NHL On Tap: Laviolette to debut as Kings coach at Avalanche

Sep 30, 2026, 1:00 PM ET|Comments (0)

from NHL.com,

Peter Laviolette will debut as coach of the Los Angeles Kings against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver (10 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT). The Kings are Laviolette’s seventh NHL team; he ranks seventh among coaches in wins (846) and ninth in games (1,594), most recently guiding the New York Rangers for two seasons (2023-25). Drew Doughty will debut as Kings captain; the defenseman succeeds Anze Kopitar, who retired after 20 seasons in Los Angeles. It’s a rematch from the Western Conference First Round last season; the Avalanche, who signed coach Jared Bednar to a four-year contract Wednesday that runs through the 2030-31 season, won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top team in 2025-26 with 121 points. They swept the Kings in four games en route to the conference final, where they were swept by the …

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