Sure, there were other great stories. The Buffalo Sabres returning to the playoffs, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the Pittsburgh Penguins back to relevance and the rise of Macklin Celebrini and Matthew Schaefer are just a few.

But the Avs broke the league for half a season with a historic start. They’ve been atop the NHL standings every day since Nov. 1. The 121 points is among the top 10 in league history.

Nathan MacKinnon scored the most goals. The Avs as a team scored the most and allowed the fewest.

It goes beyond just the on-ice results. The Nordiques-inspired uniforms were the most talked-about fashion choice. Colorado won the trade deadline by adding Brett Kulak, Nicolas Roy and then Nazem Kadri at the last minute.

Even the introduction of a remix of as the team’s entrance music at Ball Arena, a nod to the 30-year anniversary with an all-time classic from 1996, was a huge success and immediately among the 3-5 best in the NHL.

Now, it’s time to find out if this will be remembered as one of the greatest teams of all-time. Win 16 more games, and it will be true.

“I think everyone understands the reality of how hard it is to win,” Avs goalie Scott Wedgewood said. “I think (the regular season) just makes you hungrier to prove it. It wasn’t just a fluke. It wasn’t just, ‘We got lucky and won some games and all that.’ I think we all know what kind of team we are when we play the right way.

“I think the mentality is just don’t squander this opportunity, this lineup, this expectation.”

Every NHL player wants to win the Stanley Cup. None of them cares about style points or how the path to get there will be remembered. It’s the same with fans of every NHL team.

No one in St. Louis cares if the 2019 Blues aren’t remembered as one of the all-time greats. No one in Dallas cares if the first thing some people outside of Texas think about with the 1999 Stars is Brett Hull’s skate.

Every Cup winner is a champion forever.

But some have been more revered than others throughout history. There are certain years where the champion is just synonymous with all-time excellence, even decades later. It’s 1977 and the Canadiens, 2002 and the Red Wings. It’s early, but 2022 and the Avalanche is a strong contender.

The Avs have put themselves in a position to be included in that group.

“It’d be special,” Avs forward Logan O’Connor said. “I think for us, it’s don’t look too far ahead. Cliche as that sounds. I think it starts with L.A. It starts with Sunday at 1 p.m. and it’s taking care of business in the first period. I think it’s easy this time of year to get over-excited and forecast and watch other series and see what’s going on, but I think the biggest thing is just no distractions and worry about the group we have within here.

“I think if we do the right things and play to our game plan, trust each other, play to our identity, great things are going to happen.”

Winning so much and in such dominant fashion has put the Avalanche in this position. The Avs stopped being a team that could win the Cup and became the team that should win the Cup months ago.

The trade deadline additions and the strong finish only reinforced that. The expectation to win a championship has been the same inside the Colorado locker room since Day One of training camp. The external expectations have risen dramatically since then.

“I think the group knew what we had, and even more so after the deadline,” Avs center Brock Nelson said. “But I think we’ve got a pretty good mindset that even with trying to set out to be the best team in the league for the regular season, we never really strayed from (our focus). Obviously a couple off games, but I think we stuck with it. And the main focus is to win a Stanley Cup. We know we’re not there yet, so there’s still a lot of work to be done. One singular focus now, starting with this first round.”

No team is destined to win the Stanley Cup, especially in the salary cap era. Even the most dominant regular-season teams that did complete the job — think 2013 Blackhawks and 2022 Avalanche — still had some moments of adversity along the way.

Everyone also remembers the most dominant teams that didn’t reach the finish line. Think the 2011 Canucks, the last club to finish first in goals for and first in fewest goals against. Or the 2019 Lightning and 2023 Bruins, which both flamed out in all-time first-round upsets.

Barring terrible injury luck, there isn’t any middle ground left for this Avalanche team. It’s either win 16 games and become one of the all-time greats, or this group joins the latter list of what ifs and what could have beens.

“There has to be a mentality there, that we’re willing to go and earn what we want,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We’re not deserving of anything. It’s all going to be about the way we play and being willing to earn it.

“I think all of our guys understand that. We’ve been through some heartache here in the first few rounds of playoffs, and I think that’s still fresh in our minds.”

Avalanche vs. Kings matchups: Who has the edge?

Kings: 35-27-20, 90 points; 2.68 goals per game (29th), 2.90 goals against per game (8th)

Avalanche: 55-16-11, 121 points; 3.63 goals per game (1st), 2.40 goals against per game (1st)

Offense

The Avs just missed being the only NHL club to score 300 goals this year, but their 298 was still seven more than Carolina in second and 78 more than the Kings. Colorado hasn’t had its full allotment of forwards together very often since the additions of Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy before the trade deadline, but everyone is expected to be ready for Game 1.

It’s the best forward group in the league if everyone is healthy. Nathan MacKinnon led the league in goals and should be a Hart Trophy finalist for the third straight year. Martin Necas collected 100 points for the first time in his career. Brock Nelson fired home 33 goals and formed a dominant two-way tandem with Valeri Nichushkin.

