The season for the Colorado Avalanche, which was heavy with expectations after they cruised through the regular season schedule and won the President’s Trophy as the top club in the NHL, came to a close in stunning fashion on Tuesday evening in Sin City.
They were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final, which included the fateful 2-1 final score at T-Mobile Arena that knocked them from the playoffs. For the Avalanche, they missed their chance to return to the Stanley Cup Final for what would have been the first time since 2022, while the Golden Knights are back in for the first time since 2023.
Not only were the Avalanche not completely healthy during the series, but there was also a stunning stat from sniper forward Nathan MacKinnon that has to be seen to be believed.
Colorado Avalanche Forward Nathan MacKinnon Was Held Scoreless For The Entire Series
MacKinnon, who scored a whopping 53 goals with 74 assists during the regular season, was held without a goal in a postseason series for the first time in his NHL career.
Not only that, but he suffered what appeared to be a significant leg injury after taking a shot directly off his kneecap in Game 3; he missed several shifts, but would ultimately play in the series-ending Game 4.
However, MacKinnon did not speak to press members following the game.
In the 13 playoff games that he appeared in, MacKinnon scored seven goals with eight assists. Considering his otherworldly talent, it’s a startling reality that he now has to deal with.
The Avalanche Were Swept By The Golden Knights In Four Games
Unfortunately for the Avalanche, they will have to wait another year to realize their Stanley Cup dreams.
They not only won the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s best regular season club, but took only nine games to reach the Western Conference Final after their four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings and their five-game round two victory over the Minnesota Wild.
However, they were done in by the Golden Knights, who swept them aside in four games.
“It’s tough. You don’t really know, everybody processes things differently,” Colorado defenseman Cale Makar said. “You work so hard to get to this point, it’s obviously frustrating. But it’s tough, you can’t dwell on it in terms of the way we gave our effort. Like we touched on, I think sometimes at some points we were disconnected.”
Said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar: “Losing sucks. Losing four straight is worse. The closer you get to accomplishing (lofty goals), the more losing can swipe it all away in an instant. It’s hard to deal with. I got a lot of respect for our guys and the season they had.”
The Avalanche weren’t aided by the fact that Makar missed the first two games of the series, and despite his return in Game 3, the Avalanche blew a 3-0 first period lead.
They’ll have to watch the remainder of the playoffs, which will feature the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final against either the Carolina Hurricanes or Montreal Canadiens.
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