Avalanche win Central Division, earn No. 1 seed in Western Conference

The Colorado Avalanche did it with plenty of room to spare.

With a 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night, the Avs wrapped up the Central Division and will be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs.

Colorado now has 112 points with five games to go. The most possible points the Dallas Stars can finish with is also 112, but the Avalanche have the regulation wins tiebreaker, so it’s officially over. The road to the Stanley Cup Final will go through Ball Arena, while Dallas will have to battle the Minnesota Wild in Round 1 of the playoffs.

The Avs will face whichever team earns the final wild card spot in the first-round with several being possible opponents. The Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets are among the squads battling to earn the last postseason entry.

On Tuesday night, Valeri Nichushkin scored two goals, including a slick one between the legs to put the Avalanche up 3-0 in the second period. Martin Necas added a tally and goalie Scott Wedgewood made 18 saves to earn yet another win. He also survived a scary collision in the third period, hitting his back against the goalpost but staying in the game.

It was great to see Nichushkin get goals 16 and 17 on the season after not playing on Sunday night with an upper-body injury. The second one sent social media into a frenzy, given how beautiful it was.

BETWEEN‑THE‑LEGS GOAL!!!

Nichushkin's second of the night… 👀 pic.twitter.com/zajlAe6h6z

— NHL (@NHL) April 8, 2026

The only downside in the victory was center Nazem Kadri left the game in the second period and didn’t return. It looked like he took a puck to the hand. But much like with defenseman Cale Makar, Colorado will likely be cautious with him moving forward now that the No. 1 seed in the West is locked in.

The Presidents’ Trophy (given to the team with the NHL’s best record) isn’t wrapped up quite yet. The Carolina Hurricanes have 106 points, six back of the Avalanche. They could finish with a max of 114 points — so Colorado will need at least one more victory or some help to hold them off.

Regardless, this a major accomplishment for the franchise. Game 7 last year in Dallas went sideways with a raucous crowd behind the Stars. If there’s a Game 7 in the Western Conference playoffs this season it’ll be in Denver.

We’ll see how head coach Jared Bednar manages his lineup over the final five contests, but with the division and top-seed in the conference secured and the Presidents’ Trophy still to come, we could see some of the Avalanche superstars get well-earned time off.

Now, it’s about winning the Stanley Cup, with a great regular season putting Colorado in position to do just that.

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