Canucks, Avalanche secure playoff berths
The Colorado Avalanche and Vancouver Canucks clinched Stanley Cup Playoffs berths Saturday.
The Canucks secured their spot with the St. Louis Blues' loss to the San Jose Sharks, while the Avalanche did so with a 7-4 comeback win against the Nashville Predators.
The Avalanche and Canucks join the Dallas Stars as Western Conference teams to have punched a ticket to the postseason so far.
Vancouver goes to the playoffs for the first time since 2020 in the COVID bubble. Rogers Arena last hosted a postseason game on April 23, 2015.
It's Colorado's seventh straight season making the playoffs, matching the second-longest streak in franchise history with the Quebec Nordiques' run from 1980-87. The franchise record is 11 consecutive postseason berths - from 1994-06.
Down 4-2 early in Saturday's second period, Colorado scored five unanswered to battle back and secure the 7-4 win. Yakov Trenin, who the Avs acquired from the Predators before the trade deadline, netted the game-winner against his former team.
Colorado pulled netminder Alexandar Georgiev after he allowed his fourth goal and received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for shooting the puck into the crowd.
Mikko Rantanen hit the 100-point mark for the second year in a row with an assist on Nathan MacKinnon's empty-net goal.