Kadri will likely center the third line and Jack Drury the fourth, but Ross Colton could end up on any of the bottom three lines. Parker Kelly’s 21 goals would be tied for third on the Kings. He could play on the fourth line for the Avs.

The Kings did make a big splash for Artemi Panarin and then added Scott Laughton just before the deadline. Panarin and Adrian Kempe with Azne Kopitar between them is a very nice top line.

Byfield has been hot lately and is a strong No. 2 center. Colorado’s depth should be a massive advantage. Kevin Fiala and Andrei Kuzmenko would make this group look a lot more formidable, but both are injured any may not play in this series.

Advantage: Avalanche

Defense

Cale Makar missed some games with a minor injury, then returned and looked quite ready for the postseason. Will coach Jared Bednar start him with Devon Toews, or will he split them up? Brett Kulak has faced the Kings each of the past four postseasons with Edmonton. He could play with Makar and allow Toews to continue to skate with Sam Malinski, one of the breakout performers of the season.

Josh Manson missed the end of the regular season, but is expected to be ready for Sunday, and to be paired again with Brent Burns. The Avs led the NHL in offense from defensemen for the sixth consecutive season.

Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson lead the Los Angeles blue line. Doughty is 36 and played the fewest minutes per game of his career. Brandt Clarke is an offensive specialist who the Avs are going to try to pin at his end of the ice. The Kings added both Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci this offseason to play in games like this. Colorado’s top forwards will be delighted to see them on the ice.

Advantage: Avalanche

Special teams

The power play has been Colorado’s weak link all season, but it’s been less of one since the Olympic break. The Avs finished 27th with the man advantage … but the Kings finished 28th. And Colorado was 16th at 21.4% with the extra man after the break.

Meanwhile, the Avs’ penalty kill has been consistently elite all season. Colorado finished first in the league on the PK. Los Angeles has the worst penalty kill in the playoffs — 30th overall this season, and last since the Olympic break at 67.9%. The Kings can be dangerous shorthanded, and that’s been an issue for the Avs at times this season.

Advantage: Avalanche

Goaltending

The Avs won the William Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals this season. Scott Wedgewood led the NHL in goals against average (2.02) and save percentage (.921). Mackenzie Blackwood started the year 13-1-1, but has scuffled at times in the second half of the season. Both just missed out on representing Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper was on that Canada team after a strong start to the season. He may not be in net Sunday against his former team, though. Anton Forsberg has taken control of the position, winning five straight starts down the stretch to help L.A. qualify for the playoffs before dropping the finale to Calgary. Forsberg has a .914 save percentage since the Olympic break, while Kuemper has an .867.

We could see all four goalies in this series.

Advantage: Avalanche

Avalanche vs. Kings: 5 storylines to watch

1. Who is in net? The biggest unknown for the Avs is how the goalie situation is going to work. Scott Wedgewood has been the better goalie for a long stretch now, but Mackenzie Blackwood is still the long-term No. 1 goalie for this organization. Jared Bednar has said he will continue to play both guys.

2. Befuddle Byfield? The Kings top line is very good. Quinton Byfield has 11 goals in the past 15 games and centers the club’s go-to shutdown line. This could be a coming out party for him nationally if he comports himself well against MacKinnon and Co. If the Avs can keep him in check and make the Kings a one-line team, that should make this a short series.

3. Corral Clarke? 23-year-old Brandt Clarke is the type of offensive defenseman who can change games. The Kings also try to shelter him with a lot of offensive zone starts. Similar to Byfield, containing Clarke is a path to shutting down the Kings’ offense.

4. Power up? The Kings have some of the worst special teams in the league, in both phases. They’ve also had issues on specials teams during the playoffs the past few years. Colorado’s power play had a great March, but PP1 was in the garage for most of April because of injuries to Cale Makar and Nazem Kadri. This could, even should, be a chance for the Avs to find some success on the power play. And going close to perfect on the PK in the series isn’t out of the question.

5. One trip? These Kings have had a weird year. The coach got fired. They won 35 games. Everyone has counted them out. But … they’ve been better with Artemi Panarin and since Anton Forsberg got hot. They will play all of the motivational cards — nobody believes in us, we have nothing to lose, let’s win one series for Azne Kopitar before he retires. The Avs need to take control of this series early, not let up and make one trip to sunny Southern California, not two.

Avalanche vs. Kings series predictions

Corey Masisak, beat writer:  Once upon a time at another publication, I picked the Kings to win the Stanley Cup in five games. My boss asked how I could pick them in such a short series and my response was “because I can’t pick them in three.” This is that type of series, as long as the Avalanche take care of business early and don’t let the Kings start to believe. The Kings will try to slow game down, drag the Avs down into the mud and make it as coin-flip in nature as possible. They’re going to hope Anton Forsberg stays hot. They have a few standout players, but the Avs are much deeper. It would take a lot of things going wrong for this to be a long series, and catastrophic-type stuff for the Kings to win. Kings won that Cup Final in five games, by the way. And it was over in three. Avs in five.

