The Kings trail the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 in their first-round series heading into Sunday’s Game 4. Los Angeles was down 3-0 to the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2014 postseason before rallying for the win.
They went on to capture the Cup.
“You’ve got to be loose now,” Kings interim coach D.J. Smith said. “You know the end result if you don’t win. Sometimes when that happens you grip it a little less and you make a play maybe you wouldn’t have made early on.
“The No. 1 thing you can’t do is get down on yourself, get down on your team, get down on your teammates. I don’t see any of that in the room. … I don’t feel for one second that anyone in that room doesn’t think we can win our next hockey game.”
Colorado leads a series 3-0 for the eighth time in franchise history. The last three times the Avalanche advanced in four games, including twice during their 2022 Cup run.
Buffalo Sabres at Boston Bruins
When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Sunday, 2 p.m. ET (TNT)
The Bruins will try to avoid a 3-1 deficit when they get back on the TD Garden ice against the Sabres on Sunday. The Bruins were 29-11-1 at home this season — tied for the most home wins in the league — going more than three months and 13 games without losing in Boston.
The Sabres’ 24 away wins were tied for the most in the Eastern Conference.
“We’ve been a good road team. We’ve put together some really good stretches on the road where we’ve played really well,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “I said you’re going to get a different type of atmosphere, but just believe in the way we need to play. And I thought we executed that to a ‘T.’”
The teams had an extra day off after Game 3, which Buffalo won 3-1 to reclaim the home-ice advantage it earned by winning the Atlantic Division for its first playoff berth since 2011 — a drought that is the longest in NHL history.
The Bruins feel like they’re on the right track after scoring first in all three games.
“We’re a confident bunch here, and one game doesn’t change that,” Boston forward Mark Kastelic said. “We’ll have a good two days here to reset and continue to push forward.”
Colorado Avalanche at Los Angeles Kings
When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Sunday, 4:30 p.m. ET (TNT)
Series: Avalanche lead 3-0
Known for their speed and scoring, the Avalanche have shown their defensive prowess, too, by winning a pair of low-scoring games.
“You’re comfortable winning a 1-0 game. If it’s a little bit more run-and-gun, you can do that, too,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “If it’s physical, you’re able to do that. It’s well-rounded players that can play a 200-foot game that give you the best chance to win, and we have a team full of them.”
The Kings have added incentive to prolong the season — Anze Kopitar. The Kings captain is set to retire after the season.
And Avalanche defenseman has an added incentive to end it quickly: He was on the 2014 Sharks team that blew a 3-0 lead to the Kings.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens
When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Sunday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Series: Canadiens lead 2-1
All three games of the series have gone to overtime, with the Canadiens winning twice to improve to 21-6-6 in one-goal games this season.
Montreal’s fourth line was a plus-3 in Game 3 and the Canadiens are ahead in the series despite not getting a 5-on-5 goal from their top line. Juraj Slafkovsky, who is on the No. 1 line, had three power-play goals in the series-opening 4-3 victory.
The Lightning are beating themselves with penalties and defensive lapses, including three breakaways on Friday night. They have to figure it out quickly or they’ll be heading toward their fourth straight first-round exit.
“We’ve held some pretty darn good players to limited chances in this series,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We’re just not capitalizing the way we think we can do some things. Our execution has to be (better), we have to elevate now. And it feels like we’ve had bits and pieces of this series where we’ve been pretty darn good, and on the other side of it it’s been a struggle at times.”
Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim Ducks
When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Sunday, 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN)
The two-time defending Western Conference champion Oilers now appear to be in a bit of trouble against the upstart Ducks, who have scored 16 goals in the first three games to seize the series lead.
After four consecutive years of long springs stretching into summer, Connor McDavid and his teammates have looked weary. They’ve made far too many mistakes in their own zone, with star defenseman Evan Bouchard standing out for his giveaways and errors in the Oilers’ 7-4 loss in Game 3.
“Any time you let in seven, it’s not a goalie problem,” Oilers defenseman Zach Hyman said. “It’s just (about) defending better. We didn’t give ourselves a chance.”
The Ducks are comfortable playing firewagon hockey as a mediocre-to-poor defensive team with the talent to outscore its mistakes, particularly with the backing of its frenzied home crowd at Orange County’s first playoff hockey in eight years. The fans will be fired up again when the Ducks attempt to push Edmonton to the brink of its first opening-round exit since 2021.
AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham, Pat Graham and Rob Maaddi contributed to this story.
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