Now the real fun begins.
Thanks to a five-goal second period spearheaded by
Tyson Jost and a 21-save night from backup goalie
Jonas Johansson, the Avalanche on Thursday knocked off the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 to clinch their first Presidents’ Trophy in 20 years, the No. 1 seed in the Honda West Division, and home ice throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Along with a date against the No. 4 seeded St. Louis Blues in a best-of-7 first-round series that starts Monday at Ball Arena.
Jost scored two goals in the second period to give the Avalanche a 2-1 lead while centering the top line with
Gabriel Landeskog and
Mikko Rantanen in the absence of
Nathan MacKinnon, who missed his second straight game and fourth of the final five with a lower-body injury.
"We achieved the first goal we had this year, to get the home-ice advantage for the whole playoffs and we checked the one box," Rantanen said. "Everybody knows what the next box is, so we have to start working on that. I believe in this group. Our goal is to go all the way to the end."
Rantanen had two assists to lead the Avalanche in scoring with 66 points (30 goals, 36 assists) in 52 games.
The Avalanche are hopeful MacKinnon will be available Monday. He had 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists) in 48 games and is the catalyst for this team.
They didn’t practice Friday, so his status will be updated Saturday. The fact they haven't been positive about his playing is worrisome, though.
The Avalanche (39-13-4) and Vegas Golden Knights (40-14-2) each finished the 56-game regular season with 82 points, but Colorado had more regulation wins (35-30).
Here’s my
NHL.com GAME STORY.
The Avalanche previously won the Presidents’ Trophy in 1996-97 and 2000-01, taking home the Stanley Cup in 2001. They have won 10 division titles since moving to Denver in 1995, two others as the Quebec Nordiques.
"It's a nice feather in their cap and they should enjoy it,” coach
Jared Bednar said after the game. “Enjoy (Friday) and then by Saturday, Sunday, we are going to be preparing for a whole new challenge, but the home ice and the Presidents' Trophy is something to be proud of, in my opinion.
“It's a long time to get here and the guys accomplished that; for some guys they have been working towards it for two or three years."
Let’s give Bednar some credit here. He was a virtual unknown when he was hired as
Patrick Roy’s replacement five years ago, weathered that brutal 48-point season in his NHL debut and has guided the Avalanche to four consecutive trips to the playoffs.
The Avalanche matched a franchise record set in 2002-03 by finishing the home schedule with a 17-game point streak (16-0-1) and were 22-4-2 at home for the season.
"We've had a real good home-ice record for the last couple years,” Bednar said. “In order to get to where we want to go in the playoffs, you got to play real well, you need some luck, you definitely have to stay healthy and you want to give your team as many advantages as you can in the 16-team tournament.
“One of those advantages is to get home ice, especially when you look at the home-ice records around the league, not just ours but all of the opponents that we are going to face. It can be an advantage that helps your guys even if it’s just the crowd interaction and the buzz around your team."
Capacity at Ball Arena will increase from 4,050 fans to 7,750 beginning Monday.
The Avalanche finished 19 points ahead of the Blues (27-20-9, 63 points) and went 5-3-0 against them this season, but they won the Cup in 2019 and know what it takes to get through the playoff grind.
Former Avalanche center
Ryan O’Reilly, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP that year, is already talking a little smack.
“We know that they have a lot of talent over there,” he told St. Louis reporters Thursday. “They work hard, but for us, it’s an exciting challenge. We’re going to have some fun and we’re going to beat them.”
The Avalanche know this will be a tough series, regardless of the points differential. Only eight of the previous Presidents’ Trophy winners went on to win the Cup, including the Avalanche in 2000-01.
“The playoffs are a different animal, everybody knows that,” Bednar said. “No one’s going to look at us and say, ‘Yep, they won the Presidents’ Trophy, they’re going to roll over everyone.’ It’s not going to happen. It’s going to be a tough grind.
“It can put a target on your back, but we have to be comfortable with that. We set high expectations and I don’t think we should shy away from trying to achieve them, and the Presidents’ Trophy is one of them.”
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • 
Join the Discussion:
»