Sean Keeler, sports columnist:  What better way to start a 2022 nostalgia tour than by waving hello (and good-bye) to old friend Darcy Kuemper in the first round? Chances are the former Avs net-minder won’t play much, unless MacKinnon, Necas & Company batter Anton Forsberg, the Kings’ likely No. 1 goaltender, early. And they could. The Avalanche swept all three meetings this season by an average score of 4.3-1.7 and haven’t posted fewer than four goals in any tussle against the Kings since December 2023. L.A.’s only chance is to muck it up, slow it down, and try to make things as ugly as possible — the Kings feature the lowest-scoring offense of any postseason team at 2.68 goals per game. Context: The Avs averaged 2.36 goals by the end of the second period. Get ‘er done, get ‘er done quick, and rest up for the bare knuckle brawl that’s looming in the next round. Avs in five.

Troy Renck, sports columnist:  The President����ap Trophy is a curse. But not in the first round. Not against the Kings. This is an ideal matchup for the Avs to work up a sweat before taking on the Dallas Stars. The Kings failed to manage a point against Colorado this season, outscored 13-5. The Kings received the interim coach boost – 11-6-6 – but they simply can’t score enough to avoid getting swept. Who is going to stop Nathan MacKinnon? Or Marty Necas? Or Cale Makar? No one, that’s who. Avs in four.

Lori Punko, deputy sports editor: The President’s Trophy winning Avs against the 20th best team in the NHL? It should — and most likely will — be a cakewalk for the Avs. Facing the Kings is a gift for MacKinnon & Company, but they need to take care of business and not look past this series to the winner of the Wild-Stars battle. Colorado got healthy at the right time, and if they dominate like they should, the Avs will be the better rested team going into the second round. Avs in five.

Kyle Newman, sportswriter:  Colorado makes an opening round statement: After winning the Presidents’ Trophy, they are in these playoffs to be the first winner of the trophy since the 2013 Blackhawks to also raise the Stanley Cup. Getting Cale Makar back from an upper-body injury that sidelined him for a few weeks down the stretch of the regular season is a boost to a roster already loaded with enough firepower to easily dismantle the Kings. The Avs will take care of business at home for a 2-0 lead in the series, then win a couple on the road to clinch the series by next Sunday in Los Angeles. The Kings put together a nice five-game win streak towards the end of the season, but their porous defense will be no match for the Avs’ top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas. Expect a lot of Colorado scoring blitzes in this series, as seen in the season opener when the Avs scored three second-period goals in a 4-1 win. Avs in four.

Avalanche complete franchise-best regular season, set to face L.A. Kings in first round of Stanley Cup Playoffs

Here's the full schedule and how to watch each game as the Avs embark on their 2026 playoff run starting Sunday at Ball Arena.

Avs vs. Kings playoff schedule

Game 1: 1 p.m. Sunday, April 19, Los Angeles at Colorado, ALT, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX

Game 2: 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, Los Angeles at Colorado, ALT, ESPN

Game 3: 8 p.m. Thursday, April 23, Colorado at Los Angeles, ALT, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX

Game 4: 2:30 p.m. Sunday, April 26, Colorado at Los Angeles, ALT, TNT, truTV, HBO MAX

*Game 5: TBD Wednesday, April 29,  Los Angeles at Colorado

*Game 6: TBD Friday, May 1, Colorado at Los Angeles

*Game 7: TBD Sunday, May 3, Los Angeles at Colorado

*If necessary

“The Lumberyard” has been so effective this season that Wedgewood actually had a bigger cushion than he realized.

Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood will win the William Jennings Trophy for the 2025-26 season, which is awarded to the team which allows the fewest goals in the season. Goaltenders must play 25-plus games to be part of the award, so the Colorado Avalanche tandem will both have their names on the trophy, which has been awarded since 1982.

“No, honestly it’s super cool,” Wedgewood said. “I mean, getting your name on NHL trophy, regardless of whatever it is, it’s obviously a dream to win something. And to do it with him, with our friendship and story and this team, obviously it’s really cool.”

Colorado entered the final night of the season with 197 goals allowed — 25 fewer than the second-best, the Dallas Stars. The NHL uses the official standings, which include a “goal” awarded for shootout wins and losses. So, officially, the Avs allowed 203 goals in the first 81 games, which was still 23 fewer than the Stars’ official total.

It is only the second time Colorado has won the Jennings Trophy. Patrick Roy was awarded the trophy in 2001-02.

“I like it a lot,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It was one of our goals at the start of the year. We’ve always been a dangerous offensive team, and we’ve been proud of that over the years. Then improving on the defensive side of it, so we become a stingier and harder team to play against, is like goal No. 1. So that one means a lot, and it’s good for those guys. They’ve both been exceptional for us all year. The team has defended really well and consistently in front of them. I like that award as much as any other one.”

Previously teammates in the New Jersey Devils organization, the Avalanche traded for both goalies in a 10-day span last season. It was the first time in NHL history that a club had traded away both of its opening-night goaltenders before Christmas.

