Nhl-high 104 points matches the 1995-96 Avs, Stanley Cup champions
That first Avalanche team, the one that opened its maiden season in Denver by defeating the Russian Five, aka the Detroit Red Wings, in the NHL’S official return to the city at Mcnichols Sports Arena on Oct. 6, 1995, went on to eliminate Detroit in the Western Conference finals and win the Stanley Cup.
It was a legendary squad — Colorado’s first major-league sports champion. Sakic, Forsberg, Roy, Foote, Lemieux.
Mackinnon, Makar, Rantanen, Landeskog, Kadri — the Avs’ current stars — are on an even better pace.
“Obviously, that was an incredible group (in 1995-96) and we think we have a really good group here, too,” Avs goalie Darcy Kuemper said after Saturday’s 3-2 win over the Penguins at Ball Arena. “Those are the guys that we’re trying to live up to with their Stanley Cups.”
That first Avs team finished the regular season with 104 points — second-most in the NHL, but a distant 27 behind the Red Wings, who still own the league record of 131 in an 82game season.
The current Avs, who reached 104 points by downing Pittsburgh, won’t break Detroit’s record. But they can come close and potentially smash the club record of 118, set in the second Cup-winning season of 2000-01.
Colorado (49-14-6) has 13 remaining regular-season games, a stretch beginning with Tuesday’s rematch against the Penguins in Pittsburgh. If the Avs finish around their league-best .754 winning percentage, they’ll win nine or 10 of them and easily surpass 118, which is tied for sixth-best all-time over 82 games.
Historically, the 2021-22 Avalanche is on a legendary pace, with home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs potentially attached to it.
Colorado leads the President’s Trophy race by just two points over Florida after the Panthers’ victory at Buffalo on Sunday.
The Avs and Panthers, who both have played 69 games, have an interesting history. They met in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final — another throwback storyline attached to this season.
Footnotes. The Avs had an optional practice on Sunday and will not skate ahead of their flight to Pittsburgh on Monday. They will have a morning skate at PPG Paints Arena. … The game-winning, third-period goal by Devon Toews on Saturday was Colorado’s 56th tally from a defenseman this season. That’s tops in the NHL and most in the league since Nashville’s blueliners produced 56 in 2017-18. … Center Nathan Mackinnon had two assists on Saturday to give him 400 for his career. He is the first player from the 2013 draft class to reach that number, and fourth in Avalanche history. … Winger Mikko Rantanen extended his team goal-scoring lead to 35, now four ahead of his previous career-high, and he takes a fivegame points streak into Pittsburgh. Mackinnon and Rantanen have provided enough offense during a stretch the Avs will continue on without injured top-six forwards Gabe Landeskog and Nazem Kadri. … Rookie defenseman Bo Byram played in the second game of his AHL conditioning stint with the Colorado Eagles on Saturday in Ontario, Calif. The Eagles defeated the Reign 4-3 in overtime to sweep the two-game series.