The Avalanche are right there for a shot at the Presidents’ Trophy
Mar 20, 2024, 6:20 PM
Fresh off their 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, the Colorado Avalanche are quickly climbing up the standings.
Not only has the team won seven games in a row, they’re just one point back of the Vancouver Canucks for the top spot in the Western Conference. Vancouver has 94 points, while the Avs and Winnipeg Jets are tied atop the Central Division with 93.
Not only would winning the division ensure the Avalanche home-ice advantage in the first two rounds of the NHL playoffs, but taking the No. 1 spot in the West would ensure all series start at Ball Arena until at least the Stanley Cup Final.
But there’s something else brewing that hardly anyone is talking about. And that’s Colorado having a shot to win the Presidents’ Trophy, awarded to the top point-earning team in the NHL during the regular season.
Right now, that’d be the Boston Bruins, who lead the way with 97 points. The Florida Panthers and New York Rangers both have 94.
The Avalanche have also played 69 games, while Boston has played 70. So, Colorado has a game in hand as the sprint to the finish line begins.
The history of the Presidents’ Trophy isn’t pretty, and some even view it as a curse. The team that has won the honor hasn’t made it past Round 2 since all the way back 2014-2015. It’s nearly a decade they’ve only won one playoff series, and a couple have gone home in Round 1, including the Bruins last year.
Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2020-21 and exited in the second-round in heartbreaking fashion to Vegas. After taking a 2-0 lead in the series, the Avs lost four straight to the Golden Knights. They, of course, broke through the following season and won their third Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Whether or not the curse is real depends on if you believe in those type of things, but plenty of fans will hope the Avalanche don’t win the award.
If they do, they’ll get home-ice advantage throughout the NHL playoffs. If they don’t, they may have to begin a series or two on the road, depending on how the bracket falls.
Regardless, it’s worth watching down the stretch. No team has run away with a ridiculous point total, and the Avs are getting hot at exactly the right time.
