JARED BEDNAR

The parade through the streets of Denver to celebrate the Colorado Avalanche’s Stanley Cup title offered a little bit of everything.

Some tough decisions loom for the Colorado Avalanche after dethroning the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final. Taylor, a forward, was on hand to watch his brother not only win the Stanley Cup but earn the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the postseason. It’s so funny to see us grow up together, have those sibling fights, battle playing fake Stanley Cup and mini-sticks. ALL THE SMALL THINGSThe band blink-182 gave a shoutout to the Avalanche for their Stanley Cup title. The only Stanley Cup winner with fewer losses since all rounds went to a best-of-seven format in 1987 was Edmonton, which lost only twice in '88.

The city will celebrate the Colorado Avalanche’s Stanley Cup title with a parade through the streets of downtown Denver.

Stanley Cup Avalanche Lightning Hockey The Colorado Avalanche pose with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack) (Phelan Ebenhack)TAMPA, Fla. — (AP) — In a copycat league known for following the Stanley Cup champions, Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog paused when asked what other teams could do to emulate their success. They needed the bulk and grit provided by Manson, center Nazem Kadri and others to endure the Lightning. This Stanley Cup Final finished that point, after the Lightning staved off elimination to send the series back to Tampa. “This team will beat you if you’re not poised.”And the Lightning may do this to more teams next year. Don't bet against the Lightning reaching a fourth consecutive final and going for a third championship in four years.

The Colorado Avalanche winning the Stanley Cup showed the value of speed and skill in a league dramatically tilting in that direction.

Nathan MacKinnon saved his best performance in the Stanley Cup Final for when it mattered most.

Makar is the second defenseman to win the award over the past three years. He follows Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the back-to-back defending champions eliminated by Colorado in the Stanley Cup Final on Sunday night. “For my development, I just didn’t think it was the right thing to do,” Makar told The Associated Press in September. “He’s an amazing player,” Edmonton defenseman Tyson Barrie said in the middle of the Avalanche sweeping the Oilers in the Western Conference final. “Since he’s been in the league, he’s been exceptional and it’s amazing the way he’s creating offense and still playing defense.

Cale Makar has won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading the Colorado Avalanche to their first Stanley Cup title since 2001 and third in franchise history.

Stanley Cup Avalanche Lightning Hockey Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) reacts after scoring on Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) during the second period of Game 6 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday, June 26, 2022, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan Ebenhack) (Phelan Ebenhack)TAMPA, Fla. — (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche are back atop hockey’s mountain after dethroning the two-time defending champions. They locked things down by holding on to the puck and not letting Tampa Bay even shoot the puck on Darcy Kuemper in the third period. That mentality helped the Avalanche get over the hump, and Bednar became the first coach to win the Stanley Cup, American Hockey League's Calder Cup and ECHL's Kelly Cup. Instead, they'll return to Denver to celebrate with the Stanley Cup. When that happens, Colorado will get the chance to defend its crown and attempt to follow Tampa Bay in sustaining a perennial Cup contender.

The Colorado Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup after dethroning the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Colorado Avalanche face their biggest task yet in the Stanley Cup Final looking to close out the back-to-back defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 on the road.

The Colorado Avalanche were stymied in their quest to close out the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The Colorado Avalanche got a key player back with the return of Nazem Kadri for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The fast-flying Colorado Avalanche have zoomed out to a 2-0 series lead over Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final.

“Mr. Game 7” is back in the Stanley Cup Final, but in a much different role than before.

Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon has upped his game by dialing it down.

The Tampa Bay Lightning say they are unfazed after losing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final to the Colorado Avalanche.

Stanley Cup Lightning Avalanche Hockey Colorado Avalanche goaltender Darcy Kuemper (35) gives up a goal to the Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/John Locher) (John Locher)DENVER — (AP) — Darcy Kuemper smirked. A day after saying he and Colorado Avalanche goalie partner Pavel Francouz usually get a text message the night before a game telling them who's starting, he finally let on that it wasn't such a secret going into the Stanley Cup Final. Kuemper made 20 saves on 23 shots and has coach Jared Bednar's trust going into Game 2 Saturday night. ___Follow AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SWhyno___More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2022 The Associated Press.

The Colorado Avalanche are expected to stick with goaltender Darcy Kuemper in goal for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

The two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning face the best in the West Colorado Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final beginning Wednesday in Denver.

APTOPIX Avalanche Oilers Hockey Colorado Avalanche's Bowen Byram (4), J.T. He later scored the go-ahead goal in a back-and-forth Game 4 of the Western Conference final that the Avalanche won to sweep the Oilers out of the playoffs and move on to play for the Stanley Cup. “It’s a battle of attrition,” said Jared Bednar, in his fifth season as Colorado's coach. “A week off is going to help us with the banged-up players we have," Rantanen said. Landeskog gathered the Avalanche to stand around it, and he and MacKinnon each put a hand on it but didn't parade it around the ice.

The Colorado Avalanche didn't need to be fully healthy to sweep the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference final.

