Avalanche's Playoff Frustrations Continue in Painful Fashion

In 2022, the Colorado Avalanche put together one of the most-dominant playoff runs in recent NHL history, going 16-4 on their way to the Stanley Cup while never once facing elimination.

After years of frustration, it seemed like the Avalanche had finally broken through and were on their way to becoming the NHL's next potential dynasty. Three years later, however, that has turned out not to be the case.

The Avalanche suffered another agonizing playoff defeat on Saturday night, blowing a 2-0 third-period lead in a 4-2 loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 7. Not helping matters is the fact that Mikko Rantanen, whom the Avalanche traded away in January, scored three goals in the third period to eliminate his former team.

Colorado has won just one playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup, which, for a team with such incredible talent, is simply baffling.

At points throughout this series, the Avalanche were simply dominant. They won Game 1 by a score of 5-1 and Game 4 by a score of 4-0. They also outshot the Stars 241-186, so they tilted the ice in their favor on numerous occasions.

In the end, though, they just didn't come through when it mattered. They were a dreadful 13.6 percent on the power play in this series, and despite having a man advantage going into overtime in Games 2 and 3, they lost both of them because they couldn't finish the job. The Stars, meanwhile, scored on 30.4 percent of their power play opportunities and rose to the occasion more consistently, whether it be in the third period or overtime.

Goaltending was another area where Colorado was at a clear disadvantage. Mackenzie Blackwood played well early on in the series, but ultimately finished with a .892 save percentage and was under a .850 save percentage in each of the final three games. On the other hand, Dallas' Jake Oettinger had a .911 save percentage and was over a .925 save percentage in Games 5 and 7.

Of all the Avalanche's stars, though, Cale Makar is probably the one with the most soul searching to do. The likely Norris Trophy winner had five points (one goal, four assists) in the series, which ranks third among defensemen in the playoffs, but he was held off the scoresheet in four of the final five games.

Nathan MacKinnon was a monster with 11 points (seven goals, four assists) and Gabriel Landeskog looked fantastic after nearly three years away due to injury, so there are positives to take away from this series. However, it's hard to focus on moral victories when the expectation is to compete for a championship each and every year, and the Avalanche haven't come close in three years now.