The Colorado Avalanche and St. Louis Blues will play each other in the opening round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the regular season, these two teams faced each other eight times, with Colorado collecting five wins. This bodes well for this Avs team that is predicted to go far in the playoffs.
The Colorado Avalanche finished out the regular season with the Presidents’ Trophy for best overall record. This guarantees the team home-ice advantage throughout its playoff run.
Coupled with the Presidents’ Trophy, the Avs led the league with an average of 3.52 goals scored per game. The team had skilled special teams, maintaining a 22.4% power play percentage and an 83.1% penalty kill percentage. This regular season success is expected to transfer over into the playoffs.
The young Colorado team has impressive star power to carry their offense during the postseason. 25-year-old center Nathan MacKinnon ended the regular season with 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists) in 48 games. In his four previous playoff appearances, MacKinnon tallied 54 points in 40 contests.
Finnish right-wing Mikko Rantanen also had a stellar offensive season, leading the team with 66 points. The 24-year-old finished the regular season with a league-leading +30. Captain Gabriel Landeskog had a productive season as well, with 52 points in 54 games. The Swedish left-winger will provide important leadership this postseason.
Perhaps the Avs’ biggest weapon is defenseman Cale Makar. The 22-year-old brings elite offensive talent, strong skating, and shut-down capabilities. Makar won the Calder Trophy in 2020 after having an impeccable rookie season. Now, he is in the discussion for the Norris Trophy in just his second year. During the 2019-2020 playoffs, he contributed 15 points in 15 games and is expected to play a huge role in this postseason.
Goaltender Philipp Grubauer has anchored the Avs on the back-end with a 30-9-1 record. His 1.95 goals-against-average is ranked third in the league. Colorado will look to his playoff experience, as he won the Cup in 2018 with the Washington Capitals along with teammate Andre Burakovsky. The team will also look to Brandon Saad, who won the Cup twice with the Chicago Blackhawks. Saad has been out with a lower-body injury since April 26 but is expected to break into the lineup for Game 1.
The St. Louis Blues, however, have much more experience after they won the Cup in 2019. 16 players on their current roster were part of that championship team. One of those players, goalie Jordan Binnington, will play a crucial part in their performance in this series.
Binnington was a rookie during the 2018-2019 season and played incredibly to help the Blues nab their first-ever Stanley Cup. However, just one year later in the 2020 playoffs, Binnington struggled. He posted a 0-5-0 record with a 4.72 goals-against-average and a .851 save percentage. If Binnington can replicate his play from the 2019 playoffs, the Blues will be a dangerous force.
Though the Blues took the fourth-seed in the West Division, they ended the regular season on a high note, going 8-1-3 in their last 12 matchups.
St. Louis is a physical team that will put up a good fight against Colorado. The aggressiveness and competitiveness will be heightened after meeting in the regular season eight times.
However, the Avs’ speed and skill will push them past the Blues and into Round 2 of the playoffs.
Game 1 of the series will begin tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. MT.
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