Final
LAK at COL game report
Wednesday, September 30, 2026 · 8:00 p.m. MT · Ball Arena
Avalanche beat the Kings 8–4 in an even game: expected goals were 3.0–3.0 and 14–12 in high-danger chances.
Team comparison
- 8Goals4
- 2.98Expected goals3.02
- 2.085-on-5 expected goals1.79
- 12High-danger chances14
- 29Shots on goal31
- 50Shot attempts62
- 405-on-5 shot attempts45
- 7:06Power-play time8:52
5-on-5 shares for COL: 47.1% of shot attempts, 53.7% of expected goals.
Expected goals through the game
Each step is a shot; the bigger the step, the better the chance. A goal on a small step was a low-percentage finish.
Shot map
By strength
| COL at… | Time | Attempts | xG | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 on 5 | 44:02 | 40–45 | 2.08–1.79 | 4–1 |
| Power play | 7:06 | 10–14 | 0.91–1.05 | 4–0 |
| Shorthanded | 8:52 | 0–2 | 0.00–0.14 | 0–2 |
| Other (4 on 4, 3 on 3, empty net) | 0:00 | 0–1 | 0.00–0.04 | 0–1 |
Read pairs as COL–LAK. “Power play” means COL had the extra skater.
Goaltending
| Goalie | Saves | SV% | xGA | GSAx |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mackenzie Blackwood COL | 27/31 | .871 | 3.02 | -0.98 |
| Darcy Kuemper LAK | 21/29 | .724 | 2.98 | -5.02 |
GSAx above zero means the goalie stopped more than an average goalie would have, given the shots faced.
Player ratings
Out of 10, from each player's Game Score (goals, assists, shots, blocks, penalties, faceoffs and 5-on-5 shot and goal differential while on the ice) compared with every NHL game of the last two seasons. 6 is above average, 7 very good, 8 excellent. Goalies are rated on goals saved above expected. ★ = top three of the night. How ratings work
Average ratingAvalanche6.7Kings6.0
| ★Top three of the night: Nathan MacKinnonFCOL | 8.5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 17:44 | 46.4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★Top three of the night: Brock NelsonFCOL | 8.1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 19:14 | 41.2 |
| ★Top three of the night: Artturi LehkonenFCOL | 8.1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 19:27 | 50.0 |
| Nazem KadriFCOL | 7.7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17:57 | 54.8 |
| Parker KellyFCOL | 7.7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12:53 | 50.0 |
| Alex LaferriereFLAK | 7.7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15:31 | 62.5 |
| Jaden SchwartzFCOL | 7.4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 12:49 | 50.0 |
| Cale MakarDCOL | 7.4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 18:14 | 41.7 |
| Nicolas RoyFCOL | 7.3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12:12 | 58.8 |
| Joel ArmiaFLAK | 7.2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 12:55 | 62.5 |
| Mikey AndersonDLAK | 7.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19:21 | 55.6 |
| Martin NecasFCOL | 7.0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 19:11 | 50.0 |
| Cody CeciDLAK | 6.7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 19:24 | 57.6 |
| Devon ToewsDCOL | 6.7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20:04 | 43.3 |
| Sam MalinskiDCOL | 6.6 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 14:27 | 65.4 |
| Gabriel LandeskogFCOL | 6.6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 17:52 | 40.9 |
| Brandt ClarkeDLAK | 6.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 18:57 | 62.5 |
| Brian DumoulinDLAK | 6.5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 16:30 | 51.7 |
| Alex TurcotteFLAK | 6.4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 15:35 | 60.0 |
| Mats ZuccarelloFLAK | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17:59 | 66.7 |
| Josh MansonDCOL | 6.2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 14:31 | 28.6 |
| Brent BurnsDCOL | 6.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15:23 | 35.3 |
| Trevor MooreFLAK | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14:56 | 39.3 |
| Artemi PanarinFLAK | 6.1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 20:16 | 50.0 |
| Erik HaulaFLAK | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 15:26 | 37.5 |
| Brett KulakDCOL | 5.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19:44 | 54.8 |
| Samuel HeleniusFLAK | 5.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6:59 | 75.0 |
| Andre LeeFLAK | 5.9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7:56 | 75.0 |
| Quinton ByfieldFLAK | 5.6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 18:59 | 51.6 |
| Noah JuulsenDCOL | 5.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11:15 | 54.5 |
| Drew DoughtyDLAK | 5.4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22:41 | 42.3 |
| Joel EdmundsonDLAK | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15:34 | 50.0 |
| Mackenzie BlackwoodGCOL | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | — | 60:00 | — |
| Fedor SvechkovFCOL | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15:28 | 41.9 |
| Scott LaughtonFLAK | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 15:07 | 40.7 |
| Adrian KempeFLAK | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 19:23 | 45.5 |
| T.J. HughesFCOL | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13:35 | 27.8 |
| Darcy KuemperGLAK | 3.7 | 0 | 0 | — | 59:25 | — |
Lines used
Each team's most-used forward lines and defence pairs at 5 on 5, from the NHL's shift charts · time together · shot attempts for–against · expected goals for–against
Avalanche
Forward lines
- Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Necas8:50 · 7–10 · xG 0.3–0.4
- Kadri – Nelson – Landeskog8:01 · 4–8 · xG 0.0–0.3
- Roy – Kelly – Svechkov2:59 · 3–3 · xG 0.0–0.2
Defence pairs
- Toews – Makar9:57 · 6–13 · xG 0.3–0.4
- Burns – Manson8:06 · 5–10 · xG 0.5–0.4
- Kulak – Malinski7:11 · 8–6 · xG 0.7–0.2
Kings
Forward lines
- Kempe – Panarin – Byfield11:34 · 14–14 · xG 0.5–0.6
- Zuccarello – Turcotte – Laferriere10:27 · 9–5 · xG 0.3–0.1
- Haula – Laughton – Moore7:55 · 5–9 · xG 0.2–0.8
- Armia – Lee – Helenius6:17 · 9–3 · xG 0.3–0.1
Defence pairs
- Ceci – Anderson11:31 · 12–12 · xG 0.7–0.5
- Doughty – Dumoulin11:14 · 10–12 · xG 0.2–1.0
- Edmundson – Clarke10:30 · 9–9 · xG 0.5–0.2
Three stars
- ★N. MacKinnonCOL · 2G 0A
- ★★B. NelsonCOL · 1G 2A
- ★★★A. LehkonenCOL · 2G 0A
Scoring
Period 1
- 06:33COL B. Nelson pp (from J. Schwartz, N. Kadri)0–1
- 15:14LAK B. Dumoulin (from A. Laferriere, A. Turcotte)1–1
- 17:58COL P. Kelly (from J. Manson)1–2
Period 2
- 00:23COL N. MacKinnon pp (from N. Kadri, C. Makar)1–3
- 01:28LAK J. Armia sh (from E. Haula, C. Ceci)2–3
- 08:33COL N. MacKinnon (from M. Necas, B. Burns)2–4
- 16:01COL N. Roy (from J. Schwartz, P. Kelly)2–5
- 17:50LAK T. Moore sh (from M. Anderson)3–5
- 18:34COL A. Lehkonen pp (from B. Nelson, D. Toews)3–6
Period 3
- 11:51LAK A. Panarin (from D. Doughty, A. Laferriere)4–6
- 14:03COL G. Landeskog (from C. Makar)4–7
- 15:06COL A. Lehkonen pp (from B. Nelson, D. Toews)4–8