The Colorado Avalanche were a team searching hard for answers heading into Tuesday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference Final.
The best team in the regular season was down 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights and on the brink of a great season coming to an end.
Avs fan Michael Nagl remained hopeful as he waited for his family and friends to go to their seats at the Avs Watch Party in Ball Arena.
“Boy, it's been disappointing. But, we're here. We're Avs faithful,” Nagl said. “We're going to see this Game 4 and we'll see what shakes out. Maybe they can bring it back here for Game 5. But, it's been disappointing here.”
Fellow Avs fan Jason Winger hoped the team would find some momentum to bring the series back to Denver.
“Definitely a lot to overcome being down 0-3 right now. But yeah, it's been unfortunate circumstances today, but hopefully it's just one game at a time,” Winger said.
Unfortunately, there won’t be a Game 5.
Vegas finished off the Avalanche with a 2-1 win to punch their third trip to the Stanley Cup Final in only their ninth season of existence. But it just wasn’t their night or series.
About 5,000 fans were on hand at Ball Arena to watch the Golden Knights surround the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, which goes to the winner of the Western Conference Final.
“I'm just happy we made it this far,” Nathan House said. “Hockey is, especially in the playoffs, it's a game of luck. Luck goes however it wants and it didn't go our way this time, but I'm happy we made it this far.
If the Avalanche had pulled off a reverse sweep, it would’ve been the first-ever in the Western Conference Final and only the fifth time in Stanley Cup playoff history.
How they got there
The Avalanche seemed destined to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since they won it all during the 2021-2022 season. The team secured the top overall seed in the postseason by winning the Presidents’ Trophy, which goes to the team with the best overall record during the regular season.
But, history shows that the Presidents’ Trophy doesn’t always equate to lifting Lord Stanley’s Cup. In fact, only eight winners have won both trophies in the same season.
The Avalanche easily swept the Los Angeles Kings in the first round. Then, in the second round, Brett Kulak’s overtime winning goal in Game 5 to stun the Minnesota Wild advanced the team to the Western Conference Final.
On paper, the Avalanche was sure to beat the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas fired their Stanley Cup-winning coach, Bruce Cassidy, and replaced him with John Tortorella with eight games left in the regular season.
Then, the injury bug struck the team’s biggest stars. Defenseman Cale Makar was out for the first two games. His absence was felt in both losses. Even with the former Conn Smythe Trophy winner’s return in Game 3, it looked like it didn’t matter. More concern was caused after center Nathan MacKinnon took a puck to the knee.
MacKinnon battled through and saw 22 minutes on the ice when it was thought he would get limited playing time.
Game of shock, disappointment, and disbelief
Avalanche fans were on edge when Vegas captain Mark Stone scored on a breakaway 4:45 minutes into the game.
Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood — who started for the first time during the series — made brilliant saves throughout the first two periods to keep the Avalanche in the game. He finished with 24 saves.
After the second period, Avs fan Jackson Mendez thought the team could have done better.
“This is not us. We need to find our offense. Find our game. The power play needs to be a lot better. We just need to shoot the puck and find that sweet spot,” Mendez said as he was waiting for friends during the intermission.
But, he still hoped for a comeback.
Cole Smith’s goal at the 14:15 mark in the third period had Avs fans heading for the exit. Gabriel Landeskog’s goal with over 2 minutes left had the remaining fans thinking the game could go to overtime.
But Vegas held on for the win.
Daniel Archer, who came from Brighton for the Avs Watch Party, summed it up in one word: heartbreaking.
“It's a rough loss. We deserved it more than anyone with how great our season was. I was just crying just now. It's just genuinely heartbreaking,” Archer said.
The Avalanche’s performance in the Western Conference Final definitely has fans questioning what’s next. Despite the disappointment, some fans thought they had a great season.
“It has been amazing. Obviously, I think they put a lot of great components in place, pulled in a lot of players from the trade deadlines, as well as free agents, but really developed,” Winger said. “But it's hard to win the Stanley Cup, right? It's the most coveted trophy in all sports and we're seeing that right now.”