Dubbed “The Lumberyard,” the duo changed the course of Colorado’s goaltending situation immediately last year and have played a huge part in helping the club win the Presidents’ Trophy this season. On the day the Avs traded for Wedgewood, Colorado had the worst save percentage in the NHL.

Since that day, the Avs are sixth overall and will finish first this season.

“It’s really cool,” Avs forward Jack Drury said. “They’ve both played so well all year. It’s really deserving. I think as a tandem, they’ve been really good too. I think having two good goalies is a real privilege, and I think we’re very lucky.”

Wedgewood, 33, has been one of the great stories in the NHL this season. He started 11 of the first 12 games because of a Blackwood injury, and is going to finish the year as the league leader in GAA and save percentage among qualified goalies.

Blackwood, 29, started his season on fire, going 13-1-1 before the calendar flipped to 2026. Both goalies were in strong consideration for Canada’s Olympic team. Blackwood ended up being the first alternate if any of the three picked had sustained an injury just before the tournament.

He has struggled at times since Jan. 1, and it seems likely that Wedgewood will start Game 1 of the club’s opening-round playoff series. But Bednar has made it clear that both will play.

“We’ve got a great team and we control a lot of the play, but we’ve still got to do our job,” Wedgewood said. “It’s not like you just stand out there and you get participation trophies. So to be a big part of it, not just play the bare minimum or anything, I’m proud of it for myself and proud of him. We’ve worked at it all year. We’ve improved our games. We battled each other. One of the things you cherish from this sport for a long time is just winning something and being at the top of the league.”

FOOTNOTES: Bednar will return to the bench Thursday night after missing the past two games because of injuries sustained when a puck hit him in the face Saturday night against Vegas. Several regulars will sit out the season finale. Nazem Kadri (finger) and Josh Manson (undisclosed) have missed games beyond this one with injuries, but Bednar said he expects everyone on the active roster to be available for Game 1, which the NHL announced is Sunday at Ball Arena, time to be determined.

Sam Malinski scored in regulation for the NHL-best Avalanche, who have won three of four overall and seven straight road games.

Connor McDavid scored his 48th goal for the playoff-bound Oilers, who have lost four of five. Edmonton fell two points behind first-place Vegas in the Pacific Division.

McDavid leads the league with 134 points and needs one more to become the seventh player in league history to reach 135 at least twice. The others are Wayne Gretzky (12 times), Mario Lemieux (five), Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Marcel Dionne and Steve Yzerman.

Scott Wedgewood made 30 saves for Colorado, and Edmonton’s Connor Ingram also stopped 30 shots.

In the shootout, McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in the first two rounds for Edmonton, and Valerie Nichushkin and Martin Necas replied for Colorado. Wedgewood then stopped a wrist shot by Jack Roslovic, opening the door for MacKinnon’s game-winner.

The Avs were missing Nazem Kadri (finger), Cale Makar (upper body) and Josh Manson (upper body) as they prepare for the playoffs.

The Oilers remained without forwards Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman, although both resumed skating with the team on Monday.

Necas was held scoreless and still needs one point to reach 100 for the first time. Only four Avalanche players have ever hit the century mark — Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

Up next

Avalanche: At the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

Oilers: Host the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.

___

AP NHL:

Much of Jared Bednar’s to-do list over Colorado’s final four regular-season games involves injury management ahead of the postseason.

He just probably didn’t think he would end up on the list.

The Avalanche coach left the home bench early in the third period of Saturday night����ap 3-2 overtime loss to the Golden Knights after getting hit in the right cheek with a puck lifted off the ice by Las Vegas winger Keegan Kolesar.

Bednar doubled over after getting hit in the right side of his head as top-line forwards Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen and others all turned to check on him.

After a few moments, Bednar was helped down the tunnel by training staff with a towel pressed over his right temple and head.

Bednar did not return to the bench area for the final 16 minutes, 39 seconds of regulation or overtime.

The Avs fell in overtime, 3-2, when the Golden Knights’ Jack Eichel drilled a wrist shot past Avs goalie Mackenzie Blackwood.

Bednar is “fully alert and fully conscious,” a team spokesperson said after the game, but was set to be transported to a local hospital for a CT scan and further evaluation.

“Obviously I hope he’s OK,” captain Gabe Landeskog said. “That was a scary situation.”

Vegas locks up playoff berth against No. 1 seed

Two nights after securing the President����ap Trophy and rendering their final four regular-season games academic, the Avalanche took the ice Saturday night as the hockey undercard in the state.

Moments before the puck dropped at Ball Arena, the crowd went wild as the jumbotron showed the DU Pioneers finish off a 2-1 national championship win over Wisconsin out in Las Vegas.

Unlike the Pios, who searched for offense much of the night before finding a late flurry, the Avs generated scoring chances early and a first-period lead when Devon Toews hammered home a power play goal 9 minutes, 17 seconds in.

Bedar said Thursday he and the staff would consider how to handle playing time and minutes down the stretch after clinching the Western Conference’s No. 1 seed and every other advantage out there to be had.

