You know, I've received a ton of trash talk from Colorado Avalanche fans while scrolling on TikTok this past week. Many fans have made bold proclamations such as "Avs in 5" and "Avs sweep," thinking that things will be easy. The funny thing is that the series hasn't even started, which makes things even more annoying.
Still, there's good reason for that. The Avalanche were the NHL's best regular season team with 121 points, winning the President's Trophy along the way. If there was a team that could easily dispose of the President's Trophy curse, it's this one. Names like Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Martin Necas could make life extremely rough for the Vegas Golden Knights.
That's true, even with names like Brett Howden and Mitch Marner playing awesome playoff hockey. That's why the Golden Knights must pull out all the stops heading into this series and get everyone healthy. Otherwise, it'll be a rough ride that ends in a handshake line. That's something that Golden Knights fans don't want to see.
But what should we know about the opposing team? Well, that's what we got MileHighSticking site expert Graham Tiedtke for. He's the know-everything expert on all things Avalanche-related, whether it's what Nathan MacKinnon ate for breakfast or Mackenzie Blackwood's pregame routine. Here's what Tiedtke had to say about the upcoming series and what Golden Knights fans should expect from the Avalanche side.
Who is the one Avalanche player that nobody is paying attention to that will impact the series and why?
Graham: If you're not following the Avalanche closely, the name Parker Kelly might slip past you. He does so much for the team despite being a bottom-six forward. His line, consisting of Joel Kiviranta and Jack Drury was on the ice for 176 minutes, and while that's not a lot over the course of an 82-game season (84 next season), he's not meant to be out there to put up the insane goal totals like MacKinnon is.
What matchup could be problematic for the Golden Knights? What weaknesses could hurt the Avalanche?
Graham: Everybody is going to be focusing on the top two lines. Home-ice advantage is crucial for the Avas, though their depth across all four lines is incredible enough where there's not a lot of worry.
Shockingly, the Avalanche led the league in shorthanded goals allowed in 2025-26. While the Avs are on the power play, they gave up 13 goals (watch for Brett Howden and Mitch Marner here, Golden Knights fans). INSANE.
What's one underrated team aspect that could help the Avs?
An underrated team aspect that could help the Avalanche is their determination and fight to never give up. I want to put that in as much BOLD as I possibly can. It's truly remarkable.
Think back to the series-clinching win against the Wild: They were down 3-0, dead in the water, and came back to win the game in overtime. Their refusal to give up is crazy.
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