With Nazem Kadri out with an injury, Colorado's Mikko Rantanen shifted to center to take his spot and was on the receiving end of a few chops on the back of his leg from Edmonton's Duncan Keith that sent him to the ice. Rantanen rose to his feet, shoved Keith and got back in the play. The Avalanche didn't make it through the series unscathed, but with Edmonton star Leon Draisaitl skating on one good leg and defenseman Darnell Nurse playing through a hip injury, they are moving on to face the New York Rangers or back-to-back defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the Cup Final next week.

Nazem Kadri had three assists in a 2:04 span in the second period, backup Pavel Francouz stopped 24 shots for his second career playoff shutout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Darren Helm scored with 5.6 seconds left and Darcy Kuemper stopped 18 shots as the Colorado Avalanche finished off their second-round series with a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues in Game 6.

The pressure is squarely on the Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and Calgary Flames down two games to one in their respective first-round series.

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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.

Gabriel Landeskog tied the game with 36.5 seconds left in regulation and Cale Makar scored a power-play goal 3:01 into overtime as the Colorado Avalanche rallied past the Boston Bruins 4-3 for their 17th straight home victory.

Washington star Alexander Ovechkin and high-scoring Edmonton teammates Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl headline the rosters for the NHL All-Star Weekend announced Thursday.

Erik Johnson had a goal and an assist, and the Colorado Avalanche beat Philadelphia 7-5 to hand the Flyers their ninth straight loss just hours after they fired coach Alain Vigneault.

Several months after COVID-19 vaccinations were made widely available in the United States, vaccination status continues to disrupt professional and college sports.

Montreal's Cole Caufield is the best of a handful of college hockey stars who went from playing at the NCAA level this season to jumping right into the NHL playoffs.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski)Jared Bednar was cleared to coach the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of their second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights after missing the morning skate Thursday because of a COVID-19 testing irregularity. An Avalanche spokesman confirmed Bednar will be behind the bench in Las Vegas after the matter was resolved. Bednar was not at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Thursday morning because of the coronavirus testing snafu. We’re ready to go as a group and we’re excited for the challenge.”This is not the first time the NHL playoffs has gotten a virus testing scare. Vegas coach Peter DeBoer missed time earlier in the season while in league protocol.

(AP Photo/David Zalubowski) (David Zalubowski)Coach Jared Bednar missed the Colorado Avalanche’s morning skate in Las Vegas on Thursday after what the team called an “irregularity” in his COVID-19 test. An Avalanche spokeswoman said Bednar was not at the arena because of the virus testing snafu. It was not clear if Bednar will be behind the bench for Game 6 Thursday night with Colorado facing elimination against the Vegas Golden Knights. We’re ready to go as a group and we’re excited for the challenge.”This is not the first time the NHL playoffs has gotten a virus testing scare. A laboratory error caused multiple false positives for the Golden Knights and St. Louis Blues during the first round.

The Colorado Avalanche will have their coach behind the bench when they face elimination against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Golden Knights Avalanche Hockey Vegas Golden Knights left wing Max Pacioretty, left, fights for control of the puck with Colorado Avalanche defenseman Conor Timmins during the first period of Game 5 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series Tuesday, June 8, 2021, in Denver. Max Pacioretty corralled the puck after a blocked shot and fed it to Stone, who was off to the races. Stone beat Philipp Grubauer on the glove side to hush what had been a boisterous crowd. Trailing 2-0 entering the third, the Golden Knights found another gear with Alex Tuch scoring 1:03 into the period and Jonathan Marchessault tying it up just 3:04 later. Before the game, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar switched up his lines in an effort to generate more energy and production.

Mark Stone scored on a breakaway 50 seconds into overtime as the Vegas Golden Knights overcame a two-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 and take a 3-2 lead in their second-round playoff series.

The speedy Colorado Avalanche are suddenly the ones doing all the chasing. Vegas had Colorado in defense mode as the Golden Knights tied their playoff series at two games apiece by taking both games at home. “They make a play in the ‘D’ zone, they’re throwing it out into the neutral zone and coming at us 100 mph,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said.

Jonathan Marchessault had his fourth career hat trick to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche to tie their second-round series at two games apiece.

Vegas forward Ryan Reaves was suspended two games by the NHL for his roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct on Colorado’s Ryan Graves during the Golden Knights’ 7-1 loss in Game 1 of their second-round series Sunday.

Landeskog tipped in a shot from Samuel Girard at 14:53 of the second period to break a 1-1 tie. Landeskog said the Avalanche used a pre-series boast from St. Louis captain Ryan O'Reilly as motivation. Tarasenko converted on a breakaway off a pass from O’Reilly for a 1-0 lead at 5:07 of the second period. FREEBIESThe Avalanche scored six empty-net goals in the series, including two in a 6-3 win in Game 2 and two on Sunday. OUT AGAINColorado C Nazem Kadri served the second game of an eight-game suspension after hit to Justin Faulk in Game 2.

Ryan Graves had a goal and two assists, Philipp Grubauer made 31 saves, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the St. Louis Blues 5-1 to take a 3-0 series lead in their first-round West Division matchup.

Colorado’s Nazem Kadri is suspended indefinitely pending a video hearing with NHL officials over his illegal check to the head of St. Louis defenseman Justin Faulk.

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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The Colorado Avalanche have acquired goaltender Devan Dubynk from the San Jose Sharks for defenseman Greg Pateryn and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 draft.

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.