For the ninth consecutive season, the Colorado Avalanche are leading the way into the playoffs at the top of the standings. They've got the longest active playoff streak in the National Hockey League and are just one season away from tying the organization’s longest all-time streak of playoff berths that ran from 1995 to 2005. The club is also fighting for their fourth Stanley Cup in Avalanche history and their second in five years.
The Presidents' Trophy winners have sat at the top of the league all season and proven themselves to be the number one contender for the Stanley Cup. The thin air at the top has had little effect on the Avalanche though, and as they continue to climb and compete, they're approaching the playoffs with a light-heartedness not typically associated with the team.
Around the league, the Avalanche are known to be tough, intense, and just a little too serious. This season’s Rocket Richard winner, Nathan MacKinnon, has been given the reputation of being almost too much in the locker room, and the team as a whole has been considered so focused on winning, they've taken the fun out of the team.
On one hand, these things lean towards the truth. The Avalanche are an intense team, relentless on the ice, pesky in the best way, and just as unstoppable as the force of nature they were named after. Off the ice, these things are far from the truth, starting with the team playlist.
Colorado kicked off the season with a new walkout song that both shocked and delighted Avalanche fans. There hasn't been any explanation on who chose the song or why, but the Avalanche now skate out to a remix of Gangster's Paradise every home game. That's not the only song that has come to define the Avs this season, as Taylor Swift's “The Fate of Ophelia” has taken over the locker room after wins.
Again, there's no physical evidence of this new tradition, but Avalanche reporters have stated that alongside the song, which was chosen by Parker Kelly, a few of the players do in fact know the TikTok dance that accompanies the song. After their recent sweep of the Los Angeles Kings to advance to Round 2 of the playoffs, the win song was updated to a Bella Ciao and Fate of Ophelia remix.
On top of their new locker room hits, the Avalanche organization (fans included) recently became owners of two rescue whales, also courtesy of Parker Kelly. Avalanche journalist Meghan Angley publicly tweeted at the start of the season that if Kelly reaches 20 goals, she'd adopt a whale in his name. On April 13th, with the help of Avs faithful, she not only adopted Parker the whale, but raised enough money to adopt Kiarra, a second whale named after Parker's wife. Angley confirmed that both Parker and Kiarra were made aware of the whale count this season, and loved Avs Faithful rallying around the adoption.
While notorious whale Parker Kelly definitely brings the vibes to the room, he's not the only clown on this Colorado team. Gabriel Landeskog doesn't just lead and bring the team together on the ice, he also leads them into prank wars. Landeskog's usual opponent is Cale Makar, but this season a new target has popped up in Martin Necas. Landeskog's jokes and pranks have carried over into the postseason too, his biggest joke so far being a gift for head coach Jared Bednar. After taking a puck to the face on the bench, Landeskog welcomed Bednar back to practice with a custom Avalanche helmet to keep him safe heading into the intense playoff atmosphere.
Whales, remixes, and pranks have carried the Avalanche through the first round and now, as they await the outcome of the Dallas and Minnesota series, they're bonding around another Parker Kelly-inspired hobby of binge watching realty TV show, Survivor.
The Avalanche hope to keep the good vibes rolling both in the room and on the ice as they take on either the Dallas Stars or the Minnesota Wild come Round 2. The Stars take on the Wild tonight in Minnesota for a Game 6, where the Wild lead 3-2 in the series, and are looking to advance with a win at home.
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