Tonight’s game against the L.A. Kings will determine who the Avalanche play in the first round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Colorado Avalanche control their own playoff destiny in their final game of the 2021 regular season. The Avalanche wrap up their 56-game season, hosting the Los Angeles Kings at 7 p.m.
Currently, the Avalanche sit in second place in the Honda West division, two points behind the Vegas Golden Knights. A win tonight will put the Avalanche in a tie with the Golden Knights for first place and Colorado owns the tie breaker, having won more games in regulation.
There are two paths through the playoffs for the Avalanche depending on the outcome of tonight’s game. After last night’s 6-0 win over the Kings, let’s look at what happens if they win:
An Avalanche win gives them the division title and home ice through the divisional round of the playoffs, not to mention the President’s Trophy. They will face the St. Louis Blues, a team who gave Colorado trouble at the end of April, outscoring the Avs 9-4 in their last two games, both games were losses. Those games were part of a four-game series in St. Louis. Colorado is 3-1 against the Blues at Ball Arena this season. The Avs haven’t fared much worse in the Gateway City staying at an even 2-2.
One note from the Avs series in St. Louis, starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer was a scratch for the series while undergoing the National Hockey League’s (NHL) COVID protocol.
Now, let’s look at what happens if the Avs lose in the season finale:
An Avalanche loss keeps them as a second seed for the West division and matches them against the Minnesota Wild. The last time these two teams played in the regular season, Minnesota blew out Colorado 8-5. An outing that starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer would like to forget, facing 18 shots and allowing 7 goals. This loss was also on the road. Colorado is 2-2 when playing at the Xcel Energy Center. Like their season series against St. Louis, the Avalanche have played better against the Wild at home, going 3-1.
The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs will look different for 2021. The league still has 16 teams in the playoffs, four teams from each division, but the first two rounds of the playoffs will all be within each division
. The four teams who make it out of divisional play will be re-seeded by regular season record for the semi-final and final rounds of the playoffs.
The Stanley Cup Playoffs are scheduled to start Saturday May 15.
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