Two years ago today, the Avalanche won their third Stanley Cup

Two years ago today, the Colorado Avalanche won the franchise’s third Stanley Cup.

June 26, 2022 will forever be a special day in our state’s sports history.

The Avalanche beat the Lightning 2-1 in a series clinching Game 6, with Artturi Lehkonen scoring the game-winner. In the tense final few moments, the Avs were able to get the puck deep in the Tampa Bay zone to run out the clock.

You can re-live the last 1:15 below.

June 26, 2022. The Colorado Avalanche won the stanley cup. Enjoy the last 1 minute of game six of the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals along with the celebration. pic.twitter.com/L6ttu7NBxC

— cam 🤠 (@realexclusi_ve) June 26, 2024

It was the perfect finish to a remarkable journey. The Avalanche went 16-4 in the playoffs and never played in an elimination game. They swept the Predators, dispatched the Blues in six games, swept the Oilers and then finished off the Lightning.

Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen were the team’s biggest stars. But goalie Darcy Kuemper played through a brutal eye injury, backup Pavel Francouz did his part and guys like Lehkonen, Valeri Nichushkin, Devon Toews and others played big roles.

Head coach Jared Bednar broke through, claiming sports most famous trophy and proving his doubters wrong he couldn’t lead a team past Round 2.

However, two other champions have been crowned since. The Vegas Golden Knights took the title in 2023 and the Florida Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in a thrilling Game 7 this past Monday to capture win it all.

Now it’s about the Avalanche proving they can do it another time with this core. After disappointing exits to the Kraken and Stars the last two years, 2025 will be one where the expectation is again Stanley Cup or bust.