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Game 1 of this Western Conference first-round series lands at Ball Arena on Sunday, April 19, with a 3:00 PM start on TNT. Los Angeles comes in as the second wild card at 35-27-20, while Colorado opens the postseason as the Central Division winner at 55-16-11 after finishing first overall in the league. That alone explains why the Avalanche are such a heavy home favorite, but the matchup data backs it up too. Colorado went 3-0 against the Kings in the regular season and outscored them 13-5 across those meetings.
The Kings are not walking into this series in terrible form, even if the raw matchup is tough. They closed the regular season with a 3-1 loss to Calgary, but Quinton Byfield scored again in that game and now has 11 goals over his last 15 contests. Colorado, meanwhile, finished with a 2-0 win over Seattle and comes in looking like the most complete team in the bracket, even with the starting goalie for Game 1 still left unconfirmed. That uncertainty matters a little. The bigger picture still points to a Colorado team that has been better almost everywhere.
Los Angeles Kings vs Colorado Avalanche Odds
These are the current betting lines for Sunday’s matchup, and bettors should still monitor the latest NHL odds before puck drop in case goalie news or late lineup decisions move the market.
| Team | Moneyline | Puck Line | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Kings | +227 | +1.5 (-114) | O 6.5 (+112) |
| Colorado Avalanche | -268 | -1.5 (-103) | U 6.5 (-141) |
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Los Angeles Kings Betting Form
The Kings still profile as a defensive-first playoff team, and that is the core of any underdog case here. Their regular-season offensive numbers were light, just 2.68 goals per game and 1.85 five-on-five goals per game, both near the bottom of the league, but they were far more respectable defensively. Los Angeles allowed 2.90 goals per game, ranked near the top third of the league in shots allowed, and generally played the kind of controlled game that keeps puck-line tickets alive. If you want the broader season profile, the Los Angeles Kings stats and results page is a useful baseline.
There is a little more skill here than the season-long scoring rank suggests. Artemi Panarin gave this lineup a real jolt after the deadline, and Colorado’s own staff went out of its way this weekend to point out how much more dangerous Los Angeles has looked offensively since that move. Adrian Kempe is still the finishing threat, Kopitar still settles the top line, and Byfield has been one of the hotter Kings lately. So this is not a dead offense. It is just an offense that usually needs structure around it rather than chaos.
The crease is where this handicap gets more interesting. Darcy Kuemper handled most of the workload this season, but Anton Forsberg was the hotter goalie late, going 5-1-0 with a 1.48 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage over his final six starts. D.J. Smith had both on the ice in practice, and Los Angeles did not lock in a starter publicly before Game 1. Availability matters too. Kevin Fiala remains the clearest absence, while some other Kings forwards were trending toward availability, so it is still worth checking the Los Angeles Kings injury report before you lock anything in.
Colorado Avalanche Betting Form
Colorado’s case is easier to make because the profile is just so clean. The Avalanche finished first in goals per game at 3.63, first in goals allowed at 2.40, first in five-on-five goals per game at 2.63, first in five-on-five goals allowed at 1.56, and first in shots on goal per game at 33.7. That is a brutal combination for any underdog to draw in Round 1. Even more impressive, really, is that Colorado paired elite offense with the league’s best team save percentage and the best penalty kill in hockey. For a bigger season snapshot, the Colorado Avalanche schedule and stats page fits well alongside the game-level handicap.
The one funny wrinkle is that Colorado’s power play was not great by its standards. It finished at 17.1 percent in the regular season, which is low for a team with this much star talent. Still, that weakness did not really hurt them in the season series because they controlled the matchup at five-on-five. Across the three meetings, the Avalanche held a 10-1 edge in five-on-five goals and a 13-5 edge overall. That is the kind of head-to-head dominance that makes a big favorite feel justified, not inflated.
