There were no passengers as the Avalanche swept the Los Angeles Kings.

Sure, the offense wasn’t quite where you want it to be from guys like Martin Necas and Brock Nelson. But they were committed defensively and played surprisingly physical, with each registering seven hits over the four games. Expectations are high for those two, while they’re a little lower for some of the others in the lineup.

Here are a few players who flew under the radar with fantastic performances against the Kings:

Brett Kulak

Behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews, Kulak finished third on the defense in ice time, averaging 20 minutes, 18 seconds per game. There wasn’t a ton of offense there, but that’s not why the Avalanche acquired Kulak in exchange for Sam Girard. Colorado wanted to get a little tougher to play against on the blue line with that move and it worked out as expected.

There were several plays during the series made by Kulak in the corners and in front of the net that Girard isn’t built to make. That’s not a slight against Girard, as he has areas of his game where he excels and Kulak does not. But the Avalanche felt they had enough offense from their defense. They wanted a different style player and they got it in Kulak, who now has beaten the Kings in five straight postseasons.

Nicolas Roy

The 6-foot-4 center missed so much time down the stretch that it was tough to get a clear read on how he would fit with the Avalanche system. Turns out, it didn’t matter.

“He played amazing in that series,” Jared Bednar said of Roy.

Roy scored two massive goals against the Kings, the overtime winner in Game 2 and the goal that broke open Game 4 in the third period. Where did both of those goals occur? At the front of the net. Below the hash marks in the offensive zone is where Roy thrived in that series, using his size to win battles along the boards and at the net. With Nazem Kadri still not taking faceoffs due to a late-season finger injury, Roy was nice insurance for that third line with all his experience down the middle.

A first-round pick, one that could very well be late, is fair value for a solid third-liner like Roy, especially when you consider he’s signed through the end of next season.

Logan O’Connor

Why were the Avalanche so keen on making sure O’Connor was ready to go in the postseason? Well, we just saw why.

“I think you see his game really start to round into form in the playoffs, because he’s never going to cheat you on effort, competitiveness, all those things,” Bednar said of O’Connor.

According to HockeyStats, O’Connor had the second-best offensive impact among all Avalanche forwards against the Kings. Considering he doesn’t play nearly as much as some of the other forwards on this team, that’s impressive.

Sounds familiar, right? That’s exactly what happened in the first round last spring against the Stars when he finished second in scoring behind Nathan MacKinnon. He wasn’t on the scoresheet against the Kings as often as he was last year, but O’Connor was impactful again for the Avalanche.

Ross Colton

Colton was blunt when talking to The Denver Gazette about being a scratch for Games 1 and 2.

“It sucks, honestly,” he said.

He channeled that frustration in a positive direction, though. In just two games and 21 minutes of ice time, Colton registered eight hits and eight shot attempts. Considering the Avalanche passed up a few too many shots in the first two games, Colton coming in and letting it rip wasn’t the worst thing. It remains to be seen if he’ll stay on the second line when Round 2 starts, but he played well when he got the opportunity against the Kings.

What I’m hearing

• The Avalanche changed up lines at practice this week, moving Gabriel Landeskog to the second line and putting Colton with Roy and Nazem Kadri. That could change when Round 2 starts, though. “We’ll see who we’re playing and we’ll pick our lines based on what we think the tasks are and the jobs are for those lines, and what the matchups will look like, home and road,” Bednar said.
• Nathan MacKinnon on Gabriel Landeskog just being one of the guys this season: “This is how it’s supposed to be.”

What I’m seeing

—The Golden Knights-Mammoth series has been fantastic, but if Vegas ends up winning, Utah is going to kick itself. The series has been there for the Mammoth to take, but you can’t blow third-period leads. Most of that team hasn’t experienced playoff hockey and it’s been apparent, especially in net, although Carter Hart hasn’t exactly been good for Vegas, either.

—No offense to Flyers and Penguins fans, but that series looked like it was being played at about 75% of the speed of the other series. It brought the entertainment value for other reasons, but these types of matchups can occur when the playoff system is set up the way it currently is. Carolina will be heavy favorites again.

What I’m thinking

• Kirill Kaprizov got the big payday last summer, but it sure feels like Matt Boldy is the engine that makes that Wild team go.
• Ratings for the NHL playoffs are up significantly this year compared to last season. NHL players going to the Olympics was kind of important, wasn’t it?