Rapid Recap: Avalanche 5, Kings 1

The Colorado Avalanche scored five times in the second period to pick up a 5-1 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night at Ball Arena to finish the regular season. With the victory, the Avs finished the regular season with 82 points (39-13-4) and earned their third Presidents' Trophy (1996-97, 2000-01) with the best regular-season record in the NHL.
Colorado also won the West Division, the team's 10th division title since moving to Denver (12th in franchise history) and first since winning the Central Division in 2013-14.
Four Avs had multi-point efforts, led by Tyson Jost (two goals) and Andre Burakovsky (one goal, one assist). Mikko Rantanen and Conor Timmins also had two assists.
Joonas Donskoi and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also found the back of the net for the Avalanche, which received a 21-save performance from Jonas Johansson.

Gabriel Landeskog, Jayson Megna, Nazem Kadri, Devon Toews and Cale Makar also had assists in the win.
Sean Walker scored the first goal of the game in the final minute of the first period for the Kings. Goalie Troy Grosenick made 38 saves.
The Avalanche will begin the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a Round 1 matchup against the St. Louis Blues on Monday night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT.

THE GOALS

1st Period
19:15 LAK (0-1) - Sean Walker scored on a breakaway after getting to a loose puck in the neutral zone.
2nd Period
9:46 COL (1-1) - Tyson Jost scored from the top of the left circle while J.T. Compher was screening the Los Angeles goalie.
11:38 COL (2-1) - Tyson Jost directed Conor Timmin's pass into the net to score his second of the game.
14:26 COL (3-1) - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare put home a loose rebound from the paint.
16:50 COL (4-1) - Joonas Donskoi batted the puck out of midair and into the net after Nazem Kadri fed the puck into the crease.
18:58 COL (5-1) - Andre Burakovsky came off the bench and scored glove-side from the slot in a 4-on-4 situation.
3rd Period
No Scoring
Final: Avalanche - 5 | Kings - 1

3 STARS

Selected by Colorado Hockey Coach of the Game: Karen Rickard (Team CO Girls 14U)

POWER PLAYS

Colorado:0 for 2
Los Angeles: 0 for 2

GOALTENDING BATTLE

Colorado: Jonas Johansson made 21-of-22 saves.
Los Angeles: Troy Grosenick allowed five goals on 43 shots.

STAT OF THE NIGHT

The Avalanche finished the regular season with 82 points (39-13-4), the best record in the NHL, to earn its third Presidents' Trophy (also 1996-97, 2000-01).
With the victory, Colorado also won the West Division, the Avs' 10th division title since moving to Denver (12th in franchise history) and first since winning the Central Division in 2013-14.

NOTEBOOK

The Avalanche tallied five times in the second period, the second frame that Colorado has posted five goals this year… Tyson Jost scored twice, his first multi-goal game of the season… Pierre-Edouard Bellemare tallied for the second game in a row. He finished the campaign with nine markers, tying his career high that he set in 2019-20… Mikko Rantanen had two assists to increase his season totals to 66 points (30 goals, 36 assist), surpassing Nathan MacKinnon for the team lead. MacKinnon finished the year with 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists) in 48 outings… Joonas Donskoi scored his 17th goal of the year, setting a new career high… Andre Burakovsky had a goal and a helper to extend his point streak to eight games (five goals, seven assists), tying his career long… Burakovsky finished the season with 44 points (19 goals, 25 assists), one shy of his most (45) that he set in 2019-20… Conor Timmins recorded two assists, the second multi-point game of his career… Cale Makar had an assist and will be the only D-man in the league to average a point per game in 2020-21. He joins Steve Duchesne (82 points in 82 games with Quebec in 1992-93) as the only blueliners in franchise history to average a point per game in a single season (mininum 25 games played)... Jayson Megna registered a helper for the second straight contest… Devon Toews had an assist and finished the year with 22 on the season, matching his total from last year… Colorado's Ryan Graves and Los Angeles' Brendan Lemieux fought at 17:50 of the second period. It was Graves' first fight of the year… The Avalanche finished its season series against the Kings with a 7-1-0 mark, winning the season set against each of its divisional foes. Colorado went 6-1-1 against the Anaheim Ducks and Arizona Coyotes, posted a 6-2-0 record when facing the San Jose Sharks, had a 5-2-1 mark versus the Minnesota Wild, a 5-3-0 record against the St. Louis Blues and went 4-3-1 in its games against the Vegas Golden Knights... Colorado went 16-0-1 in its last 17 games at Ball Arena, the longest home point streak in the NHL this season. The Avs tied the franchise record of 17 straight home games with a point set in 2002-03. The Avs have won a season-high nine straight at Ball Arena... Colorado finished May with a 7-1-0 record, earning its 14th consecutive "winning" month going back to February 2019. It extends the team's franchise record, as the previous mark was 10-straight winning months from March 2000 to October 2001... The Avs went 22-4-2 at home and posted their highest home points percentage since moving to Denver. The previous best was .768 by the 2000-01 team.

BIG HIGHLIGHT

IMAGE OF THE GAME

Ready to play.

ROSTER REPORT

Jonas Johansson started his seventh game as a member of the Avalanche and was backed up by Philipp Grubauer. The rest of the lineup remained the same as it was on Wednesday, with Carl Soderberg (maintenance), Liam O'Brien and Jacob MacDonald serving as the scratches.

INJURY UPDATE

• Bowen Byram (upper body): Last played on March 25 and is on and off the ice in his recovery
• Matt Calvert (upper body): Out long term
• Devan Dubnyk (COVID protocol): Was placed in protocol on May 3
• Pavel Francouz (lower body): Expected to return fully healthy next season after having surgery earlier this year
• Erik Johnson (upper body): Could return late in the postseason
• Nathan MacKinnon (lower body): Should be ready for the start of the playoffs
• Logan O'Connor (lower body): Out long-term after requiring surgery
• Brandon Saad (lower body): Has resumed skating and could be back soon

UP NEXT

As the No.1 seed in the West Division, the Avalanche will face the fourth-place team in the division, the St. Louis Blues, beginning with Game 1 on Monday at Ball Arena. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. MT.

LINE COMBINATIONS

Based on start of the game
Forwards
92 Gabriel Landeskog - 17 Tyson Jost - 96 Mikko Rantanen
95 Andre Burakovsky - 91 Nazem Kadri - 72 Joonas Donskoi
13 Valeri Nichushkin - 18 Alex Newhook - 37 J.T. Compher
44 Kiefer Sherwood - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 12 Jayson Megna
Defensemen
7 Devon Toews - 8 Cale Makar
49 Samuel Girard - 27 Ryan Graves
24 Patrik Nemeth - 22 Conor Timmins
Goaltenders
35 Jonas Johansson
31 Philipp Grubauer