It seems that the absence of Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog only caused Nathan MacKinnon to find another level of his game. Combined this with another Norris-caliber season from defenseman Cale Makar, and of course, the Avalanche would make the playoffs.
Many would have picked the Colorado Avalanche to win the division. Instead, they finished third. Will this be good enough to make a deep run in the playoffs for another Stanley Cup?
Are The Colorado Avalanche Good Enough To Win
If Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are on the Colorado Avalanche roster, expect to see them in the playoff picture. Bolstered by a 100-point season from forward Mikko Rantanen, the Avalanche finished with only three fewer wins than the Dallas Stars, who took home the division title. There is no question that they have the offense and defense to contend with anyone. The question remains in goal.
For the second season in a row, Alexandar Georgiev has started over 60 games during the regular season. Last season, he started all seven playoff games for the Avalanche, and while he performed well, the Avalanche dropped their first-round series against the Seattle Kraken. Geogiev is the key to their postseason success again, so we can only wait to see how ready he is for his third career postseason. The Colorado Avalanche will only go as far as Alexandar Georgiev will take them.
Conn Smythe Candidates For Colorado Avalanche
Nathan MacKinnon is a favorite to take home the Hart Trophy as the player deemed most valuable to his team during the regular season, and Cale Makar is looking to take back the Norris Trophy from Erik Karlsson after his 100-point season last year. Both players will be heavy favorites to win the Conn Smythe if the Avalanche makes it to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Besides MacKinnon and Makar, Mikko Rantanen had over 100 points this season and can perform well enough in the playoffs to take home some extra hardware. A very long shot would be Casey Mittelstadt if he can take advantage of mismatches lower in the lineup for four rounds. It’s more likely that Alexandar Georgiev plays some of his best hockey, or 24-year-old Justus Annunen plays at an elite level between the pipes and takes the award from either MacKinnon or Makar than Mittlstadt getting it.
Path Back To Stanley Cup
Coming Into the season, it looked like the Avalanche would rely on newly acquired Tomas Tatar and Ryan Johanson. They moved on from Tatar earlier than expected, as he didn’t fit in the lineup. Then, reports came out about discourse within the locker room. Shortly after these reports, Ryan Johanson was sent to the Flyers for Sean Walker, and Bowen Byram was sent to Buffalo for Casey Mittlstadt.
Since these trades were made, the Avalanche seem to have found a groove and coasted into the playoffs playing well. There wasn’t much concern about whether or not the Avalanche would make the playoffs, so their biggest concern was going to be how they were playing as a team. Heading into their first-round matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, the Colorado Avalanche’s biggest question is what level of goaltending they will receive. They will only get as far as Alexandar Georgiev will be able to take them.
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