The lineup picture is also better for Colorado than it looked a week ago. Nazem Kadri and Josh Manson both trended toward playing in Game 1, and the Avalanche entered the opener without a significant active injury list. Like Los Angeles, Colorado kept its starting goalie decision private. Scott Wedgewood had the stronger regular season by the numbers, while Mackenzie Blackwood still gives them a very credible second option. Either way, the Avalanche are in strong shape in net, and bettors should still give the Colorado Avalanche injury report one last check before puck drop.
Los Angeles Kings vs Colorado Avalanche Matchup Breakdown
This game starts with pace. Los Angeles wants it lower-event, tighter through the neutral zone, and maybe a little frustrating. That is how the Kings stay inside the number against elite teams. Colorado wants to turn those games into long shifts, layered pressure, and eventually shot volume that breaks structure down. Over a seven-game series, that usually favors the deeper team. In a single game, though, it can still leave room for an under or a dog puck-line look if the favorite does not finish its chances.
At five-on-five, the edge is clearly Colorado. The Avalanche led the league in five-on-five scoring and finished first in five-on-five defense too, while Los Angeles ranked 25th in five-on-five goals for. That is a really tough split for the Kings because it means they probably need either a goaltending spike or a special-teams swing to beat the moneyline. The problem is that Los Angeles also had a weak penalty kill in the regular season, so even though Colorado’s power play was underwhelming overall, there is still some danger if the Kings spend too much time shorthanded. If you like building a playoff handicap from that kind of profile, the NHL betting guide and the Stanley Cup betting guide are both useful reads.
The goaltending question is maybe the one place where the handicap stays a little soft. Colorado can go Wedgewood or Blackwood and feel fine. Los Angeles can justify Kuemper based on workload or Forsberg based on recent form. That uncertainty points me more toward the total than the side because the Kings’ scoring ceiling is still limited, and Colorado’s defensive baseline is so strong that even a backup-caliber performance from its crease usually holds up. This is not a spot where I want to overrate one goalie rumor and ignore the broader matchup.
Los Angeles Kings vs Colorado Avalanche Predictions and Best Bets
My side lean is Colorado, but I do not love laying -268 in a playoff opener against a team that is built to drag games into the mud. The Avalanche are the better team. I do not think that is really arguable. They were better in the standings, better in the regular-season meetings, better at five-on-five, better on the penalty kill, and better in overall shot generation. If you are betting the game straight, Colorado is the rightful favorite. The price is just demanding a lot.
I also do not think the puck line is automatic, even with Colorado sweeping the season series by a combined 13-5. Los Angeles is still structured enough to hang around, especially if Forsberg gets the call and keeps doing what he did late in the year. That is why I keep circling back to the total instead. The Kings were one of the weaker even-strength offenses in the field, Colorado allowed the fewest goals per game in the league, and all three regular-season meetings still stayed below this 6.5 number.
There is also a pretty normal Game 1 playoff angle here. Teams can be cautious early, matchups tighten, and coaches shorten the leash on risky decisions. Colorado can still win this game 4-2 and the under cashes. A 3-2 script feels even more natural, especially if the Kings succeed in slowing the first half of the game. I think the Avalanche control most of the territorial play, but I am not sure Los Angeles does enough offensively to force this into a true shootout.
Best Bet: Under 6.5 (-141).
NHL Picks and Handicappers on ScoresAndStats
If you are building out the full playoff card, today’s NHL picks are a strong place to start because they let you compare game opinions quickly without losing the bigger market context. I also like pairing that with the broader NHL game previews page when the board is full, since playoff slates usually reward bettors who read multiple matchups together instead of isolating one number at a time.
For longer-term follow decisions, ScoresAndStats does a good job surfacing which experts are actually producing. You can compare top sports handicappers, track recent results on the handicapper leaderboard, and use the buy expert picks page if you want deeper NHL card exposure than the free board gives you. That combination of volume, transparency, and style comparison is what makes the site genuinely useful during the postseason.
