Avalanche get a shutout from Wedgewood, essentially bury the Stars

The Colorado Avalanche are going to win the Central Division, the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and the Presidents’ Trophy.

It’s a matter of when, not if.

The Avs earned a 2-0 win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon, getting to 110 points while the Stars are stuck at 102. Colorado has also played 75 games while Dallas has played 77. In the words (or hand motions) of Vince Carter, this thing is over.

It was a tight contest, one that had a playoff feel. The score was tied 0-0 after two periods before a beautiful pass from Artturi Lehkonen to Martin Necas finally helped the Avalanche get on the board. It was a sweet goal that proved to be the game-winner.

Breaking the ice, courtesy of Lehky and Marty 🙌 pic.twitter.com/x6meLGd0Xz

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 4, 2026

Nathan MacKinnon would add an empty-netter, his 51st goal of the season, and the Stars couldn’t solve Scott Wedgewood.

The No. 1 goalie for the Avalanche made 17 saves, including a couple of clutch ones down the stretch to secure the victory.

This means that Dallas and the Minnesota Wild will have to play in Round 1 while Colorado will get the last team in the postseason dance, the final wild card slot.

Nothing is officially clinched, but it will be soon and the race for the best record in the NHL is all but decided.

The Avalanche will still have to go through either the Stars or Wild in Round 2 to win the Stanley Cup, but this result was the cherry on top of what has been an excellent regular season.

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