Colorado Avalanche clinch 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff berth

A recent Stanley Cup Champion is officially heading back to the postseason, not that anyone is surprised.

Following a 7-4 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night, the Colorado Avalanche have officially punched their ticket to the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It marks the seventh consecutive season that the Avalanche have clinched a playoff berth. The last Colorado failed to qualify for the postseason was back in the 2016-17 season.

The Avs are trying to make this season end similarly to the 2021-22 campaign, when the team won the franchise’s third Stanley Cup. Many players from that team are still in the lineup these days, including Hart Trophy candidate Nathan MacKinnon and Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar.

Colorado is hoping they can make a deep playoff run so they can see its captain return. Gabriel Landeskog, who has not played a game since he and his team lifted Lord Stanley, is on pace to return to game action in May. That would mean the Avalanche would have to at least make it to the second round.

The Avs have done whatever they can to ensure they have a chance to win the Cup. General manager Chirs MacFarland made a number of moves at the trade deadline, getting players like Sean Walker and Casey Mittlestadt to bolster their lineup.

However, the work is not done for the Avalanche. While simply making the playoffs is great, having a home-ice advantage is even better. Colorado is searching for its fourth straight Central Division title. The Avs currently sit in second place, one point back of the Dallas Stars for first, with both teams have eight games remaining. Dallas and Colorado face off on April 7 in Denver.

The Avs had “home-ice advantage” in the first round in each of the last four playoffs–the 2020 Western Conference Playoffs were held in Edmonton, though Colorado was the higher seed in their run to the second round.