LOS ANGELES – Martin Necas scored two goals and Nathan MacKinnon recorded two assists,becoming the leading scorer in Colorado Avalanche history,as the Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 in their regular season opener tuesday night.Sam Malinski and Artturi Lehkonen also scored during a dominant three-goal second period for Colorado. Scott Wedgewood made 24 saves in a commanding performance, marking the Avalanche’s first game following their first-round playoff exit to Dallas.
Kevin Fiala scored a power-play goal with 4:53 remaining for the Kings,who previously matched franchise records for victories and points before their fourth consecutive first-round playoff loss to the Edmonton Oilers. Darcy Kuemper stopped 19 shots for Los Angeles,a team that saw limited changes under new general manager Ken Holland but appeared slow during Colorado’s second-period surge.
MacKinnon’s first assist was his 1,016th point in 871 games, surpassing Joe Sakic’s 1,015 points in 870 games for the Avalanche-though Sakic accumulated an additional 626 points prior to the Quebec Nordiques’ relocation to Denver.
The game took place exactly 30 years after the Avalanche’s first road game following their move to Denver, a visit to the Forum in Inglewood. Anze Kopitar began his 20th and final NHL season, following his retirement announcement last month, while Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog played in his first season opener as October 2021 and his first regular-season game since March 10, 2022, after missing three seasons due to knee surgeries.
The Kings debuted a previously unannounced black and silver third jersey featuring an enlarged historic crown logo.
Colorado will host Mammoth on Thursday. The Kings will play at the Golden Knights on Wednesday.
