Avalanche Secures Dwelling-Ice Advantage All via Playoffs
The Colorado Avalanche has claimed the title because the NHL’s handiest regular season group in 2020-21, but there is one other necessary trophy that the Avs contain their eyes on.
The Avalanche closed the marketing campaign on a 5-recreation winning high-tail to attain with 82 choices and the handiest overall tale in the league, taking home the franchise’s third Presidents’ Trophy. The most fresh purchase came by manner of a 5-1 performance towards the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday at Ball Enviornment.
The Presidents’ Trophy secures Colorado home-ice serve all over the playoffs, an aim the club has jam for itself the past few seasons.
“The 56-recreation time desk, considered one of our dreams became once to derive home ice in the playoffs. To contain our guys attain that and dig in for it, work the absolute best plan they worked, purchase eight out of nine on the discontinue of the one year, 5 in a row without some key players, I neutral idea it reveals a good deal of character,” said head coach Jared Bednar. “It be a good feather of their cap and moreover they’ll also neutral unruffled revel in it. Be pleased tomorrow to come and then by Saturday, Sunday, we’re going to be making ready for a total new area, but the dwelling ice and the Presidents’ Trophy is one thing to be delighted with personally. It be a truly long time to derive here and the fellows accomplished that, for some guys they contain got been practicing it for 2 or three years.”
The Avalanche’s 39-13-4 tale (.732) is its handiest in franchise historic past by manner of choices percentage. As the dwelling group, Colorado went 22-4-2 (.821) to post its handiest home choices percentage since the club arrived in Denver, eclipsing the one jam by the 2000-01 Stanley Cup champion group (.768).
Video: Avs head coach Jared Bednar after the season finale
The Avs’ 22 home wins are tied for basically the most in the league this one year. Two of the assorted groups which contain certified for the postseason in the West Division, the Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild, are additionally end to the discontinue of the NHL in the class as they’re tied with two varied squads for the next perfect with 21 every.
“We have had a true neutral home-ice tale for the closing couple years. In portray to derive to where we are attempting to wobble in the playoffs, you bought to play true neatly, you’ll need some luck, you no doubt must address wholesome and you are trying to present your group as many advantages as it’s good to likely likely likely in the 16-group tournament,” said Bednar. “A form of advantages is to derive home ice, particularly in the event you gaze on the dwelling-ice records spherical the league, now not only ours but all of the opponents that we’re going to face. It will even be an serve that helps your guys despite the indisputable truth that its neutral the crew interplay and the thrill spherical your group.”
This one year’s playoff berth is the group’s fourth in a row, the third-longest speed in franchise historic past.
Colorado made the postseason in 2017-18 with a purchase in the final recreation of the season and fell in six video games to that one year’s Presidents’ Trophy winner, the Nashville Predators. The next marketing campaign, the Avalanche became once over again the 2d wild-card seed in the Western Convention and defeated the Calgary Flames in 5 outings before falling in a decisive seventh contest in Spherical 2 to the San Jose Sharks.
Closing one year, the squad fell again in Sport 7 of its 2d-spherical matchup, this time in beyond regular time towards the Dallas Stars.
The Presidents’ Trophy is now not the Avalanche’s closing aim but having it–and more importantly home-ice serve–will likely be a instrument that turns out to be helpful.
Video: Mikko Rantanen after the season-finale purchase vs. LA
“Fourth one year in the playoffs. I beget we had a good deal of identical guys that we had the closing two years, and everybody is aware of what came about the closing two years, we went out in true identical role: Sport 7, 2d spherical,” said Mikko Rantanen. “Our aim is to wobble past that and the overall manner to the discontinue. Now we contain the neighborhood horny now, and now we neutral got to derive to work. Clearly, the trip for particular helps a lot.”
Opening the postseason on its home ice can also neutral unruffled give Colorado some self belief. The Avs went 16-0-1 in its closing 17 contests at Ball Enviornment, the longest home point high-tail in the NHL this season that additionally ties the franchise tale that became once jam in 2002-03.
“Our guys love playing here, we love playing at Ball, in front of our followers,” said Bednar. “We derive vitality out of the crew. Our crowd has been not probably, and now we are starting up a brand new wobble here attempting to develop our city and followers delighted with us in the postseason.”
Now that the Avs contain met their regular-season aim, they’ll jam their sights on the trophy they want.
SEEING ST. LOUIS IN ROUND 1
With Thursday evening’s victory, the Avalanche additionally received the West Division, its 10th division title since though-provoking to Denver (12th in franchise historic past). As the No. 1 seed in the West, Colorado will face the No. 4-seed St. Louis Blues in a handiest-of-seven assortment in the predominant spherical.
The Avalanche went 5-3-0 towards the Blues in the eight-recreation, regular-season assortment.
“We know they are a neutral group; we’ve a neutral rival towards them,” Tyson Jost said of St. Louis. “We have had some mountainous battles in the past, neutral taking a gaze serve to that recreation where it became once us and them to derive in that closing role [for the] playoffs. It be been a battle these closing three, four years. They are a neutral group and clearly they contain got had some success towards us of their constructing, but or now not it has been some neutral assortment towards those guys, and we are indignant. It be going to be a neutral matchup, and we know what to demand. That is a outmoded group accessible, and we’re going to must come serve laborious and be ready.”