For this night, he settled on letting his guys play and at least one inched toward a career milestone. The Golden Knights, meanwhile, had plenty to play for and locked up a playoff spot with the win.

Martin Necas tallied point No. 99 on the season when he assisted on Toews’ opening goal. He needs one more to crest 100 points for the first time in his career.

Vegas leveled the game on a Mark Stone power play goal later in the first period and took a 2-1 lead early in the second before Colorado defenseman Nick Blankenburg scored his first goal in an Avs sweater since being acquired at the trade deadline last month.

With most of its regulars skating but two key pieces still out — Cale Makar missed his sixth straight game due to an upper body injury and Nazem Kadri a second straight due to a finger issue — Colorado generated more scoring chances through the first two periods than Las Vegas.

Among the best: Logan O’Connor skating in alone shorthanded on Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart but getting stopped at the doorstep.

It’ll still go down as a good Saturday for O’Connor, a former Denver University alum whose college team won its 11th title and whose campus went wild just south of Ball Arena.

Landeskog said there were periods where his team “dominated” but also periods where “they were in our zone. I liked our d-zone coverage at that point. Kept them, for the most part, to the outside. I liked our start, first period, quite a bit. They got kind of a fluky bounce, nice play by Stone to tap that one down to himself and put it in. There was good and there was not-so-good. There’s definitely things we can improve on, but overall a competitive game.”

Blackwood started in the net for Colorado and, after the back-to-back goals across the first intermission, settled into a rhythm. He made a series of high-quality stops in the third period and finished with 26 saves on 29 Vegas shots.

After Bendar left the bench, assistant Dave Hakstol took over most duties while fellow assistant Nolan Pratt communicated heavily with Colorado’s defensemen.

It provided quite a wrinkle in what otherwise shaped up to be a straightforward final week of the regular season.

“Certainly it’s a little unnerving,” Pratt said. “It’s scary when pucks are flying in there. It happens all the time and it was unfortunate tonight. It takes a second to recalibrate and get back to it.”

Now three games remain before the playoffs. Vegas is a possible, albeit unlikely, first-round opponent for Colorado, which knows its destiny even as a glut of teams jockey for position down ballot.

Bednar had said he hopes Makar will be back on the ice for at least some regular-season minutes, though at this point it remains to be seen whether that will happen during an early week road swing through Edmonton and Calgary or perhaps Thursday back in Denver for the regular-season finale against Seattle.

In addition to Bednar catching an errant puck, defenseman Josh Manson left the game with an upper body injury, the team announced during the third period, and did not return.

Pratt did not have an update on Manson, saying he’s still being evaluated.

The Avs suffocated the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, dominating at the defensive end and on the shot clock en route to a 3-1 win at the Enterprise Center. The victory clinches the Central Division title and secures the top seed in the Western Conference during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It is the 13th division title since the franchise moved to Denver. It also came eight years to the day since Jared Bednar and this core of Avs players defeated these Blues in Game No. 82 to secure their first playoff berth together at the end of the 2017-18 campaign.

“We set our goals at the start of the year, and we wanted to be on top,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “That’s a big step. We know it doesn’t mean anything come playoff time, other than we get an extra game at home every series.

“I think the most important thing for us is the way we played tonight. We’re working on our process, working on our game here. It’s going to be difficult playing some desperate teams, but we are tightening things up and making sure we are ready to start fresh when the playoffs start.”

Securing a division title has been a top priority for this club since Day One of training camp, particularly after last season ended with a crushing Game 7 loss in North Texas. Winning the Central means the Dallas Stars, who have been the second-best team in the NHL for much of this season, will have to play the Minnesota Wild, who spent part of this year as the third-best team and remain in the top-seven in the opening round.

Colorado’s first-round opponent remains to be determined, but the club that began the day in the second wild-card spot, the Los Angeles Kings, was in 20th place in the NHL standings — 17 points behind the Wild. The victory also moves the Avalanche to within one point earned or one point lost by the Carolina Hurricanes to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the postseason.

The Avs have been the standard-setter for the NHL this entire season. Colorado has been alone in first place in the NHL standings since Dec. 1, and had one of the best starts to a season in league history when the Avs went 31-2-7 in their first 40 contests.

That version of the Avs hasn’t shown up quite as consistently in the second half, at times in part because of injuries, but it did Tuesday night on the banks of the Mississippi River.

“We’ve been a little up and down here recently,” Bednar said. “Didn’t like our game against (Vancouver), loved it against Dallas. Didn’t love our game defensively the other night against the Blues, but tonight I really liked it. We are proving that we can do it when we set our minds to it, which is really important.”

Valeri Nichushkin, returning from a one-game injury absence, scored twice for the Avs. Scott Wedgewood had another night with long stretches of light work, but made 18 saves and is now 12-5-2 in 2006. Colorado is 9-9-0 since Jan. 1 when Wedgewood is not the goalie of record.

Colorado had arguably its most dominant period of the season to begin this contest. The Avs opened a 2-0 lead that could have been much worse. They outshot the Blues 17-2, and the shot attempts were 33-7. Per Natural Stat Trick, Colorado generated more than 96% of the expected goals in the opening 20 minutes.

