The Colorado Avalanche advanced to the second round on Tuesday (April 30) after defeating the Winnipeg Jets by a 6-3 final in Game 5. It was a nice end to an outstanding series for the Avalanche.
At the time of this writing, the Avalanche still do not know who their second round opponent will be. Their two potential options, the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights, are still playing their series. The Stars currently have a 3-2 series lead over the Golden Knights and have the chance to end it on the road tonight (May 3).
In either scenario, the Avalanche have a tough challenge ahead of them. The Stars and the Golden Knights are among the top teams in the NHL and will be far from a walk in the park.
The Stars had an excellent regular season, posting a 52-21-9 and a Western Conference-leading 113 points. A major reason for their success is their all-around strong roster.
Offensively, the Stars are led by players like Jason Robertson, Joe Pavelski, Wyatt Johnston, and Roope Hintz. Veterans like Matt Duchene, Jamie Benn, and Tyler Seguin are also still impactful. On defense, they are led by superstar Miro Heiskanen, while other players like Thomas Harley, Esa Lindell, and Chris Tanev form an excellent top four. Jake Oettinger, of course, is a high-impact netminder.
While the Stars are an excellent team, the Vegas Golden Knights are also very good. The Golden Knights are the reigning Stanley Cup champions and are back to being healthy. Thus, they would be a difficult matchup for the Avs as well.
The Golden Knights have plenty of starpower on offense, led by Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault, Tomas Hertl, Mark Stone, and Ivan Barbashev. They are also deep defensively, with Alex Pierangelo, Noah Hanifin, Shea Theodore, and Brayden McNabb being key figures of their blueline. They also have an excellent one-two punch between the pipes with Adin Hill and Logan Thompson.
Overall, it is apparent that the Avalanche will be playing a good team no matter who advances from this series. However, the Avalanche also have an incredible roster themselves, so their second round should provide plenty of entertainment.
