MacKinnon leads Avalanche to 5-1 win and 1st-round sweep of LA Kings, ending Anze Kopitar’s career
Apr 26, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings left wing Artemi Panarin (10) controls the puck while under pressure from Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak (27) during the second period in game four of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Crypto. com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images William Liang-Imagn Images LOS ANGELES — 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. The Avalanche all greeted Kopitar warmly while he led the postgame handshake line.
He then circled at center ice with his arm raised while his teammates banged their sticks on the ice for his final farewell. 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.
Joel Edmundson scored and Anton Forsberg stopped 27 shots for the Kings, whose fifth consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup playoffs ended with their eighth consecutive postseason defeat over the past two years and their seventh straight first-round exit since hoisting the Cup 12 years ago. Although interim coach D. J.