“Those games as a goaltender, they’re still going to throw pucks at you, and everything still feels dangerous,” Wedgewood said. “But if you’re not facing the odd-man opportunities we gave up against Vancouver and the other night (against St. Louis), it’s a lot easier to not have to make desperation saves and keep things in front of you.”

Nichushkin had the first one, a tip-in of a Devon Toews shot at 16:11. Martin Necas had the second with 28 seconds left in the period.

It was Necas’ 37th goal of the year. Nathan MacKinnon had a great chance to score earlier in the shift before setting Necas up with an assist for point No. 123. That is the fourth-most in franchise history, behind his 140 two years ago and two seasons from Peter Stastny (124 in 1982-83 and 139 in 1981-82).

Nichushkin added his second of the night and 17th of the season 1:40 into the middle period while shorthanded. Brock Nelson set him up, cutting to the net, and Nichushkin put his stick between his legs for a highlight-reel goal.

“I liked his last handful of games,” Bednar said. “He’s looking like the old Val again. … It was a little bit of a continuation of what he’s been doing. He could have had three or four tonight. I really liked the way he played.”

FOOTNOTES: Nazem Kadri left this game in the second period with an upper-body injury. He blocked a shot with his hand in his final shift. … While Nichushkin and Nicolas Roy returned to the lineup, Cale Makar did not play. Bednar said he will likely miss a few more games, but is still expected to return before the playoffs begin.

Think back to before the Olympic break. The Avs struggles reached a nadir when they went 0-for-17 with the extra man leading into the break, dropping Colorado to dead last in proficiency at 15.1%.

What was an obvious refrain? They need to shoot the puck more.

Well, the Avalanche had the second-most shots on goal in the NHL on the power play from the start of the season until the Olympic break. .

Part of the reason for that is Colorado earns a lot of power plays because of its style of play, so often the percentage-based stats and the accumulation numbers don’t quite line up. It was also, in part, because the Avs had so many power plays that lasted the full two minutes, which gave them more opportunities to put shots on goal.

The biggest issue wasn’t the quantity, but the quality of those shots, with a little bit of bad luck and other minor variables mixed in.

So what changed, and when? There have been several factors that led to a big improvement in March, when the Avs went 15 of 48 on the power play — the third-best rate in the NHL at at 31.3%.

“The change was long before the break,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “The detail within the change was consistent, kind of before the break.”

Getting more quality shots

So what’s different since the break? Nazem Kadri is here, and that’s part of it. But a much bigger part is … the guys on PP1 are just executing better. They’re completing more passes, making better decisions and finding more high-quality looks.

“I have to lean like … the details, the execution, the hunger, the mindset, attitude, buy-in – to me, that’s on the players’ side of it,” Bednar said. “So 70/30 execution side of it, and all those things I just mentioned over like a change in plan since the break.”

Aesthetically, the Avs power play clearly looked better in the few games after the Olympic break. The fresh start after some time apart clearly helped. It looked more consistently dangerous, like a power play featuring a top-3 collection of talent in the NHL naturally should.

The goals started to come shortly after. Kadri’s arrival has given the club a defined first unit when everyone is healthy — Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Brock Nelson and Kadri. There’s no obvious net-front guy, like Gabe Landeskog or Valeri Nichushkin, but Kadri has become something of a poacher for the Avs on the opposite side of the ice from MacKinnon and Necas.

Mikko Rantanen brought the hammer from the right circle and scored some insane redirect goals near the side of the net. Kadri’s involvement has been more varied, but in him and Nelson, the Avs have found a balance of lefties to complement the MacKinnon-Necas duo.

Here is a look under the hood at the Avs’ power play and where it ranked in some key metrics, before and after the Olympic break (through March 31):

All stats are from or

The number of shots is about the same, but the quality is up across the board. Colorado’s expected numbers being so high is a big change — even in past seasons when the Avs’ power play was among the top 5-10 in the league, their expected numbers often lagged behind.

The reason? MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen, plus a net-front guy or two, can outshoot expected models with raw finishing talent.

If we look at the per-60-minute numbers, that weeds out Colorado’s ability to rack up volume solely from having so many power plays. It’s a better indicator of sustainable success.

The per-60 numbers are slightly lower than the volume numbers, but they still represent a dramatic improvement. That is much closer to the sweet spot the Avs are trying to find.

They have guys like MacKinnon, Makar and now Necas who can turn a so-so scoring chance into a goal with a nasty shot. But finding better looks more consistently has made everyone more dangerous.

How does that look at the individual level? The differences in both who is shooting and how much are noticeable.

Here’s before the Olympic break, both at the team level (on ice shot attempts per 60 minutes) and individual (shots on goal per 60 minutes):

As a reference, the Florida Panthers are the best team in the league over the course of the full season at 115 shot attempts per 60 minutes on the power play. The Vancouver Canucks are 10th at 106.72.

