{"id":548531,"date":"2026-04-09T06:00:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T06:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/548531\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T06:00:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T06:00:43","slug":"avalanche-clinch-division-and-conference-remain-focused-on-presidents-trophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/548531\/","title":{"rendered":"Avalanche Clinch Division and Conference, Remain Focused on Presidents’ Trophy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AThe Avalanche’s dominant performance against the Blues showcases their ability to overcome adversity and remain focused on their ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.St. Louis Today<\/p>\n

The Colorado Avalanche clinched the Central Division title and the top spot in the Western Conference with a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. However, the team remained focused on their larger goal of securing the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

Winning the division and conference were important milestones for the Avalanche, who have been in ‘Stanley Cup or bust’ mode for several seasons. Securing home-ice advantage could provide a crucial edge as they pursue their ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

The Avalanche dominated the Blues for the first two periods, suffocating their opponent and creating numerous scoring chances. Despite the significant accomplishments, the team’s locker room had a muted atmosphere, with coach Jared Bednar emphasizing that they still need one more win to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy. The Avalanche have been dealing with injuries to key players throughout the season, but have shown they can still play at a high level when their top skaters are healthy.<\/p>\n

The Avalanche clinched the division and conference on April 8, 2026.Eight years ago to the day, the Avalanche defeated the Blues in a winner-take-all Game 82 to return to the playoffs.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Jared Bednar<\/p>\n

The head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, who has guided the team to consistent success in recent seasons.<\/p>\n

Gabe Landeskog<\/p>\n

The captain of the Colorado Avalanche, who has been a key part of the team’s core group for many years.<\/p>\n

Nathan MacKinnon<\/p>\n

A star forward for the Colorado Avalanche, who has been a driving force behind the team’s success.<\/p>\n

Scott Wedgewood<\/p>\n

The goaltender for the Colorado Avalanche, who has provided strong performances in net during the team’s playoff push.<\/p>\n

Carolina Hurricanes<\/p>\n

The team that the Avalanche are competing with to secure the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.<\/p>\n

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\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re not all the way there yet. The goal for us started with winning the division and the conference (but) we still need another win to get first overall.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Jared Bednar, Head Coach, Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n

\u201cI really liked our game (Tuesday) night. I thought all four lines checked really hard. We created a lot of scoring chances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Gabe Landeskog, Captain, Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n

\u201cHome ice is super important. It’s an advantage. You spend more days at home in between rounds. Hopefully that will pay dividends for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Scott Wedgewood, Goaltender, Colorado Avalanche<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Avalanche need a combination of two points gained or two points lost by the Carolina Hurricanes to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy and secure home-ice advantage through the Stanley Cup Final. The team’s focus will also be on getting healthy and seeing strong performances from backup goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood in the final games of the regular season.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

The Avalanche’s consistent success and focus on the process that led to their historic start have them poised for a deep playoff run. While they remain humble about their accomplishments, securing home-ice advantage could provide a crucial edge as they pursue their ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Avalanche’s dominant performance against the Blues showcases their ability…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":548532,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5120],"tags":[71,5,4,534,84,5285,5284],"class_list":{"0":"post-548531","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-louis-blues","8":"tag-blues","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-st-louis","12":"tag-st-louis-blues","13":"tag-stlouis","14":"tag-stlouisblues"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116373231447375075","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548531","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=548531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/548532"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}