The Colorado Avalanche beat the Calgary Flames 3-1 to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy on Thursday in Denver. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo
April 10 (UPI) — The Colorado Avalanche plan to refocus after beating the Calgary Flames to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy, coach Jared Bednar told reporters.
Forwards Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas each logged a goal and two assists in the 3-1 triumph Thursday in Denver. By clinching the Presidents’ Trophy, the Avalanche earned home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I think guys should be really happy that we’ve accomplished those three goals — first in the division, the conference and the league,” Bednar said.
“That’s where it starts. You’ve got to play a long regular season before the playoffs. Now, it’s time to refocus, get ready for playoffs and do whatever we need to do to be as good as we can possibly be for the drop of the puck come playoff time,” he said.
“You basically wash everything that you’ve done, except for what you’ve learned as a team about yourselves, and then you start fresh because it’s a completely different ballgame.”
The NHL-best Avalanche (52-16-10) went 5-0-3 through their first eight games this season. They went on to a 31-2-7 start and were 8-3 over their last 11 games.
Their 52 wins are tied for second-most in franchise history. With his third-period score, MacKinnon reached a career-high in goals (52). He also leads the NHL in that category, placing himself firmly in contention for the Hart Trophy.
MacKinnon joined Necas to assist Gabriel Landeskog for a power-play goal to draw first blood Thursday against the Flames. MacKinnon and defenseman Brent Burns assisted Necas for a 2-0 lead with 4:59 remaining in the second period.
Flames forward Tyson Gross lit the lamp to cut into the deficit with 2:52 remaining in regulation. Necas assisted MacKinnon’s score less than two minutes later.
The Avalanche will host the Vegas Golden Knights (36-26-17) at 8 p.m. EDT Saturday in Denver. Their other three remaining regular-season games will be against the Edmonton Oilers (40-29-10), Flames (32-37-9) and Seattle Kraken (33-34-11).
They are on track to face the Los Angeles Kings (33-26-19) in the first round of the playoffs. The Kings hold a one-point lead on the Nashville Predators (37-32-10) for the Western Conference’s final wild card slot.
Only eight teams in NHL history previously clinched the Presidents’ Trophy and went on to win the Stanley Cup. The 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks were the most recent team to achieve that feat.
“I think this game has a way of humbling you if you don’t play your best hockey,” Bednar said. “There is no team in the Top 16 that makes it that can’t beat us and I believe there is no team we can’t beat.
“It’s up to you to play your best hockey for each series in order to win. If you’re not playing your best or you’re making too many mistakes or you’re not dialed in as a group of 20-plus, then you can expect it to be a tough road.
“We obviously had an incredible start to the season and that’s carried us a long way. I feel like our guys have still dug in and played the right way through the second half of the season. But it’s not the team you are in September or October or November that wins you the Cup. It’s the team you are at the end of the year.”