Now, here’s after the Olympic break, for the guys who have settled in on PP1:

Obviously, the shot attempt numbers are outstanding. MacKinnon’s is a little less because he stays out with PP2 a lot, and most teams’ second unit won’t put up the same numbers as the top group.

Kadri has been a big help, likely as much for his work with puck retrievals and his passing as upgrades over Victor Olofsson, who was out there because he can really shoot it (it just didn’t go in very often for him in Denver).

One of the biggest adjustments, though, is Necas. He’s putting way more shots on net. That has helped in a couple of ways. For one, he can really, really shoot it, which leads to more goals. A more spread-out approach is also helping to open up space for everyone.

It will be interesting to see whether more opposing teams try to pressure Necas and take him away, or whether the track record of MacKinnon and Makar keeps PKers from giving them more space.

“I think we have the talent there to be a top power play in the league,” Bednar said. “And it’s not a short stretch anymore, either. So they’ve been doing good things and getting rewarded for it. Every goal we get and every discussion we have, we expect it to sort of keep growing.

“And there’s a lot of good conversations between those guys on like, hey, did you see this. Let’s try that. And then it’s just kind of starting to click and come together for us.”

The Colorado Avalanche, smarting from four straight losses at home, were locked in from the opening shift Monday night and obliterated the rebuilding Calgary Flames, 9-2, at Ball Arena.

Nazem Kadri had a pair of goals against his former club. Superstar Cale Makar had three assists before not playing in the third period because of an upper-body injury. Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Parker Kelly and Jack Drury all had three-point nights as well and Colorado dominated this contest in all facets.

“I want to win. It’s as simple as that,” Kadri said about blowing out his former team. “I don’t care where I’m at. I want to win. That’s no disrespect … when the puck hits the ice, I want to make an impact on winning.”

Scott Wedgewood made 27 saves, including a few spectacular ones just for good measure, after the outcome was long decided. The power play was ruthless. The depth guys were relentless. It was a performance reminiscent of the Avs’ bulldozing run to the top of the league earlier this season.

With the win, Colorado’s magic number to win the Central Division and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference is down to eight points, either gained by the Avs in their final nine contests or lost by the Dallas Stars in their last eight games.

Makar took a heavy hit from Flames forward Adam Klapka in the second period, and the television broadcast showed him speaking with one of Colorado’s athletic trainers on the bench and wincing in pain after that shift. Still, Makar took two more shifts before the end of the period, including one that ended with an assist on MacKinnon’s goal, before he didn’t play in the third.

Avs coach Jared Bednar did not have an update on Makar after the game.

The Avs have had some dominant performances this season, but the first 20 minutes on Monday will go on the short list of best periods of the season. It was a shooting gallery in the Calgary end.

Colorado finished the opening period with 42 shot attempts, 26 shots on goal (tied for second-most in franchise history) and 12 high-danger scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick. The Avs also had a 5-0 lead.

“We wanted to have a good start,” Bednar said. “In the last eight home losses, we’ve only scored first twice. Getting on the board early and jumping on teams has always been a hallmark of our successful home record. We addressed it … and I thought our guys did an excellent job.”

Jack Drury got the party started just 2:31 into the first. He finished a shift full of offensive pressure by banking the puck off Calgary starter Dustin Wolf and in from below the goal line. It was his 10th goal of the year, and it’s the first double-digit season of his career.

Colorado’s power play has improved this month, and the first period became the pièce de résistance. Calgary took a pair of penalties 40 seconds apart, and Kadri scored twice in 66 seconds.

Martin Necas set him up 23 seconds into the 5-on-3 to make it a 2-0 lead, then Kadri pounced on the rebound of a Brock Nelson shot to push the lead to three goals just 7:37 into this contest.

Kadri’s goals were Nos. 13 and 14 on the power play this month. Nathan MacKinnon added No. 15 late in the second period. The Avs had not scored more than eight goals with the man advantage in any other month this season.

Colorado reached the Olympic break with the NHL’s worst power-play percentage at 15.1%. The Avs are 15-for-48 this month, which is 31.3%. That is third in the league since March 1.

“It’s buy in. It’s execution,” Bednar said. “There’s a list of probably eight or 10 things there that if you make them 5% better, it affects your power play in a big way.”

The second line scored a highlight-reel goal to make it 4-0 before the halfway point of the period. Nelson’s long outlet pass started it, then captain Gabe Landeskog finished it with his 11th goal of the season after a slick pass from Valeri Nichushkin.

That was all for Wolf, who allowed four goals on 16 shots in just 9:19 of action. The fourth line kept rolling with another tally late in the period. Parker Kelly tipped a Makar shot past former University of Denver goalie Devin Cooley at 15:50 of the third.

Kelly now has 18 goals this season. His previous career high was eight, which he scored each of the past two seasons. Kelly has already signed a four-year, $6.8 million contract extension that starts next season, but 18 goals (and 31 points) with a $825,000 cap hit have made him one of the bargains of the 2025-26 campaign across the NHL.

“I think we’re all just really connected,” Kelly said of his line. “(Joel Kiviranta) and Jack make my life so easy out there. They definitely make me a better player.”

