Colorado Avalanche draw Winnipeg Jets in first round of playoffs, begin series on the road
***EDITOR'S NOTE: The Colorado Avalanche will begin the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the road to face the Winnipeg Jets after the Jets secured home ice with a win on Tuesday.
It's that time of year, and Colorado Avalanche fans get to look forward to postseason hockey without having to sweat out the last few days of the regular season.
With other NHL teams still competing for wildcard positions in both conferences, the Avs have stood firmly in playoff position since clinching their spot at the end of March.
The Colorado Avalanche also know they will face the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs — the first time these two teams have ever met in the postseason.
Before heading to Winnipeg, the final regular season matchup for the Avalanche is at home against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. The Jets play their final game of the regular season against the Vancouver Canucks also on Thursday. But at this point, these two respective game won't impact the playoff picture for either hockey club.
The Avs fell to their Central Division rival from Winnipeg in all three of their meetings this regular season.
As of Tuesday night, center Nathan MacKinnon led the Avs with 138 points, and center Mark Scheifele led the Jets with 72 points. Both teams boast netminders at the top of the league in wins this year: Avs goaltender Alexandar Georgiev was leading the NHL with 38 wins, and Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was second in wins with 37.
