There are reasons the Avalanche could want Vegas, but also Dallas
May 2, 2024, 6:02 PM
The Colorado Avalanche will find out their Round 2 opponent soon enough.
After grounding the Winnipeg Jets in five games, the Avs have been off their feet. They didn’t practice on Wednesday or Thursday, and will return on Friday morning for the first time in a couple of days.
Meanwhile, they’ve gotten to sit back and watch the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars battle it out.
After Vegas jumped out to a 2-0 series lead with two road wins, Dallas has won three straight to take a 3-2 edge. Game 6 is on Friday night in Sin City, with the Knights hoping to force Game 7 while the Stars wrap it up.
And the Avalanche have legitimate reasons for wanting to face both.
Let’s start with the obvious, if it’s Vegas the series will begin at Ball Arena. If it’s Dallas, the Avalanche will have to head to Texas for Games 1,2 and perhaps 5 and 7. Colorado was great at home this year posting a 31-9-1 record. They were a pedestrian 19-16-6 on the road in the regular season. That could be reason enough to pull for the Knights.
But Vegas also navigated the salary cap in tricky ways again, and they’re a much healthier and better team than the one they put out there in the regular season, collecting 98 points and earning the last wild card spot.
During the year, the Avalanche were 1-1-1 against the Golden Knights, and 3-1 against the Stars. That would tilt the scales back toward Dallas as the preferred opponent, considering Colorado had a better record facing them.
So really, it’s a coin-flip.
They are valid reasons for wanting the next series to be against Vegas, and others for Dallas. But also, if it’s the Knights, Colorado could earn some revenge for the painful Round 2 exit back in 2021. That’s the series the Avs were up 2-0 in, before losing four straight games. It was their third straight second-round exit.
Luckily, they won the Stanley Cup the following year with the same core and head coach Jared Bednar. No rash decisions were made after another playoff failure.
Regardless, we could know as soon as Friday night, or perhaps have to wait until Sunday if there’s a Game 7. In the meantime, the Avalanche will continue to take it easy, something they’ve earned.
