The Colorado Avalanche are Stanley Cup Champions! Securing a 2-1 win in game six over the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the series 4-2.
The Avs secure their first Stanley Cup victory since 2001. The win marks the first hardware for the young core of Nathan Mackinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Cale Makar.
The Avs took game six by playing tremendous defense, and the best form of defense for the Avs? The offense, that came in the form of a spectacular forecheck in the third period that allowed only two shots in the final period of regulation to reach the Colorado net.
This Av’s team was built on the core idea that outskating your opponent is the best way to win hockey games. They accomplished that goal in game six, out possessing the Lightning to close the series.
Darcy Kuemper played a nearly flawless game, giving up only one goal, a fluky carom off the wall that bounced to Steven Stamkos who put it through a sprawling Kuemper’s legs.
The Avalanche’s tenacity shined through though as they battle back getting a goal from Nathan Mackinnon in the middle of the second to tie it up. As the period closed off the break out Artturi Lehkonen took a bouncing puck and sniped it into the far left corner beating Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The rest of the third period, a dominant Av’s forecheck came to play and controlled the pace of the game. The performances of JT Compher and Nazem Kadri stood out in particular as the Avs pressed hard and closed the game.
The strategy to play with an all-out forecheck instead of sitting back and allowing the Lightning to break out and gain the zone was a tactical stroke of genius by Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar.
A lot is made of Lightning coach John Cooper and his ability to make adjustments but Bednar saw the flaws in playing from behind and chasing the game in game five and understood he got lucky in game four and made adjustments to change the way game six was played.
Bednar deserves a ton of credit, the Avs clinched every series of the playoffs on the road. Not many teams can make the claim of that while winning in the Stanley Cup. Only four have done so in NHL history.
It could also be argued that this is the best Avalanche team of all time and one of the best NHL teams assembled within the salary cap era. As the Avalanche tallied the second most wins in a season in NHL history.
A rocky offseason lies ahead, as the Avs lack picks, salary cap space, and have several key players including Kuemper and Kadri who will be free agents this offseason. None of that matters anymore though, the core of the team is locked into long term deals.
The Avalanche will continue to be a perennial playoff power for however long Nathan Mackinnon and Cale Makar decide to stay with the franchise. The Avs had to win this year, and they did, they accomplished the mission. Now for a franchise who has the cup the mission is clear, retain your core stars and refill with players on vet minimum deals and see if the core can win one or two more cups over the next five to six years.
The NHL is a league of parity, if you asked me over/under would the Avs win 2.5 more cups over the next five years, I would probably take the under. I believe they can do it one more time though with this core.
As a fan, I am happy. Oh so happy. I got to see a Stanley Cup with my dad, I will never forget that and I will cherish the memory forever. If they don’t win again for another twenty years, I will be happy I got to see one.
Of course, I want to see more though. I think the Avs will win one more over the next five years, I will be excited to see it. For now though, we rest, the voice is hoarse the arms are tired, it’s been a grueling cup journey and now it has come to an end. Now if only they would restock the XL size of the Stanley Cup jerseys at fanatics. However, I am still very happy.