The Colorado Avalanche made history for the wrong reasons on Tuesday night. The Avs dropped a 2-1 decision in Game 4 of their Western Conference Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
The defeat ended the Avalanche’s amazing run during the 2025-26 season. And in the process, it became just the fourth Presidents’ Trophy-winning club to get swept in the postseason.
Colorado joined the 1987-88 Calgary Flames, the 1994-95 Detroit Red Wings, and the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. Now, the 2025-26 Colorado Avalanche will join that dubious distinction.
The Avs fought down to the final minutes. The game would have been a shutout if not for Gabriel Landeskog, who scored with about two minutes to go in the game.
And that was all of the offense the NHL’s powerhouse Avalanche could muster. In total, Colorado scored seven goals. Vegas didn’t score very many, either, but scored enough to take the series.
The Golden Knights now move on to face the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes-Montreal Canadiens Eastern Conference Final.
The Canes and Habs are still relatively early in their series, with the Canes grabbing a 2-1 lead on Monday night.
For Colorado, the offseason begins. There will be plenty of question marks about the overall team. But the overall sense is that the organization is just going to roll everything back one more time in 2026-27.
Perhaps the next time around, the Avalanche will break through and return to the Stanley Cup Final.
Yes, the ending was bitterly disappointing for the Avalanche on Tuesday night. But the club has nothing to be ashamed of. They had one check of a season and have given fans plenty to look forward to next season.
The process of recovery will be crucial for the wounded Avalanche warriors, particularly Cale Makar, and all of those who dealt with injuries throughout the season and playoffs.
They will come back strong next season. As the adage goes, “wait till next year.”
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