<p>DENVER — Tyson Jost scored two of Colorado’s five second-period goals as the Avalanche clinched the West Division and the top overall seed in the NHL playoffs with a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.</p>
<p>Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Joonas Donskoi and Andre Burakovsky also scored in the pivotal period. Backup Jonas Johansson made 21 saves to help the Avalanche finish 7-1 against the Kings this season. </p>
<p>Colorado and Vegas both finished with 82 points, but the Avs earned the division crown and the Presidents’ Trophy — awarded to the team with the best regular-season mark — due to more regulation wins. This was the first time the Avalanche have captured the Presidents’ Trophy since 2000-01, when they went on to hoist the Stanley Cup.</p>
<p>Colorado begins a first-round series Monday against St. Louis, which wound up with the fourth seed in the West.</p>
<p>Sean Walker scored for the Kings as they wrapped up their season on an 0-4-1 skid. Troy Grosenick stopped 38 shots.</p>
<p>The home-ice advantage could come in handy: The Avalanche have been playing at a high level at home, going 16-0-1 in their last 17 at Ball Arena. The 17 straight home games with at least a point ties the club record set in 2003.</p>
<p>Down 1-0 heading into the second, Colorado quickly found its rhythm. Jost led the way by scoring twice within a 1:52 span to give the Avalanche a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. </p>
<p>The action got a little heated late in the second when Kings forward Brendan Lemieux collided with Avs defenseman Samuel Girard near mid-ice. Girard’s fellow defenseman, Ryan Graves, took exception and immediately dropped the gloves to square off against Lemieux. </p>
<p>Johansson stepped in for starter Philipp Grubauer, who shut out the Kings in a 6-0 win Wednesday. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar hasn’t played Grubauer in back-to-back games all season and didn’t want to start now, despite the importance. </p>
<p>Johansson rewarded his faith by improving to 5-1-1 with Colorado since being acquired in a deal with Buffalo on March 20. </p>
<p>Mikko Rantanen assisted on both of Jost’s scores to give him 66 points (30 goals, 36 assists). It’s the most on the team this season.</p>
<p>The Kings struck late in the first period when Walker capitalized on Burakovsky tumbling to the ice trying to keep the puck in the offensive end. Walker had a clear path to the goal and threaded a shot under Johansson’s glove for his fifth goal of the season. </p>
<p>NO MAC</p>
<p>Avalanche forward MacKinnon sat out Thursday for the fourth time in five games due to a lower-body injury. The team went 4-0 in the games he missed.</p>
<p>“We have such a deep roster that we have guys who can fill spots,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “Obviously, we miss him.”</p>
<p>THIS & THAT</p>
<p>Colorado F Carl Soderberg was scratched for a second straight game. … Avs D Conor Timmins had two assists. … D Cale Makar had an assist to finish with 44 points in 44 games. He joined Steve Duchesne (82 points in 82 game with Quebec in ’92-93) as the only defensemen in franchise history to average a point-per-game (minimum 40 games). … Goaltender Devan Dubnyk remains on the league’s COVID-19 protocol list.</p>
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