ANDRE BURAKOVSKY

Valeri Nichushkin scored the game-winning goal with 7:58 left, and the Colorado Avalanche became the first team to advance to the second round Monday night by finishing a sweep of the Nashville Predators 5-3 Monday night.

Lars Eller scored, the Capitals won the series and went on to lift the Stanley Cup. Now with the Colorado Avalanche, he’s well-aware that’s just one part of what it takes for a playoff team to get over the hump and win it all. “It’s so hard to win the Stanley Cup,” Burakovsky said. Ken Daneyko, who won the Cup with New Jersey three times, pointed to a penalty by Sam Bennett that cost the Panthers last year. “You’re going to get punched in the nose.

The Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes are among the contenders looking to get over the hump this year and win the Stanley Cup.

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Nathan MacKinnon had three goals and two assists, Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored twice in a dominant first period and the Colorado Avalanche set a franchise record with their 53rd win by routing the Los Angeles Kings 9-3.

Nathan MacKinnon scored in the third period to lift the Colorado Avalanche to a 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night. The Avalanche overcame a 2-1 deficit by scoring two goals 26 seconds apart early in the third period, with J.T. Compher tying the game and MacKinnon burying the go-ahead goal in front of 18,333 in attendance. Chandler Stephenson and Jonathan Marchessault scored for Vegas.

Red Wings Avalanche Hockey Colorado Avalanche left wing Andre Burakovsky, front, is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the Detroit Red Wings in the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, in Denver. They are the first team since Pittsburgh from Nov. 4-10, 1995 to score seven goals in three straight. Filip Hronek had a goal and an assist before leaving with an injury and Vladislav Namestnikov and Joe Veleno also scored for the Red Wings in their third straight loss and seventh in a row against Colorado. He had 251 points in 744 regular-season games with the Red Wings and won the Stanley Cup in 2008. After Veleno slipped a backhand past Kuemper to make it 3-2 at 3:21 of the second, the Avalanche responded with an offensive onslaught.

The Colorado Avalanche became the first team in 26 years to score seven goals in three straight games with a 7-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings.

Avalanche Golden Knights Hockey Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson, center left, and Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar, center right, celebrate with teammates after defeating the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Thursday, June 10, 2021, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher)LAS VEGAS — (AP) — Alex Pietrangelo scored his first goal of the postseason to break a tie late in the second period, and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 in Game 6 of their second-round series on Thursday night to advance to the Stanley Cup semifinals. The Golden Knights are in NHL's final four for the third time in the franchise's four years. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 shots and moved into sole possession of fourth place all-time with 89 playoff wins. Colorado came out of the opening faceoff looking to silence the sold-out crowd, as the Avalanche took advantage of a turnover by Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore.

Alex Pietrangelo scored his first goal of the postseason to break a tie and the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Colorado Avalanche 6-3 in Game 6 to advance to the Stanley Cup semifinals.

Captains are leading the way into the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Tyson Jost scored two of Colorado’s five second-period goals as the Avalanche clinched the West Division and the top overall seed in the NHL playoffs with a 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings.

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Colorado Avalanche right wing Joonas Donskoi reacts after scoring a goal against the Arizona Coyotes in the first period of an NHL hockey game Wednesday, march 31, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)DENVER – Joonas Donskoi scored three times during Colorado’s five-goal first period, and the Avalanche beat the Arizona Coyotes 9-3 on Wednesday night in front of home fans for the first time this season. To celebrate Donskoi’s accomplishment, fans tossed hats onto the ice — just like old times. Andre Burakovsky and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare also scored in a wild first period that included Arizona goals by Michael Bunting and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. AdGabriel Landeskog finished with two goals, Mikko Rantanen added another and Burakovsky scored his second with 3:11 remaining on an assist by Donskoi.

FILE - In this Feb. 16, 2019, file photo, St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko, right, is congratulated as he passes the team box after scoring a goal against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period of an NHL hockey game in Denver. Tarasenko makes his return after early season shoulder surgery that limited him to three goals in 10 games. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

Ditto for St. Louis, the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Blues and Avalanche were navigating through some key injuries before the season was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. The hiatus allowed time to heal and now the top two teams in the Western Conference return as Cup favorites. The two teams get things rolling Sunday in Edmonton by facing each other to kick off a round-robin tournament to determine seeding in the West. It should be a fun ride.Back on the ice for the Blues is forward Vladimir Tarasenko, who underwent shoulder surgery in late October.