Colorado’s offensive assault slowed down in the second period, but MacKinnon scored on the power play with 35 seconds remaining.

It picked back up in the third. MacKinnon set up Necas for a one-timer at 6:24 of the third to make it 7-1. Sam Malinski scored on a rush less than two minutes later on a play set up by Kelly and Drury.

“Results are — they come as they come,” Jared Bednar said before his Avs eviscerated Calgary, 9-2, at Ball Arena on Monday night. “And whether they’re good or bad, other people make decisions based on what they’re seeing and hearing. But I can always walk out of here every day with my head held high if I know I’m doing my best. And that’s how I kind of approach it.”

Life comes at you fast. Bednar’s contract comes up at the end of next season. This year has been fantastic — so far. No coach wants to be a lame duck. If you’re Avs owner Stan Kroenke, it won’t be long before all parties are staring at two expensive forks on a long and winding road.

that short of a first-round exit in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the best team in the league, “all signs” point to Bednar landing an extension from Kroenke Sports and Entertainment.

Win a playoff round? One? That’s it? That sounds like an awfully low bar for a team on pace to rack up at least 120 points during the regular season. Especially one that features Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas, Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, Val Nichushkin and Nicolas Roy, all at the same time, a legitimately scary roster that goes four lines and two goaltenders deep.

Bednar has taken the Avs to eight straight postseasons. He’s failed to get past the second round in seven of them.

So let’s make it two rounds, at least. No Western Conference final? With this much firepower at your disposal? No contract extension. Period.

And we know that the Battle For Lord Stanley’s Cup can be an untamed, unpredictable sort of beast. But in Avs franchise history, it’s the only beast that matters. Or, at least, it’s the only beast that’s supposed to.

Or does KSE aspire for the Avs to be to the NHL of the ’20s what the Atlanta Braves were to the baseball of the ’90s? The Braves notched 14 playoff berths from 1991-2005 and came away with one World Series title to show for it. If the Cowboys were America’s Team, Atlanta was America’s Bridesmaid.

“For sure, it’s a volatile league (for coaches),” Avs sparkplug Logan O’Connor told me Monday after morning skate. “I think Bedsy, his work ethic and his preparation is something (where) there is zero complacency in what he does day-to-day, I think.

“How he operates, the meetings he runs, the message he delivers, what he expects from players, having good relationships with players — I think he creates a clear picture of how he wants us to play.”

Bedsy’s current three-year extension runs through the end of the 2026-27 season. Which means that clock’s already ticking. It doesn’t sound as if KSE wants to leave him dangling, the way CSU did with former football coach Jay Norvell last fall. An awkward summer internally and externally in FoCo went south quickly, and Norvell wound up being fired in mid-October after a 2-5 start.

And we get it. On one hand, why rock the boat? The Avs have 12 seasons of 100 points or more in their Denver history — and Bednar has been in charge for five of those. (Marc Crawford is next-highest on the list, with two.)

Colorado had already piled up 106 points before Monday night’s Flames tussle and started the week on pace for 121 points on the season. That would shatter the old single-season record, also held by Bednar, of 119 — set by the Cup champs of ’21-22.

On the other hand, the other bullies in the West aren’t exactly standing pat. Dallas canned Pete DeBoer last June after three straight losses in the conference finals and a 149-68-29 record during the regular season. On Sunday, Vegas fired Bruce Cassidy at the tail end of his fourth season after a 178-99-43 record, two division titles, and a Stanley Cup title in 2023.

So are they the crazy ones? Or is it the Kroenkes?

“Yeah, well, different ownership, different management beliefs, I guess, in some situations,” Bednar said. “So, I’m very grateful to still be here and trying to accomplish the same goals we’ve had when I first came. So, I don’t know.

“I work with great people that I like. Ultimately, I’m trying to come to the rink every day with a positive attitude and do the absolute best job I can do to help our team win, right? Being respectful of the players, developing those relationships that so when I go to a player with something that they know, I don’t have to yell and scream at them to get a message across, that they understand what I’m saying, how important it is. And I’m certainly willing to hear them out on things too …

“I don’t think that you can ask a player to do anything else but to just give his absolute best and get dialed into what he’s doing. And I don’t know — that’s what I expect from myself on a daily basis (in) leading this team. And then I don’t worry about anything else.”

Since ’18-19, the winger has served valiantly as a bottom-6 high motor, a plugger who refuses to downshift during big moments. The DU alum was arguably Colorado’s second-best contributor after MacKinnon during that soul-crushing playoff series against Dallas last spring. Through thick, thin, and parades, he’s an unabashed Bednar guy.

“It’s on us to go out there and execute (his) expectations,” O’Connor said of his coach. “But I think he just has the utmost respect from us players. And it’s no surprise that he’s had as great of a run as he has, given the volatility in the market. And we all love playing for him.”

They can prove it next month. Because if Colorado goes out in the second round again, Avs fans are going to look and vent as if they woke up on the wrong side of the Bedsy.