The Colorado Avalanche opened up some breathing room with Sunday’s key win over the Washington Capitals. The Avs notched a 3-2 overtime win on the strength of Brock Nelson’s 32nd goal of the season.
Despite Alexander Ovechkin notching his 1,000th career goal, the Caps could not close off the comeback. The Avs had a 2-1 lead early in the third period, but Ovechkin tied the game with a power play tally.
The game went into overtime, with Nelson scoring on a brilliant backdoor pass from Martin Necas.
The two crucial points gave the Avalanche a five-point cushion over the Dallas Stars. The cushion held up as the Stars lost 3-2 to the Vegas Golden Knights in their game later Sunday night.
Despite the Stars’ loss, they clinched a playoff berth. Dallas became the second team this season to lock up a playoff spot.
Most importantly, the Avalanche now have some daylight between them and Dallas after things got a bit tight last week.
The Avalanche and Stars will go head-to-head once more this season. The two clubs will meet on April 4 in Dallas. That game will likely represent both clubs jockeying for position as the Stars are still trying to capture the Division lead.
Avalanche get new potential first-round opponent
Interestingly, the Nashville Predators got a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon. That victory catapulted them into the second wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The Preds’ 75 points put them two ahead of the LA Kings and four ahead of the Seattle Kraken. The Kraken, however, have a game in hand.
That said, things look promising for the Predators. After they were all but declared dead this season, the club has turned things around. If the standings hold, the Avalanche would face the Predators in the opening round of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Avs and Preds have played all four of their regular-season matchups. The two clubs split the season series, with Nashville taking the last meeting 7-3. The other Nashville victory was a 4-3 shootout win back on December 9.
While it may seem like the Avalanche could steamroll the Predators, it’s worth pointing out that Nashville won’t go away quietly if they face Colorado.
So, it will be an interesting first-round matchup for sure. There are still about a dozen games left in the season. As such, the standings can certainly change. But by the looks of it, the Avalanche’s first-round opening might be one we didn’t really expect to see this season.