3 Reasons Why Avalanche Can Win the Stanley Cup
Colorado Scoring Early, Often in the Playoffs
The analytics might have suggested that Winnipeg would have the upper hand on the Colorado Avalanche since the Jets were 10-5-1 in the last 16 games of the regular season to snare home-ice advantage away from their Central Division rival.
Despite struggling down the stretch, it was a different story when the playoffs began as the Avalanche delivered at +550 in the NHL odds to win the series in five games.
Winnipeg won 7-0 in the last meeting of the regular season between the teams but after posting a wild 7-6 win in Game 1, the Jets were grounded for the rest of the series.
After opening the Stanley Cup playoffs on the road, there is a chance that Colorado will have home-ice advantage in the next round if reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas eliminates the Dallas Stars.
According to the NHL playoff odds, the Avalanche (+600) are tied for the third-best odds to win the Stanley Cup. Colorado is second at +275 to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
1. Scoring Onslaught Powers Avs
While there have been plenty of 2-1 and 3-2 games and even some 1-0 contests mixed in there, that is not the case with the Colorado Avalanche.
There were six goals scored in the first period of the series opener. Even though Colorado lost that game 7-6, the Avalanche had at least five goals in each of the five games against Winnipeg despite going up against an elite goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck.
Goal 2️⃣ for the Moose in Manitoba. #GoAvsGo | #ALLIN pic.twitter.com/tEpWKgt59j
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) May 1, 2024
Colorado is averaging 5.6 goals per game – the next closest team is Edmonton with 4.5 goals. The +13 goal differential is the most in the first round of the playoffs. Colorado scored six times on the power play against the Jets and added a short-handed goal by Devon Toews as goalie Alexandar Georgiev is getting plenty of support.
The usual suspects are leading the charge as Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar each had two goals and seven assists in the first-round series.
Valeri Nichushkin had seven goals in the series as he scored in each of the five games. The BetUS Sportsbook odds had Nichushkin at +900 to be the goal-scoring leader in the series.
Winnipeg had the lead in three of the five games in the series but that didn’t bother the Avalanche.
2. Plenty of Motivation for Avalanche
Colorado went into the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs looking to become the second team since 2000 to win back-to-back NHL titles.
Those hopes didn’t last for very long as the Seattle Kraken, in its second NHL season, ousted the favored Avalanche by winning 2-1 in Game 7.
Plenty of title runs have been spurred on by an early exit in the previous season.
While there have been a few roster changes, many of Colorado’s top players are back for another run at the Stanley Cup.
Colorado obviously misses Gabriel Landeskog, who hasn’t played all season, but having Nichushkin back after he missed five of the seven games in the playoff series with Seattle has been a huge boost.
MacKinnon joins Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg as the only players in Avalanche franchise history with more than 100 career playoff points. Rantanen needs four points to join that group.
Makar has 74 points in 66 career postseason appearances to join Paul Coffey, Brian Leetch and Bobby Orr as the only defensemen to play at least 60 playoff games and average more than a point per game.
3. All Hands on Deck
Eight players averaged at least a point per game in the first round and there were also eight multi-goal scorers in the series, so this is not a case of all the pressure being on MacKinnon, Rantanen and Makar to win games and series for the Avalanche.
The trade that sent defenseman Bowen Byram to Buffalo for Casey Mittelstadt provided even more scoring depth for a talented group of Colorado forwards.
Mittelstadt had a goal and five assists in the Winnipeg series and he was one of six players with a plus/minus rating of +5 or better.
While Byram’s ability to move the puck is missed, the Avalanche had five goals and 15 assists from its defensemen in the five games against the Jets.
Questions Of The Day
How Many Colorado Avalanche Players Are Back from the 2022 Stanley Cup Championship Team?
Colorado not only returns Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar and Valeri Nichushkin from the 2022 title-winning team, but defensemen Devon Toews, Josh Manson, Jack Johnson and Samuel Girard are still around, as are forwards Andrew Cogliano and Artturi Lehkonen.
Who led the Avalanche in scoring in the first-round series?
MacKinnon, Makar and Rantanen tied for the team lead with seven assists and nine points while Nichushkin scored seven times on 17 shots and had three power-play goals.
