The Colorado Avalanche have been skating strong all season and seem to be poised for another championship. They're on the verge of securing the NHL's top overall seed and the President's Trophy, which would give them home ice throughout the postseason.
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Pat Graham covers the Avalanche for the Associated Press. He's confident the Avs have everything going for them right now to bring Lord Stanley back to the Mile High City.
"Well, where do you start? Let's start from the goal on forward. I mean, you have a rock solid tandem and net, and you know, Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood, although Black was struggling a little bit right now, but Wedgwood is holding down the fort," said Graham. "You have an elite defense led by Cale Makar. And then up top, of course, you have Nathan MacKinnon, who's fresh off scoring his 50th goal the other night, and now he has two 50 goal scoring seasons in his career."
But even with all that muscle, some fans were shaking their head this week when the Avs took one on the chin against Vancouver, losing 8-6. Head coach Jerad Bednar let out some frustrations during the postgame.
"I mean, it was just a hiccup. I mean, they can, you know, bounce back on Saturday. And, you know, this, this Vancouver loss, doesn't look that bad, but right now, it looks bad only because they're the last place team in hockey."
The Avalanche hit the road for a showdown against Dallas on Saturday, then return home to take on St. Louis Sunday night.
