LOS ANGELES — Three teams, including the Colorado Avalanche, are looking to complete a first-round sweep this weekend. The other five series have been more competitive.

One week into the NHL playoffs, fans have been reminded why postseason hockey is as good as it gets. It’s fast, it’s intense, and it’s appointment viewing every night. Time to take a look at where all eight series stand at Friday afternoon in the first round.

Avalanche lead Los Angeles Kings 3-0

Brock Nelson, Cale Makar, Nazem Kadri, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Valeri Nichushkin all have one point or fewer in this series. It hasn’t mattered. The NHL Networks’ Mike Rupp loved this matchup for the Avalanche when he talked to The Denver Gazette a week ago, and this is why.

“It just gives them the opportunity to take care of business and if you get a couple hiccups in trying to get up to that next level, I think you’re so much more talented than the other team that you’ll be OK still,” he said.

This is how the Kings played down the stretch, and it’s no surprise that they’ve continued to play this way throughout the series. It’s all they have. They are not built to go punch-for-punch with the Avalanche, so they must slow it down. The Avalanche adjusted and beat the Kings at their own game.

That’s not to say there aren’t some concerning things happening with the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon had zero shots on goal in Game 3 and has gone 10 games without a goal on an opposing goaltender. Their top six forwards have been strong defensively, but outside of Artturi Lehkonen, the offense hasn’t been there. And the power play is giving fans flashbacks to last season’s series against the Stars.

All those things are why you want the top seed, though. The Avalanche earned this matchup with their strong regular season and now they’re reaping the rewards of it. They still have one more game to win, but they’ll have to be much better the next round.

Dallas Stars lead Minnesota Wild 2-1

It’s a tradition for the Stars to lose the first game of a series and for people to wonder if this is the year they finally fall off. As they do, they bounced back and in a big way. If Minnesota could get a timely goal, particularly on the power play, it could easily be up 2-1 or even 3-0 in this series. Avalanche fans reading this are thinking, “That sounds familiar.”

The Stars are like cockroaches. They don’t go away. They bend but they don’t break and they’re comfortable playing that way. Their excellent power play won them Game 3 and continues to be a problem for opposing teams. This series is far from over and both teams are already beating each other up. The Avalanche are hoping for a few more double-overtime games before this one is done.

Vegas Golden Knights and Utah Mammoth tied 1-1

Game 1 looked like a bunch of adults playing children. Vegas bullied Utah all over the ice and its massive size advantage was evident on television. Give credit where credit is due, though. The Mammoth bounced back and the best player on the ice in both games has been Logan Cooley, who hasn’t looked intimidated by what the Golden Knights are trying to do.

Utah fans are about to experience playoff hockey for the first time. Considering how that building is designed to have the fans sit on top of the players, it’s going to be loud.

Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks tied 1-1

Something about this series feels unserious. There is very little defense being played and both games have been a race to see who can score closest to the buzzer, because scoring too soon leaves too much time on the clock for mistakes. Entertaining hockey, but not the type of hockey that can win a Stanley Cup.

Connor McDavid has no points, hasn’t played well and appeared to twist his ankle in Game 2. That’s not good news for Edmonton; nor is Evan Bouchard’s performance. They won’t go far if those two aren’t doing much.

Buffalo Sabres lead Boston Bruins 2-1

You might not have heard it through ESPN’s muffled audio, but the building in Buffalo was as loud as you’ll ever hear any building when the Sabres came back in Game 1. That team is flirting with disaster, as they’ve gone down in all three games, but they’re clawing their way back. The Avalanche haven’t had to rotate goaltenders, but Buffalo has. Alex Lyon came in to save the day in Game 3 and will be their guy until he hits a snag.

Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens tied 1-1

This is a must-watch series. Montreal’s young stars led them to victory in Game 1. So what did the veteran Lightning team do in Game 2? They turned into bullies, led by Brandon Hagel. Nikita Kucherov scoring his first goal in 16 playoff games helps as well. The Lightning dominated overtime of Game 2, not even allowing the Canadiens to get a shot on goal, and have some momentum. The problem? That series now heads to Montreal, where fans there might just blow the roof off the building.

Carolina Hurricanes lead Ottawa Senators 3-0

No offense to the rest of the teams in this bracket, but this looks like another season where the Hurricanes will sleepwalk to the Conference Finals. Ottawa’s best players have underperformed, as Tim Stutzle can’t buy a goal and Brady Tkachuk’s hands have only been useful when fighting or slamming the bench door.

It was a mild surprise for Carolina to turn to Freddie Andersen in net, but it’s worked out well for them. He’s played great. Logan Stankoven might be 5-foot-8 on a good day, but he’s proving to be a big-time playoff performer in Carolina. They salvaged that Mikko Rantanen situation as well as they could.

Philadelphia Flyers lead Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0

The last player to step straight out of the NCAA and make as big of an impact in the NHL playoffs as Porter Martone has is some guy named Cale Makar. The 19-year-old has been a revelation for the Flyers and a big reason why they’re on the brink of sweeping the Penguins.

Everyone was excited to see Sidney Crosby back in the NHL playoffs. Unfortunately, it looks like it’s going to be short-lived. Crosby has battled a few injuries since the Olympics and doesn’t look like himself. Credit to the Flyers, but the Penguins have just looked awful. They were a fun team in the regular season. That fun might be coming to an end very quickly.

What I’m hearing

• Game respects game, and Scott Wedgewood is earning some respect around the league. “Give Wedgewood credit,” Kings coach D.J. Smith said. “This guy looks like he’s putting his name on the circuit as a big-time goalie.”
• MacKinnon might not be scoring much, but he has been very good in the faceoff circle, winning 62% of his draws. “I’ve talked with Nate over the years,” coach Jared Bednar said. “Nate’s numbers are better in key situations, ‘O-zone’ situations. I think he digs in a lot more. Historically, he dug in a lot more in those situations, ‘D-zone’ draws when we’ve put him out there when we need something as opposed to the random neutral-zone faceoff. But starting with the puck’s important. We had some of those discussions a few years ago. I think he’s a real good draw guy against certain guys and maybe other guys give him a little bit of trouble like any center. But it’s something I think he put a bigger importance on over the last handful of years.”

What I’m seeing

• Erik Johnson is a wizard on television, but you already knew that. During a penalty review in Game 2 between the Wild and Stars, Johnson’s eagle eyes caught the white tape of a Dallas players stick adding a puck mark, indicating the puck was deflected and shouldn’t have been a penalty. The refs overturned the penalty, proving Johnson correct, but it’s the type of live analysis you’re seeing from the former Avalanche defenseman that sets him apart from others in the business.

• Way-too-early Conn Smythe candidates: Wedgewood, Andersen, Dan Vladar, Jackson Lacombe, Brock Faber, Wyatt Johnston, Hagel. It should also be noted Makar has displayed multiple times during this Avalanche-Kings series that he’s the best defenseman in the world. That two-week break seems to have done him well.

What I’m thinking

• These 8:52 p.m. local starts the NHL is forcing on teams for television are inhumane, especially on a weekday. There’s got to be a better way. How are kids supposed to fall in love with the sport if the games start that late?
• Anyone looking for an Avalanche-themed Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift can check out GAME 7 apparel, which was founded by NHL legend Mark Messier. They just expanded their lineup to include the Avalanche, launching with men’s and women’s shirts.