LA vs COL Prediction, Odds and NHL Picks for Today

The Los Angeles Kings and Colorado Avalanche begin their seasons on Wednesday night with a repeat of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, which the Avs handled easily with a four-game sweep. After the Kings kept it close in the first two games in Colorado with back-to-back 2-1 losses, the Avalanche blew the series open in games 3 and 4 with 4-2 and 5-1 victories. The Avalanche enter this season with a sour taste in their mouths after getting swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. They are one of the top teams in the league that you wouldn’t want to face when they are highly motivated and ticked off, and I think it could be a long night of constant offensive barrage for the Kings on Wednesday. 

The Kings are entering their first season without captain Anze Kopitar, and they'll sorely miss his leadership and steady two-way play. Quinton Byfield will now lead the first line alongside his wingers Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin, while the rest of the lineup drops off a bit after that. They have some veterans, but it might be hard for them to keep up with some of the conference's powers. Los Angeles can still make some noise this season, but Colorado will come out of the gate hot in their home opener, led by Nathan MacKinnon and $20 million man Cale Makar. 

Kings vs Avalanche prediction: Colorado -1.5 (+135) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.