The Peter Laviolette era is officially underway, and the first chapter was a hard one. Final from Denver: Kings lose to Avalanche, 8-4, in Wednesday night’s season opener at Ball Arena, as Colorado scored four power-play goals and Nathan MacKinnon added two goals and a fight. Los Angeles scored twice shorthanded, got four goals from four different players and outshot the Avalanche 31-29, but too many penalties and too much room off the rush left the Kings chasing all night.
Here is the full recap of the September 30 opener: the scoring, the goalies, the key moments, what Laviolette and the players said, and what is next on the schedule.
Kings Lose to Avalanche: The Final Score and Scoring Summary
Final: Avalanche 8, Kings 4. By period, Colorado led 2-1 after the first and 6-3 after the second, and each team scored twice in the third.
- 1st, 6:33 – COL: Brock Nelson (power play), from Jaden Schwartz and Nazem Kadri
- 1st, 15:14 – LAK: Brian Dumoulin, from Alex Laferriere and Alex Turcotte
- 1st, 17:58 – COL: Parker Kelly, from Josh Manson
- 2nd, 0:23 – COL: Nathan MacKinnon (5-on-3 power play), from Kadri and Cale Makar
- 2nd, 1:28 – LAK: Joel Armia (shorthanded), from Erik Haula and Cody Ceci
- 2nd, 8:33 – COL: MacKinnon, from Martin Necas and Brent Burns
- 2nd, 16:01 – COL: Nicolas Roy, from Schwartz and Kelly
- 2nd, 17:50 – LAK: Trevor Moore (shorthanded), from Mikey Anderson
- 2nd, 18:34 – COL: Artturi Lehkonen (power play), from Nelson and Devon Toews
- 3rd, 11:51 – LAK: Artemi Panarin (6-on-5, delayed penalty), from Drew Doughty and Laferriere
- 3rd, 14:03 – COL: Gabriel Landeskog, from Makar
- 3rd, 15:06 – COL: Lehkonen (power play), from Nelson and Toews
Colorado went 4-for-5 on the power play. The Kings went 0-for-4 with the man advantage but won 37 of 58 faceoffs (64 percent) and led in shots on goal, 31-29.
In Goal: Kuemper Gets the Opening-Night Start
Darcy Kuemper got the call over Anton Forsberg and played 59:25, stopping 21 of 29 shots for a .724 save percentage. He took the loss. It was a tough night for the veteran, though several goals came off breakdowns in front of him: Kelly’s goal came on a 2-on-1, Roy’s came on a rebound with Kuemper down after a crease scramble, and Landeskog’s goal went in off a Kings skate. At the other end, Mackenzie Blackwood made 27 saves on 31 shots for Colorado.
The goalie decision was still open when our game-day preview went up Wednesday morning.
Key Moments
Dumoulin makes history. Laferriere drew two defenders behind the net and moved the puck back to Brian Dumoulin, who walked into the left circle and beat Blackwood through a Turcotte screen. It was the Kings’ first goal of the 2026-27 season, and per the team, Dumoulin is just the seventh defenseman in franchise history to score the club’s first goal of a season.
The 5-on-3 swing. A Kings penalty carried a two-man advantage into the second period, and MacKinnon one-timed Kadri’s pass 23 seconds in to make it 3-1. That stretch changed the game.
Two shorthanded answers. Armia answered just 65 seconds later, toe-dragging into the zone and beating Blackwood from the high slot for his 22nd career shorthanded goal. Late in the period, after Anderson knocked a puck high into the air, Moore raced away on a 2-on-1 with Scott Laughton and scored himself. The Kings say it is the first season opener in franchise history with multiple shorthanded goals. But Lehkonen scored on the same power play 44 seconds later, and that made it 6-3.
Panarin pulls them within two. Panarin jumped on as the extra attacker during a delayed penalty, took Doughty’s pass and scored through traffic at 11:51 of the third to make it 6-4. It was his first goal of the season.
MacKinnon vs. Clarke. Shortly after, MacKinnon and Brandt Clarke dropped the gloves in the Kings’ zone, which ESPN noted was MacKinnon’s first fight in four years. The Kings’ own recap said MacKinnon slashed Clarke around the ankles and threw his helmet after the fight, and neither drew a penalty. Instead of a possible Kings power play, Landeskog and Lehkonen scored 63 seconds apart to finish it.
What Laviolette Said
Laviolette saw positives early but was clear about the problems. “The first two periods, I thought there was good things,” he said. “Things that we need to clean up from staying out of the penalty box, specialty teams, 5-on-5 play. We can’t give them that much off the rush, it’s going to catch you if you do.”
On the penalty kill, he said, “I think we left the middle open a little bit too much at times, the middle of the ice.” He added that a couple of goals came from bounces. And he put the night on his team: “I felt like a lot of the things that we gave them tonight were our responsibility… We found ourselves chasing the game most of the night.” He also did not like the start of the third, saying “it seemed like we lost our steam a little bit.”
What the Players Said
Erik Haula, who got his first point as a King with the primary assist on Armia’s goal, refused to blame the new system. “No, we’re not going to use that as an excuse,” he said. “When you give up eight, it’s just not good enough. We’ll go back, correct some things, and be better next game.” He also noted the positives: “Offensively, on the road, when you score four goals, you like your chances most nights.”
Mikey Anderson agreed there was something to build on. “I thought there were some good chances off the rush or from breakouts all the way through,” he told NHL.com. “Again, just too many breakdowns.”
Notes From the Box Score
- Laferriere had two assists, his 16th career multi-point game, per the Kings.
- Haula and Armia are both from Pori, Finland, and played on a line together for Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
- Doughty began his 19th season with the Kings, passing Dustin Brown for the second-most in franchise history behind Anze Kopitar. It was his first game as captain; we previewed that in our Doughty captaincy story.
- The Avalanche scored eight in a season opener for the first time in franchise history, per NHL.com, on the same day coach Jared Bednar signed a four-year extension.
Watch: Kings at Avalanche Highlights
What’s Next for the Kings
The Kings have Thursday off and return to practice Friday at 11 a.m. at Toyota Sports Performance Center. Then:
- Saturday, Oct. 3: at San Jose Sharks, SAP Center, 7 p.m. PT
- Tuesday, Oct. 6: home opener vs. Florida Panthers, Crypto.com Arena, 7 p.m. PT
- Saturday, Oct. 10: at Vegas Golden Knights, T-Mobile Arena, 7 p.m. PT
One game is one game, and Laviolette’s message was about fixable details: stay out of the box, close the middle on the kill and stay behind the rush. Saturday in San Jose is the first chance to show it. Watch the highlights above and follow InfanityTV for daily Kings coverage.
