Recap
MacKinnon scores twice as Avalanche beat Kings 8-4
The Colorado Avalanche opened the season with an 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Ball Arena on Wednesday. Colorado never trailed, leading 2-1 after the first period and pulling away with four goals in the second. Nicolas Roy made it 5-2 late in the middle frame, a goal that stood as the game winner.
Nathan MacKinnon scored twice and was named the first star, while Artturi Lehkonen also had two goals as the third star. Brock Nelson picked up a goal and two assists to take second star honours. The Avalanche went 4 for 5 on the power play, with Lehkonen, MacKinnon and Nelson all converting with the man advantage. Joel Armia and Trevor Moore scored shorthanded goals for Los Angeles.
The Kings outshot Colorado 31-29 and got two assists from Alex Laferriere, but Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves for the win while Darcy Kuemper stopped 21 of 29 shots. Colorado is 1-0-0, Los Angeles 0-1-0.
Written with AI from official NHL data and checked against it. The box score and play-by-play are the official record. How we write these
