It’s that time of year that hockey fans live for… the Stanley Cup Playoffs. So what are the Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup chances going into this postseason? Excellent. They are the winners of the Presidents’ Trophy who finished the 2020-21 campaign with 82 points equaling the Vegas Golden Knights. The Avs won the top spot by grabbing the head-to-head competition between the two teams 4-3. The Avalanche nosed out the Golden Knights in a 2-1 game played on May 10th. It was that close.
Avalanche Are Firing on all Cylinders
They have a sensational first line consisting of Mikko Rantanen (30-G, 36-A) Nathan MacKinnon (20-G, 45-A), and Gabriel Landeskog (20-G, 32-A). Between them, they have 55 percent of the team’s power-play goals. A suggestion for any of their playoffs opponents is to stay out of the penalty box as much as possible. With the Avs three-headed monstrous power play starring you in the face, it’s best to attempt to play at equal strength if possible. They accumulated three five-game winning streaks, including one that closed out their season. They also had one seven-game winning stint which only shows how powerful this team can be.
Trying to stop the Colorado offence is like attempting to stop… well an avalanche! They come at you in so many ways, and if you slip up they go for the jugular. Most good teams do, but this team is better than good… they are dominant.
Colorado Defence is no Slouch Either
The Avs are one of, if not the best young defensive group in the NHL. Try Cale Makar, the 2019-20 Calder winner. He is quite amazing with 44 points including eight goals in 44 games. Not many D-men can average a point a game. Then, there’s Samuel Girard who at the ripe young age of 22 (same as Makar) he has been credited with five goals and 32 points in 48 games. Finally, the Colorado Avalanche added (as if they needed it) Devon Toews as a free agent from the New York Islanders, who had 31 points in 53 games including nine goals. Needless to say, the offence and defence of the Avs is top-notch.
What About the Colorado Goaltending
Granted, every super-successful team has a weakness. For the Avalanche it had to be in net. Certainly, Philipp Grubauer is not a bad goalie, but he missed significant time due to COVID protocol issues. His 30-9-1 record with an outstanding 1.95 goals-against-average and .922 save percentage placed him right up there with Andrei Vasilevskiy. Not bad company, for sure. If Grubauer stays healthy and can play as well as he has, the Avalanche should have an easy time of it.
Colorado Avalanche First Round Opponent
This year’s playoff lineup is different with the first-place team facing the fourth-place finisher, and the second-place team facing the third-place club. That means the Avs get to play the St. Louis Blues in the first round. Be sure to check out our playoff preview of this series. It almost doesn’t matter who the Avalanche play, they have the confidence to win it all. A Stanley Cup Final of the Avalanche battling the Toronto Maple Leafs is a definite possibility. Wouldn’t that just be a doozy of a matchup? Auston Matthews vs Nathan MacKinnon. Of course, the Avs need to focus on one series at a time and right now they need to get past the Blues.
Predictions
The playoff brackets are different this season with the new alignment. In the West Division, if the Avalanche advance past the Blues, they go on to face the winner of the Golden Knights vs Minnesota Wild series. If they survive that, they face the winner of the Pittsburgh Penguins vs New York Islanders series or the winners of the Washington Capitals vs Boston Bruins series. Moving on from there, they would be in the Stanley Cup Final. That opponent more than likely will be the Toronto Maple Leafs.
A Stanley Cup Final featuring the Maple Leafs vs the Avalanche would be any NHL hockey fan’s idea of heaven. Does it get any better than that?
Of course, the final prediction must be made. Without a doubt, the Colorado Avalanche will be the team hoisting the Cup. That sums up the Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup chances. So, now sit back open some cold ones and enjoy the NHL playoffs!
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