Well-rested Avalanche again in favorite's role
Expectations for the Colorado Avalanche have not diminished since the start of the playoffs.
They were favored to win the Western Conference and reach the Stanley Cup Final, and now that they're here, oddsmakers think they have an edge over the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have won the last two finals. The Avalanche will need to overcome a long layoff to live up to the mantra of being -180 favorites on FanDuel Sportsbook in a highly anticipated series that begins Wednesday night in Denver.
“We just have to put our focus on our group,” said winger Andre Burakovsky, who won the Cup with Washington in 2018. “We're not going to focus on the outside of we are the favorites or underdog or anything like that. We're here to play our game, find our own success and not try to focus too much on the outside (elements) that we can't control.”
One of those elements is the schedule. After sweeping Edmonton in the West final, Colorado is going more than a week between games.
The eight days between series is slightly longer than the gameless span the Avalanche had after sweeping Nashville before facing St. Louis in the second round. Coach Jared Bednar and his staff have attempted to balance rest and competitive practices to keep the juices flowing knowing what's coming. Players insist they will be ready.
“At this point of the year, it's not very hard to get up for the games,” winger Mikko Rantanen said. “It's the finals, so it doesn't matter if it would be a 40-day break — I think everybody will be mentally ready to play.”
Rantanen added the layoff is not an excuse and that “it's every individual's responsibility to be ready.” Bednar is chiefly responsible for setting the practice schedule and putting players in the best position to win.
“I feel good about getting a couple of days away from the rink to get sort of decompressed and then start gearing things up a little bit,” Bednar said. “It's doesn't feel like it's too much time. I like the focus of our group, I like the work of our group.”
The Avs are without injured forwards Nazem Kadri and Andrew Cogliano, who Bednar on Sunday wouldn't rule out.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper over the weekend said it was likely top center Brayden Point, who has been out a month since getting injured in Game 7 of the first round against Toronto, will play at some point during the final.
The Avalanche finished off the Oilers without Kadri and starting goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who backed up Pavel Francouz in the series-clinching victory.