentage shot (7%) that found a way in
1–0 ▶ Watch ↗
PEN
10:21 Jaden Schwartz· Hooking
Killed
2 min
Minor
2
15:14 Brian Dumoulin
Alex Laferriere, Alex Turcotte · wrist shot, a low-percentage shot (4%) that found a way in
1–1 ▶ Watch ↗
PEN
15:55 Devon Toews· Holding
Killed
2 min
Minor
3
17:58 Parker Kelly
Josh Manson · snap shot, a good chance (10%)
2–1 ▶ Watch ↗
PEN
19:12 Adrian Kempe· Tripping
Killed
2 min
Minor
PEN
19:52 Drew Doughty· Cross-checking
MacKinnon scored on this power play
2 min
Minor
2nd period
4
00:23 Nathan MacKinnon PP
Nazem Kadri, Cale Makar · Power play (Doughty, cross-checking) · snap shot, a good chance (23%)
3–1 ▶ Watch ↗
5
01:28 Joel Armia SH
Erik Haula, Cody Ceci · wrist shot, a low-percentage shot (9%) that found a way in
3–2 ▶ Watch ↗
6
08:33 Nathan MacKinnon
Martin Necas, Brent Burns · wrist shot, a low-percentage shot (7%) that found a way in
4–2 ▶ Watch ↗
PEN
12:19 T.J. Hughes· Roughing
Killed
2 min
Minor
7
16:01 Nicolas Roy GWG
Jaden Schwartz, Parker Kelly · poke shot on a rebound, a good chance (14%)
5–2 ▶ Watch ↗
PEN
17:15 Joel Edmundson· Slashing
Lehkonen scored on this power play
2 min
Minor
8
17:50 Trevor Moore SH
Mikey Anderson · wrist shot, a low-percentage shot (3%) that found a way in
5–3 ▶ Watch ↗
9
18:34 Artturi Lehkonen PP
Brock Nelson, Devon Toews · Power play (Edmundson, slashing) · snap shot, a great chance (49%)
6–3 ▶ Watch ↗
3rd period
PEN
04:30 Noah Juulsen· Interference
Killed
2 min
Minor
10
11:51 Artemi Panarin EXTRA ATTACKER
Drew Doughty, Alex Laferriere · wrist shot, a low-percentage shot (8%) that found a way in
6–4 ▶ Watch ↗
11
14:03 Gabriel Landeskog
Cale Makar · wrist shot, a low-percentage shot (0%) that found a way in
7–4 ▶ Watch ↗
12
15:06 Artturi Lehkonen PP
Brock Nelson, Devon Toews · snap shot, a great chance (61%)
8–4 ▶ Watch ↗

NHL three stars

the league's pick
★ 1st star Nathan MacKinnon COL · C · #29 2 G · 0 A · 2 P2G 0A ★ 2nd star Brock Nelson COL · C · #11 1 G · 2 A · 3 P1G 2A ★ 3rd star Artturi Lehkonen COL · LW · #62 2 G · 0 A · 2 P2G 0A
Goaltending
−1.1
vs expected
26/30 saves · 4 GA · 2.9 xGA Allowed 1.1 more goals than expected from the shots he faced.
−4.8
vs expected
21/29 saves · 8 GA · 3.2 xGA Allowed 4.8 more goals than expected from the shots he faced.
Team COLLAK
Shots on goal
29
30
Expected goals
4.0
2.7
Hits
0
0
Blocks
0
0
Faceoffs
36%
64%
Power play
4/4
0/4
Penalty minutes
13
15
The Avalanche went 4-for-4 on the power play and killed all 4 Kings power plays.

Box score

xG and GSAx are Inside the Game numbers
ForwardsGAP+/−PIMSHitsBlkTOIShiftsFO%PPGGVTKxG
62Artturi LehkonenA. LehkonenLW202+1030019:2726—2101.2
11Brock NelsonB. NelsonC1230010019:142721%1000.1
88Martin NecasM. NecasC011−1040019:1122—0110.3
91Nazem KadriN. KadriC022+1020017:572667%0100.1
92Gabriel LandeskogG. LandeskogLW101−1010017:522167%0000.0
29Nathan MacKinnonN. MacKinnonC202−2580017:442240%1100.9
9Fedor SvechkovF. SvechkovC0000000015:282014%0000.1
13T.J. HughesT. HughesRW000−3220013:351560%0000.1
17Parker KellyP. KellyC112+2010012:5322—0200.1
71Jaden SchwartzJ. SchwartzLW022−1210012:4919—0100.3
10Nicolas RoyN. RoyC101+1020012:121933%0110.4
DefenseGAP+/−PIMSHitsBlkTOIShiftsFO%PPGGVTKxG
7Devon ToewsD. ToewsD022+1200020:0424—0100.0
27Brett KulakB. KulakD000+1000019:4423—0000.0
8Cale MakarC. MakarD022−1010018:1420—0000.1
84Brent BurnsB. BurnsD0110000015:2319—0000.0
42Josh MansonJ. MansonD0110010014:3118—0100.0
70Sam MalinskiS. MalinskiD000+1020014:2718—0010.4
47Noah JuulsenN. JuulsenD000+1200011:1521—0100.0
GoaliesSavesSAGASv%EVPPSHTOIGSGSAx
39Mackenzie BlackwoodM. BlackwoodG27314.87123/254/40/260:00✓−1.1
EV / PP / SH = saves on shots at even strength, on the opponent's power play, and shorthanded. GS = started. A dash means the stat isn't on file for that player or game. Showing the short set. Tap "All columns" to scroll through every stat inside this card.

Last night's Cap Challenge

7 squads played
RO
GoalsRyan Otto
0 goals · $11.3M
RO
AssistsRyan Otto
2 assists · $6.2M
RO
PointsRyan Otto
1 pts · $18.6M
RO
ShotsRyan Otto
2 shots · $11.1M
RO
HitsRyan Otto
9 hits · $4.7M
RO
BlocksRyan Otto
1 blocks · $6.4M
RO
GoaliesRyan Otto
48 saves · $10.5M
Alex Turcotte was on 1 squad. Build tonight's squad → See the leaderboards →