Avalanche and Kings play wild Game 2, Nicolas Roy the OT hero

The Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles Kings played a wild Game 2 on Tuesday night at Ball Arena.

And it happened without a lot of scoring until the third period and overtime.

Ultimately, trade deadline acquisition Nicolas Roy was the hero, scoring 7:44 into overtime to give the Avalanche a 2-1 victory and commanding 2-0 series lead. It’s the second straight game they’ve won by that score.

Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood came up with two clutch saves in OT before Roy ended it. Josh Manson and fellow deadline addition Nazem Kadri had the other assist. The crowd in Denver went nuts just before midnight, sending the fans home happy after another nail-biting win.

THE AVALANCHE WIN IT 🙌

Nicolas Roy is the Game 2 hero in @Energizer overtime! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/TJYCVi4bij

— NHL (@NHL) April 22, 2026

The game was 0-0 after two periods and also scoreless with seven minutes to go. That’s when the Kings finally broke the ice, but not without controversy. Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson cleared the puck on a penalty kill, but it hit the ref and wound up in the bench.

The face-off returned to the Colorado zone where after a defensive breakdown, Los Angeles forward Artemi Panarin beat Scott Wedgewood to make it 1-0.

But just when it look like hope might be lost, captain Avs Gabriel Landeskog came through with 3:56 to go. He snuck toward the front of the net and buried a puck off a great pass from Martin Necas. Ball Arena exploded and was shaking with new life and also a feeling that overtime was inevitable.

THE CAPTAIN ANSWERS BACK FOR THE AVS 😱

WE. ARE. TIED. #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: @espn
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet & @TVASports pic.twitter.com/1MDNIxOSRi

— NHL (@NHL) April 22, 2026

The second period featured it all including a penalty shot by the Kings, a brilliant save by Wedgewood and a pane of glass breaking on the Los Angeles bench.

With the Avalanche on a power play the puck escaped the stick of Colorado defenseman Cale Makar. He tried to chase down Kings center Quinton Byfield, but the referees called hooking on Makar and rewarded Byfield with a penalty shot. Luckily, Wedgewood came up with a huge glove save and the game remained scoreless.

Ball Arena getting LOUD for Wedgewood 🔊 pic.twitter.com/67Sazoxgg0

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 22, 2026

That euphoria caused Avs fans behind the L.A. bench to bang on the glass to the point of it shattering, including hitting Kings coach D.J. Smith. Luckily, everyone was okay and after a 17-minute delay to replace the pane, hockey resumed. Despite a 3-on-1 for the Avs that was snuffed out, it was 0-0 after 40 minutes of play.

The first period had plenty of fireworks as well even if there were also no goals. The game was chippy from the jump but took an even bigger turn about 10 minutes in.

Necas got hit in the head by Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson. It looked high, however the officials somehow saw it differently.

A massive scrap ensued seconds later with Colorado defenseman Brett Kulak drawing two penalties on the play, while Anderson only got one for roughing against Kulak. The Avs killed off L.A.’s seemingly unjust power play.

Necas was pulled from the game for several minutes by concussion spotters, according to the broadcast, but returned late in the first period. Overall the opening 20 minutes saw seven penalties called between both teams.

Clearly, these are the types of games the Avalanche and Kings are going to play in this series. They’re gritty, grimy and tough, with open ice hard to come by.

But despite all that, Colorado has a 2-0 series lead and can take firm control on Thursday night with a win in Los Angeles to go up 3-0.

Buckle up, it feels like there is certainly more unexpected twists to come.

Nathan MacKinnon gives a shoutout to the OT hero Nicolas Roy and says “it takes a full team to win” in the playoffs. Roy a key trade deadline acquisition for the Avalanche. pic.twitter.com/6bd8NGBNBJ

— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) April 22, 2026

I asked Cale Makar about how strange that game was for the Avalanche and he gave a thoughtful answer, especially about the delay for the glass breaking. Basically said you’ve got to be ready for anything in the playoffs. pic.twitter.com/Rol7OpoUIt

— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) April 22, 2026

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