The Colorado Avalanche are prohibitive favorites in their first round Western Conference Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings, which begins with Game 1 on Sunday at Denver.

The Avalanche (55-16-11, 121 points) won the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best regular-season record. They also led all teams with 302 goals and have a gallery of stars led by NHL-leading goal scorer Nathan MacKinnon, who tallied 53 times on the season and finished with 127 points.

Colorado’s Martin Necas reached 100 points (38 goals, 62 assists), while defenseman Cale Makar, a two-time Norris Trophy winner, had 20 goals with 59 assists.

Colorado’s calling card is a relentless attack with speed and skill.

“We’ve always been a dangerous offensive team, whether we’re finishing top five in the league, usually because of some of the players that we have and the way we play and the style we play,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “We tend to create a lot of offense, so that’s something we’ve been proud of over the years.”

Goalies Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood shared the William M. Jennings Trophy, which is awarded to the goaltenders who play at least 25 games for the team allowing the fewest goals each season. Colorado gave up 203.

The Kings (35-27-20, 90 points) have the fewest points among the 16 playoff teams but came alive late by going on eight-game point streak (6-0-2) before dropping their season finale. Los Angeles scored 225 goals but allowed 247.

These are the Stanley Cup playoffs, though, when first-round upsets have become legendary.

“They have the good players; they finished first in the regular season but we’re a scrappy team. We keep it close with everybody and that can really frustrate them,” Los Angeles defenseman Brandt Clarke said. “If we play our style, it’s going to be a tight series, it’s going to be tight games, so we’re looking forward to it.

“In the playoffs it comes down to that, it comes down to one shot. You never know which way it’s going to go. We have the utmost belief in our group of guys that we can pull off anything.”

Colorado’s production goes well beyond MacKinnon, Necas and Makar. Brock Nelson had 65 points (33 goals, 32 assists) and Nazem Kadri, who was acquired at the trading deadline from the Calgary Flames, had a combined 50 points (16 goals, 34 assists).

Kings coach D.J. Smith, who took over on an interim basis March 6 when Jim Hiller was fired, knows what his team must do to have a chance.

“We’re going to have to weather the storm,” said Smith, who played 34 of his 45 career NHL games with the Avalanche in 2002-03. “There are going to be times when they’re really going to come at us.

“They have five, six, seven of the best players in the world over there, but the one thing we’ve always been able to do is play defense. We’re going to have to defend real hard and then when we get opportunities we’re going to have to sting them.”

Kings forward Artemi Panarin delivered 27 points (nine goals, 18 assists) for his new team in 26 games after he was acquired from the New York Rangers on Feb. 4. Adrian Kempe had 73 points (36 goals, 37 assists), and Quinton Byfield had 49 points (24 goals, 25 assists).

–Field Level Media

The Detroit Pistons had the best record in the Eastern Conference for most of the season. They ride into the playoffs as the conference’s top seed after winning 60 games.

There’s still plenty of doubt whether the Pistons can live up to that status. Boston, with star forward Jayson Tatum back in action after recovering from an Achilles injury, is favored to reach the Finals. Cleveland, Detroit’s potential second-round opponent, has the second-best odds of coming out of the East.

As for the Pistons, they’re third on the odds boards, just ahead of the New York Knicks. So, the Pistons, who begin their first-round series at home against No. 8 seed Orlando on Sunday, have a right to feel underappreciated.

Truth is, the Pistons like being in that role.

“It doesn’t affect us at all,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “And that’s the best part about it. Our guys don’t live and die by other people’s expectations and comments. Our guys show up and live and die by playing Pistons basketball. And that makes it easy.”

His players seem to feel the same way.

“Everybody’s got a right to their own opinion,” forward Ausar Thompson said. “We don’t really worry about that. We believe not only can we come out of the East but win it all. We just focus on that, focus on ourselves and let everybody on the outside say what they’ve got to say.”

Detroit comes into the playoffs healthy. Star guard Cade Cunningham returned during the final week of the season after recovering from a collapsed lung. Isaiah Stewart also appeared in some late-season contests after recovering from a calf strain.

The short order of business for the Pistons is to win their first playoff series since 2008. They qualified for the playoffs last season but were bounced as underdogs to the more seasoned Knicks in a hotly-contested series.

Detroit finished the regular season with the third-best field goal percentage, despite being 17th in 3-point percentage. The Pistons are even more formidable at the defensive end, leading the league in steals and blocks.

The Magic know they will have to scrap for everything they get in the series.

“There’s a physicality to this game that’s going to be real,” coach Jamahl Mosley said of playing the top seed. “There’s going to be a lot of aggression. There’s going to be a lot of physicality. It’s going to be a dogfight.”

Orlando’s road to the first round wasn’t easy. Philadelphia defeated the Magic 109-97 in the matchup of No. 7 and 8 seeds, forcing Orlando into a do-or-die matchup with Charlotte. The Magic pulled a surprise with a dominant 121-90 thrashing of the Hornets.

Orlando led by 35 points late in the first half.

Star forward Paolo Banchero led the way with 25 points and six assists, bouncing back from a poor shooting night against the Sixers.

“Great players, you got to respond,” Banchero said. “That’s what they pay you to do. You can’t just settle for subpar performances, especially in situations like this, do or die, win or go home, got to show up for your teammates and set the tone.”

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Phillies placed closer Jhoan Duran on the 15-day injured list Saturday with a left oblique strain.

In a series of moves, right-hander Seth Johnson and utilityman Felix Reyes were recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, while utilityman Otto Kemp was optioned and minor league outfielder Pedro Leon was released.

Duran’s move to the IL was retroactive to Wednesday. The 28-year-old right-hander is 1-1 with a 1.35 ERA and five saves in seven appearances for the Phillies this season. Over five major league seasons with the Minnesota Twins and Phillies, he has a 2.41 ERA and 95 saves in 253 appearances.

Johnson, 27, made one appearance with the Phillies earlier this season and has a combined 9.72 ERA in 12 appearances (one start) for Philadelphia over three seasons.

Reyes, 25, is set to make his major league debut after he batted .272 with 48 home runs and 247 RBIs over six seasons (374 games) in the Phillies’ system. Kemp, 26, was 2-for-20 in 10 games for Philadelphia this season.

Leon, 27, was batting .283 in 12 games at Lehigh Valley. He has seven games of major league experience with the Houston Astros in 2024.

–Field Level Media