Deep, star-studded Avalanche reach the conference finals for 8th time since arriving in Denver

Stanley Cup favorite

Among the preseason favorites, they led the NHL most of the regular season in capturing their fourth Presidents’ Trophy, which goes to the team with the best record. Like Carolina, the Avalanche are rolling into the conference finals. with a pair of sweeps while the Avalanche required nine games, including a first-round sweep of the . As of Thursday, Colorado is a slight favorite over the Hurricanes to win the Cup. Next up for Colorado is either or . Colorado was 2-0-1 against both the and the in the regular season. Bednar understands the lofty expectations year in and out, given his talented roster. Criticism comes with the territory. “It's hard to win,” Bednar said. "But I wouldn't want it any other way. I don't think our players would want it any other way. “People are going to get on you because you didn't win the Cup. I'd still rather be fighting for that, having earned that type of reputation because of the way you play through the regular season and the group that you put together as an organization and the high expectations, rather than, “Let’s just try and make the playoffs.'” Not much rattles the Avalanche these days. Not even a three-goal hole, which set up a frantic finish and the overtime winner from Kulak, who took a pinpoint pass from and lined it into the net to send the capacity crowd into a frenzy. It was Kulak's first goal since Jan. 19 when he was with before being traded to Colorado the following month. It was also the first time the Avalanche won a series on home ice since 2008, when they beat the Wild in Game 6 of the conference quarterfinals. “In an environment like this, where the building felt like it was going to start shaking at any moment, it was exciting," said Landeskog, who played in his first regular season since 2022 after being sidelined with a knee injury. “Now, it’s kind of a sigh of relief.”