It went down to the wire, but the Colorado Avalanche now know their first-round opponent.

The Avalanche will take on the Los Angeles Kings when the playoffs get underway this weekend. Game 1 has already been announced for Sunday, April 19, with the time to be announced soon, along with the full schedule.

The two teams faced off three times this season, with the Avalanche walking away with wins in all three. Colorado opened its season in Los Angeles, easily beating the Kings 4-1 Oct. 7. That was the beginning of a 100-point season for Martin Necas, as he led the way with two goals.

In December, the Kings made their only visit of the season to Colorado, falling to the Avalanche 5-2. Necas, Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson each scored in that game. The final meeting between these two teams took place March 2, another win for the Avalanche where a late Devon Toews goal was the difference before Colorado scored with the empty net.

In order to make the playoffs, the Kings had to get hot over the final few weeks of the season. Going into Thursday’s action, they had gone 7-0-2 since the start of April to separate from the teams chasing them. Of course, overtime losses have kind of been the Kings’ thing this season. Their 20 overtime losses are the most in NHL history, and those 20 extra points played a large role in them making the postseason.

Los Angeles is led by Artemi Panarin, whom it acquired from the New York Rangers during the season. He has 84 points in 77 games, with 27 of those points coming with the Kings. He adds a different element of skill to their lineup that they were lacking. Although Anze Kopitar has slowed with age, he’s still someone who plays in every situation for the Kings, even in his final NHL season.

Although former Avalanche netminder Darcy Kuemper started the season as the Kings’ No. 1 goaltender, his struggles combined with Anton Forsberg playing well mean that the Avalanche will likely see Forsberg when the series starts. Forsberg has a .910 save percentage in his 30 starts.

These two franchises have previously met twice in the postseason, with the Avalanche winning both series in seven games. Their first playoff series took place in 2001, one of the years the Avalanche took home the Stanley Cup. They have not met each other in the playoffs since 2002.

Colorado rested Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Gabriel Landeskog in its season finale against the Seattle Kraken. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said Thursday morning that the team is expected to be 100% healthy when the playoffs start. Both Nazem Kadri and Josh Manson sat out the game with injuries, but they each skated prior to the game and are expected to return for Game 1.