The Colorado Avalanche look poised to capture the franchise’s third Stanley Cup going into the Stanley Cup Final. While they are playing the two-time defending Stanley Cup champs, the Avalanche are the favorite, let’s go over why.
The Colorado Avalanche enter the Final well-rested. They have been one of the best teams ever to make it this far considering they have only lost two games up to this point. The Avs swept the Nashville Predators and the Edmonton Oilers and only required six games to beat the St. Louis Blues.
The Avalanche have been one of the top teams in the NHL all season and now they are just four wins away from hoisting the Stanley Cup. Let’s go over three reasons the Avalanche are going to be the ones winning it all this summer.
1. Rest Is On Their Side
The Colorado Avalanche are well rested. They have played just 14 games so far this postseason and have not had that many injury issues this postseason. They are the home team this round and haven’t had to travel for over a week now.
While the Avs have had some minor injury issues with Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano, both have not been ruled out for game one just yet.
2. The Avalanche Have The Best Defensemen In The World
No disrespect to Victor Hedman, but this will be the first time he is not the best defenseman on the ice in a series. Cale Makar might just be 23 years old but he is a generational defenseman who can score goals and set up offense from the blue line.
There is a reason Makar leads the Avalanche in points thus far this postseason. He is playing over 27 minutes a night and is the backbone of one of the best teams in the league.
3. The Avs Just Have To Win This One Series
This kind of goes back to the rest aspect of things. The Avalanche just have to win this one series to win the Stanley Cup. It has basically been a cakewalk for them up to this point and all they have to do is win four more games to capture the Stanley Cup. On the other side of things the Lightning barely made it past the Maple Leafs, had to play the Presidents’ Trophy winners and had to find a way to get past one of the best goaltenders in the world in Igor Shesterkin in New York.
The Avalanche and Lightning have had two completely different paths to the Stanley Cup Final and the Avs definitely have the advantage with how simple their path has been.