LOS ANGELES – Nikolai Kovalenko, Casey Mittelstadt, and Calum Ritchie. That was the second line for the Colorado Avalanche on opening night. It feels like two years ago, but it was only seven months ago.

That night was also the beginning of the end for Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen.

All five of the players mentioned are no longer in the Avalanche organization. It’s safe to say a lot has changed since Colorado lost 8-4 to Vegas on Oct. 9. But that’s been the theme of this season.

Change.

By dressing Wyatt Aamodt and Jack Ahcan on Saturday in their 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena, the Avalanche have dressed 50 different players this season. 50. Some of that is due to injuries, some of that is due to cycling through AHL call-ups, and some of that is due to all the moves Chris MacFarland has made.

Since the regular season began, MacFarland has made eight trades that have impacted his NHL roster. The season of change began at the end of November when it became clear Colorado’s goaltending situation was no longer tenable.

On Nov. 30, one night after Alexandar Georgiev gave up four goals on just 23 shots in Dallas, MacFarland dealt backup Justus Annunen for Scott Wedgewood. The hope was that Wedgewood would come in and be a stable backup, which is exactly what he has been.

It just hasn’t been behind Georgiev.

A few days after Wedgewood got to town, Georgiev was pulled in Buffalo after giving up four goals in less than eight minutes. The Avalanche came back and won that game, but it was clear Georgiev could no longer be the starter in Colorado.

“I think it shook us to the core with the rough start. I’m not going to lie,” MacFarland said of his teams early season goaltending.

On Dec. 9, Georgiev and Kovalenko were out and Mackenzie Blackwood was in, completing a 10-day overhaul of Colorado’s goaltending position the likes of which the NHL has never seen. That also was the beginning of the Avalanche really starting to lock things down, as they’ve been a top five defensive team since that date.

Swapping out both goaltenders would be the biggest moves of the year for any other NHL general manager. But 46 days after acquiring Blackwood, MacFarland completed a blockbuster trade that sent shockwaves through the league.

Mikko Rantanen, one of the team’s three star players and a pending unrestricted free agent, was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Necas and Jack Drury. The two parties could not come to an agreement on a contract extension and the Avalanche didn’t want to risk losing him for nothing in the summer. It was a move that 95% of general managers wouldn’t have had the guts to make, but MacFarland pulled the trigger anyway.

The hope was that move would spread the wealth a little bit throughout the lineup without losing much at the top end. That’s what has happened, as Necas has fit in very well in Colorado’s top six while Drury has been a fine addition to the bottom six. Having liked what he’d seen up to that point, MacFarland decided to go all-in when March hit.

Significant assets were moved to acquire three pending unrestricted free agents, including the aforementioned Ritchie, who was the top prospect in the organization. The big name coming back to Colorado was Brock Nelson, the man the Avalanche hope can be the solution behind Nathan MacKinnon when the playoffs roll around. With Nelson around, the Avalanche dealt Mittelstadt to Boston for Charlie Coyle, whose been a tremendous addition down the middle.

From Feb. 26 to March 27, with all their newfound depth, the Avalanche went on an 11-1-1 run. Without a whole lot to play for the team has cooled off, choosing to rest some players that are a little dinged up from a long season. Because of how they performed when everyone was in the lineup, there doesn’t appear to be much concern about the team’s ability flip the switch next week.

The potential return of their captain should be plenty of motivation for the team to turn the intensity up again.

Seven months and 50 players, it’s been a long road to get to this point. And given what’s been moved to bring in all these new faces, the Avalanche are hoping it’s a few more months before this season’s journey ends.

Kings 5, Avalanche 4

What happened: A shorthanded Colorado Avalanche squad battled back twice against the Los Angeles Kings, but couldn’t come away with the win.

What went right: When you consider the roster the Avalanche dressed, this game probably should have been a bit more lopsided. The Kings are still fighting for home-ice advantage in the first round while Colorado left all their best players at home. Regardless of who was dressed, Jared Bednar was happy with the effort.

“I like the way we competed tonight,” Bednar said. “We played with good detail. We certainly made a handful of mistakes that we didn’t like, but I just think big picture, looking at the whole game, competitive, detailed. We were involved physically.”

What went wrong: There’s been a dip in play from Mackenzie Blackwood of late, as he has had a save percentage of .900 or less in each of his last four starts. The focus will be on him in a week as someone who has zero playoff experience.

“I think he hasn’t played as good as he did when he first got here, so he’s got to hone in on his game here quickly. I still have a lot of confidence in him,” Bednar said.

Avalanche goal scorers: Nelson (25,26), Nichushkin (21), Malinski (5)

Kings goal scorers: Byfield (22), Fiala (33, 34), Laferriere (18), Kopitar (21)

Between the pipes: Blackwood stopped 27 of 32 shots in the loss.

What’s next: The Avalanche will close out their season in Anaheim on Sunday at 8 p.m.