First to 100, First to Clinch: Avalanche Reach Playoffs for Ninth Straight Year

Spring has arrived, folks! March 20, the very first day of the spring season, and we finally have a clinching scenario. Only one team could punch a ticket to the beautiful annual madness known as the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and that team is the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs have had a few hiccups lately, but when the chips are down, we are at our best. Thanks to other outside factors that happened on the previous night, the Avs' scenario is a very simple one. One point and we're in. That's it.

Coming off a shootout loss to the Dallas Stars, the Avs went to the Windy City for our final meeting of the season against the Chicago Blackhawks. Mackenzie Blackwood was in net against Arvid Soderblom, and the Avs really peppered Soderblon with shots. One of them finally got in, and it was Martin Necas, who has scored first for the Avs a lot this season. Valeri Nichushkin and Nathan MacKinnon with the assists. Avs had a power play right after that goal, and it cashed in! Brock Nelson's 31st of the season made it 2-0, with Necas and Cale Makar assisting.

We actually pressed for a third before the horn sounded, but 2-0 after 20 is still good. Second period saw the Blackhawks get on the board; it was Wyatt Kaiser, the defenseman with the goal, but even that didn't really spark the Hawks. The Avs continued to dominate in shots, having a 2-1 shots advantage, but the Avs were still only up one after 40. Third period saw an early Avs PP result in Nazem Kadri putting it in. There has been a lot of life in the PP in the last couple of weeks. I think the Olympic break helped. Nichushkin added one for good measure, and all that was left to do was count down the final minutes.

The Colorado Avalanche won, 4-1, over the Chicago Blackhawks, and with that win, the Avs became the first team to reach the century mark, and of course, we are the first team to clinch a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. We clinched in Game 68, which is the second-fastest in team history; one game later than the 1996-97 season. In addition, this is the first time that we are the first to clinch since 2000-01, and we all know how that season ended. This is a very special season. Gabriel Landeskog playing regular season hockey for the first time since our Cup year. Martin Necas (32G/52A/84P) tearing it up, Brock Nelson finding the net a hell of a lot, Nazem Kadri back with us, the goalies dominating, but the top story is Nathan MacKinnon.

Ol' #29 continues to show why he's the best in the league right now. Another three point night for Mack (all assists) moving him up to 114 points, while still being part of a tight logjam with Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov. He definitely has a great shot at winning the Ross this year, and he'll has the Richard on lockdown. As for Cale Makar, one has to believe that he'll be winning his third Norris Trophy this year.

We needed this win to create more space in the Central, we now lead by four points over a Dallas Stars team who is on a big winning tear as of late. The Avs and Stars will face each other one more time on April 4, but as for the next game, Game #69, it's off to DC to face off against the Washington Capitals! For the ninth straight year, the Colorado Avalanche are playoff bound! The current streak does include one Cup. I sense another one coming this year!