Video: Tyson Jost after scoring twice vs. Kings
The squads will initiate the assortment on Monday evening at Ball Enviornment with puck tumble jam for 8 p.m. MT. The Avs additionally host the Blues on Wednesday at 8: 30 p.m. MT in Sport 2 before the assortment shifts to St. Louis for Games 3-4, that are jam for Friday, Would possibly likely perchance likely 21 at 7: 30 p.m. MT and Sunday, Would possibly likely perchance likely 23 with a recreation time unruffled to be poke.
“It be now not love or now not it is an opponent that we’ve now not seen before. It be a bunch we know true neatly, they know us true neatly,” said Bednar. “It is a bunch that is indubitably picked up their recreation in the 2d half of the season and moreover they’re taking a gaze love the Blues that received the Cup. Even supposing there is a substantial spread in the selections incompatibility of our regular season, whereas you gaze at their 2d half and how they contain got come alongside–they’re getting wholesome–this is a true demanding opponent, so we’re going to dig into them (in video). Survey methods that we can likely exploit them and what we got to discover out of on the assorted aspect of issues and assign apart together a recreation thought here. We got a good deal of time to enact that, we’re going to relay the pertinent recordsdata to our players, and we’re going to prepare to wobble for Sport 1 here on Monday.”
JOST NETS TWO
Down 1-0 after the predominant intermission, despite preserving a 12-4 edge in photographs on aim, Colorado’s offense became once sparked by Tyson Jost in the 2d length.
The forward netted two dreams in now not as a lot as 2 minutes, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Joonas Donskoi and Andre Burakovsky additionally tallied before the center frame became once over.
“We did contain a mountainous initiate; we had been all over them. We had been indubitably heavy on pucks, stuff that we talked about before the recreation that we wished to make and we did,” Jost said. “Clearly in the event you play a length love that (first length), and then they derive one late or now not it is frustrating going serve in the dressing room, you are love ‘holy smokes, what can we got to enact to pot one here.’ But our group caught with it and when we got one the flood gates opened there, and we neutral saved pouring it on. Huge job by our group to stay to it and now not derive down on ourselves and now not derive frustrated, that is a huge purchase for us.”
Video: LAK@COL: Jost redirects Timmins’ shot for 2d aim
Jost’s multi-aim recreation became once his first of the season and first since Feb. 28, 2020 versus the Carolina Hurricanes. He carried out the one year with 17 choices (seven dreams, 10 assists) in 54 video games, with nine choices (four dreams, 5 assists) coming in his closing 17 outings.
“It be been awesome, it feels neutral. In fact, it feels higher to derive this main say (seed), that is one thing we’ve been going for the overall one year and became once a aim of ours starting up in practising camp,” he said postgame. “Appropriate an overwhelming neighborhood of guys. It became once an overwhelming regular season, and there is plan more forward of us here. So or now not it is intriguing that I have been contributing and could likely likely’t are waiting for playoffs.”
SETTING AND TYING CAREER HIGHS
About a Avs carried out the marketing campaign by environment new career highs or matching their handiest numbers from old seasons. Joonas Donskoi tallied to lengthen his total to 17 dreams this one year in 51 video games played, surpassing his old handiest of 16 markers that he jam in 65 contests in 2019-20.
Video: LAK@COL: Donskoi smacks puck into the on-line to pad lead
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare additionally scored in the day out to tale his ninth aim of the season, equaling his career handiest that he additionally jam in 2019-20.
Defenseman Devon Toews registered his 22nd serve of the season with a helper on Andre Burakovsky’s aim to compare his most in a marketing campaign jam closing one year with the Modern York Islanders.
Burakovsky additionally tied the longest point high-tail of his career, finishing the season on an eight-recreation point high-tail. He additionally had an eight-recreation speed as a member of the Washington Capitals from Jan. 17-Feb. 9, 2016.
Video: LAK@COL: Burakovsky scores aim in 2nd length
MORE POSTGAME NOTES
Colorado’s 5 dreams in the 2d length matched its season handiest (additionally: March 31 vs. Arizona, 1st length). The Avs are basically the most provocative group in the league with two 5-aim intervals in 2020-21.
The Avalanche carried out 7-1-0 towards Los Angeles this season, its most wins towards a single opponent in 2020-21.
Head coach Jared Bednar’s .732 purchase percentage this season is the handiest single-season winning percentage by a head coach in franchise historic past, passing Bob Hartley’s .695 purchase percentage in 2000-01 (present: beyond regular time losses had been counted as losses for coaches sooner than 2005).
Mikko Rantanen (two assists) carried out the season with a bunch-high 66 choices (30 dreams, 36 assists) and is the predominant participant varied than Nathan MacKinnon to handbook the group in scoring since Matt Duchene in 2015-16.
Cale Makar notched an serve to attain the regular season with 44 choices (eight dreams, 36 assists) in 44 video games, becoming a member of Steve Duchesne (82 choices in 82 video games with Quebec in 1992-93) as basically the most provocative defensemen in franchise historic past to life like a degree per recreation. He’s basically the most provocative blueliner in the NHL to life like a degree per recreation this season.
The Avalanche outscored opponents 110-54 (plus-56) on home ice in 2020-21.