The Colorado Avalanche‘s season ended in surprise fashion last night following a 2-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4 of the western conference final. The presidents trophy winners were swept in the decisive series loss.
This is an anticlimactic finish to what was otherwise a successful season in Colorado. The Avalanche posted the best regular season record at 55-16-11, which gave them 121 points in the standings. The playoffs had been smooth sailing to this point with straightforward series wins versus the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild.
Presidents Trophy Teams have Not Found Success in the Playoffs
With the Avalanche’s exit from the postseason, a wild playoff statistic continues to stand. No Presidents trophy winning team has won the Stanley Cup in the last 13 seasons. The last team to pull off the feat was the 2013 Chicago Blackhawks. And that Chicago squad did it in what was a lockout-shortened campaign.
This stat goes to show how hard it is to win a championship in the modern NHL game. Regular season success does not always lead to playoff success; it is effectively a separate season.
On the flip side of the coin is the Golden Knights strong run. Vegas did not enjoy the type of regular season form that Colorado had. With just 39 wins, the Kings are the only playoff team that had less victories than they did this year.
Lower seeded teams going on deep runs has been an emerging theme of late. Last seasons Stanley Cup winning Florida Panthers team did not perform exceptionally in the regular season either with less than 100 points in the standings. And yet when it mattered down the stretch, that team stepped up just as Vegas is doing right now.
Changes Could Be Coming to Colorado
After a lopsided defeat at the hands of Vegas, this leaves Colorado in an interesting position as they head into an earlier than expected offseason for them. On one hand, it was another elite winning season to be proud of. The team reached the conference finals for the first time since their 2022 Stanley Cup winning season. On the other hand, they failed to win a game beyond round two and could not punch their ticket to the finals. The lack of payoff at the end will not sit well with this teams brass.
This puts the Avalanche in an interesting conundrum this summer. It would be logical for them to run back this same group, if possible. Colorado was the top regular season team in the league and could easily bounce back in next years postseason. But history has not been kind to this core in the playoffs of late, outside of their 2022 Cup win. There have been a plethora of playoff setbacks for such a talented group. This is only the second time Colorado has made it past round two in the Nathan MacKinnon era, a surprising stat for a team that has made the playoffs nearly every season of his 13 year Avalanche tenure. Therefore, it would not be shocking to see some turnover in Denver prior to next season.
Presidents Trophy Curse Continues After Surprise Avalanche Playoff Exit