Winner takes all: How have Game 7s treated the Nuggets and Avalanche?

Saturday will be one of the biggest days in the Denver sports scene since the 2023 NBA Finals, as the Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Avalanche will both be playing to keep their respective seasons alive in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round. Even better news for fans of both teams, they play at roughly the same time on Saturday, with the two games starting just 30 minutes apart.

This will be the second time that two teams from the same city will play in a Game 7 at the same time (Dallas, 2022).

The Nuggets will be at home while the Avalanche will be on the road in Dallas. Ball Arena has only seen one Game 7 victory in the past 20 years, when the Nuggets defeated the Spurs in the first round. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are looking to change that narrative against the LA Clippers over the weekend.

How has each team fared in these winner-take-all situations over years?

Nuggets

The Nuggets have played in 15 winner-take-all games, but only eight of those were Game 7s as the first round of the NBA Playoffs was either a best-of-3 or a best-of-5 in the 20th century. Since 2000, Denver is 3-3 in these games. Two wins came in the NBA Bubble in 2020 while the other win came at home against the Spurs in 2019. For the losses, one was on the road at the Staples Center against the Lakers in 2012, while the other two happened at home in 2019 (Trail Blazers) and 2024 (Timberwolves).

While the two victories in the Bubble are a great story as the Nuggets came back from down 3-1 both times, they are overshadowed by the two consecutive home losses that were tough pills to swallow. Denver was up 20 on Minnesota in 2024 before blowing it in the second half and was up 17 on Portland before the wheels came off. No lead is safe at Ball Arena, especially not in a Game 7.

Avalanche

Game 7s have not been kind to the Avs, especially since 2000. Colorado is 7-10 in Game 7s (8-11 in all winner-take-all games), and has lost six in a row. Even worse, the Avalanche have faced the Stars in three different Game 7s and lost all three times, two of which were in the Western Conference Finals. Since 2001, the Avs are 4-7, with all four wins coming in the 2001 and 2002 playoffs.

Three of the losses on this six-game slide for the Avs have come at home, with the most recent being against the Seattle Kraken in 2023. The Kraken took a 2-0 lead win the second period of that game, and it was too large of a deficit to overcome as Colorado couldn’t find offense all night long besides the lone power play opportunity they got.

On the other side, Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer is 8-0 in Game 7s in his career.

History isn’t on Denver’s side in either sport given the recent history of the two teams. The Avalanche have momentum in their series after a dominant performance in Game 6 to keep the season alive, while the Nuggets are looking to find it once again after wilting away in the third quarter of Game 6 with an opportunity to close out the Clippers

The Nuggets tip from Ball Arena at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, while 6 p.m. is the scheduled puck drop time for the Avalanche.

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