{"id":526946,"date":"2026-03-28T04:00:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T04:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/526946\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T04:00:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T04:00:23","slug":"avalanche-closing-in-on-presidents-trophy-as-final-stretch-begins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/526946\/","title":{"rendered":"Avalanche Closing In On Presidents\u2019 Trophy As Final Stretch Begins"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the 2025\u201326 NHL regular season enters its final stretch, the Colorado Avalanche find themselves in a commanding position atop the league standings\u2014and in firm control of the race for the Presidents\u2019 Trophy.<\/p>\n

Colorado improved to 48-13-10 (106 points) after a playoff-esque 3-2 win over the Winnipeg Jets, extending their winning streak to four games. With 11 games remaining, they\u2019ve created separation not only in the Central Division\u2014holding a nine-point edge over the Dallas Stars\u2014but also in the race for the league\u2019s top overall seed.<\/p>\n

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A win in the rematch would only tighten their grip.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re still fighting for first place, so every win\u2019s important until they put the mark beside our standings,\u201d head coach Jared Bednar told NHL.com. \u201cSo, we have something to play for down the stretch run here. And we\u2019ve had a good year, but we\u2019re not comfortable\u2014we\u2019re still just kind of fine-tuning our game for going into the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite their strong position, the math behind clinching the Presidents\u2019 Trophy remains intriguing. The Avalanche\u2019s primary challenger, the Carolina Hurricanes, also have 11 games remaining and currently sit at approximately 96 points. If Carolina were to win every game from here on out, they would earn 22 additional points, finishing with a maximum of 118 points.<\/p>\n

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That sets Colorado\u2019s magic number at 119 points\u2014meaning the Avalanche will likely secure the Presidents\u2019 Trophy with roughly six to seven more wins down the stretch. In practical terms, an 8\u20133 finish would comfortably secure the award, while a 7\u20133\u20131 record could also be sufficient depending on Carolina\u2019s results. However, given the parity of the modern NHL, it is unlikely the Hurricanes will win all of their remaining games, barring unforeseen circumstances.<\/p>\n

Leading the Avalanche is Nathan MacKinnon, who scored twice on seven shots Thursday night as Colorado defeated Winnipeg 3-2 at Canada Life Centre. It marked the first time in 330 days that Colorado had beaten the Jets on the road in the regular season, and MacKinnon\u2019s two-goal performance pushed him to 47 and 48 goals on the year, extending his lead atop the NHL goal-scoring race.<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/p>\n

Mark Scheifele initiating the breakout from behind the net.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jets forward Mark Scheifele, despite being on the opposing side, offered high praise for MacKinnon\u2019s impact and consistency.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s absolutely fantastic. He\u2019s an absolute horse out there. He\u2019s a guy that works on his game so tirelessly,\u201d he stated. \u201cOn the other side, he\u2019s a fun guy to watch. Makes a lot of plays, a lot of little plays, even that a lot of people don\u2019t notice. So, he\u2019s one of, if not the, one of the best, if not the best player in the league. And he shows it every single night. And it\u2019s impressive to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Avalanche continue to surge, the Jets are fighting for their postseason lives. At 30-30-12 (72 points), Winnipeg sits five points back of a Western Conference wild card spot with 10 games remaining.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvery game is huge for us, no matter the opponent,\u201d Jets forward Cole Perfetti added. \u201cAt this stage of the year for us, we need two points every single night, so it doesn\u2019t matter who we\u2019re playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

That urgency contrasts with Colorado\u2019s position\u2014but not their mindset. The Avalanche are not easing into the playoffs; they are sharpening their game while chasing hardware. Contributions like Logan O’Connor\u2019s return from injury and continued offensive dominance from their top line only reinforce their depth and readiness.<\/p>\n

The Avalanche don\u2019t need perfection\u2014they just need to keep winning enough games to stay in control. The Presidents\u2019 Trophy may not be the ultimate prize, but it remains a significant milestone. And while the Stanley Cup is the true goal, capturing both is a rare accomplishment last achieved by the 2012\u201313 Chicago Blackhawks.<\/p>\n

For Colorado, the opportunity to pursue both remains very much alive\u2014and increasingly within reach.<\/p>\n

\"Image\"<\/p>\n

Image<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the 2025\u201326 NHL regular season enters its final stretch, the Colorado Avalanche find themselves in a commanding…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":526947,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5116],"tags":[193,29,96,2000,192,144,5277,147,642,5,3522,517,4,3731,8120,18],"class_list":{"0":"post-526946","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colorado-avalanche","8":"tag-avalanche","9":"tag-carolina-hurricanes","10":"tag-chicago-blackhawks","11":"tag-cole-perfetti","12":"tag-colorado","13":"tag-colorado-avalanche","14":"tag-coloradoavalanche","15":"tag-dallas-stars","16":"tag-erik-karlsson","17":"tag-hockey","18":"tag-mark-scheifele","19":"tag-nathan-mackinnon","20":"tag-nhl","21":"tag-presidents-trophy","22":"tag-remaining-games","23":"tag-winnipeg-jets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116304808909856498","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=526946"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/526946\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/526947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=526946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=526946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=526946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}