Scott Wedgewood will start Game 1 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told reporters Sunday morning.

History says Nathan MacKinnon and the Avalanche are poised to pull off something no NHL team has done in 48 years.

The 2025-26 NHL regular season belonged to the Colorado Avalanche.

The Colorado Avalanche just completed the best regular-season in franchise history, and get to face the NHL’s 20th-best team, the Los Angeles Kings, because of how weak the Pacific Division was this year. Here’s a breakdown of the Avs’ first-round series with the Kings, who have not won a playoff round since lifting the Stanley Cup in 2014. Avalanche vs. Kings matchups: Who has the edge? Kings: 35-27-20, 90 points; 2.68 goals per game (29th), 2.90 goals against per game (8th)

It will be hard to find a starter, a testament to Denver’s retooled roster over the past three seasons. But the Broncos need to land a contributor, the type of player who can make a difference in a big game.

“Every year, he started to demand more and more. I think he obviously got more comfortable, too, as a coach,” said former Avs star Mikko Rantanen about head coach Jared Bednar.