Colorado Avalanche

Everyone has dealt with mail being delivered to the wrong address, but a Denver couple had a unique experience with that situation Tuesday.

Per Colleen Flynn of Fox 31, the Stanley Cup was supposed to be sent to Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog but was mistakenly delivered to the Hilltop neighborhood in Denver.

Kit Karbler, whose house received the special delivery, posted an image of the Stanley Cup on the social media app NextDoor.

"They got the wrong address for the Stanley Cup and were delivering it to my house instead of Landeskog's," he wrote. "Got to see it and touch it in my driveway!"

Speaking to Flynn about the mix-up, Karbler said he and his husband were in their house when they saw a delivery vehicle stopped outside.

"It looks like a contractor or something," he said. "I didn’t know. And a fella comes to the door. He’s got long, kind of gray hair, parted and he’s very friendly. … And he comes right in and they're looking, the truck is backed up and they're looking to bring in the trophy."

Philip Pritchard, the Keeper of the Cup for the Hockey Hall of Fame, told Flynn the mix-up occurred because they "couldn't really see the number of the house" and decided to go knock on the door.

Flynn noted Landeskog's residence has a "similar-looking address" to Karbler's house.

Despite the confusion, everything worked out OK. A fan got to spend a few moments with the Stanley Cup. Landeskog presumably got his day with the NHL's biggest prize.

The Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games in the Stanley Cup Final to win their first title since 2000-01.

The Colorado Avalanche stormed through the 2021-22 season in dominant fashion. There have been plenty of surprise Stanley Cup winners over the years, but the Avs aren't one of them.

First, Colorado paced the Western Conference during the regular season, going 56-19-7 and accumulating 119 points to secure the No. 1 seed. It then went 12-2 over the first three rounds of the postseason, sandwiching sweeps of the Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers around a six-game series win over the St. Louis Blues.

Finally, the Avs took down the Tampa Bay Lightning, the two-time defending champions, in six games in the Stanley Cup Final. There was never a point during the playoffs in which Colorado trailed in a series, proving just how dominant of a team it was.

People love to compare and discuss the ranking of championship teams, and NHL fans and analysts are no different. The Stanley Cup, which was first awarded in 1893, has gone to some tremendous teams over the years.

Where do the Avalanche fit in with that history?

NHL Network analyst Mike Kelly called Colorado's postseason run "one of the most dominant playoff performances" he's seen. The numbers back up that claim.

The Avalanche went 16-4 in the postseason; the only Cup-winning team with a better win percentage in a single postseason (since the current format was implemented in 1987) was the Edmonton Oilers, who went 16-2 in 1988.

Colorado continued to impress right up until the end of its championship-clinching Game 6 win over Tampa Bay on Sunday, which was praised by NHL Network's Jon Morosi:

Others praised the leadership of Avalanche assistant captain Nathan MacKinnon. In his ninth NHL season (all in Colorado), the 26-year-old center became a champion:

Of course, the Avs also couldn't have won the Cup without defenseman Cale Makar. He may be only 23, but he's quickly solidified his spot as one of the top players in the league.

Now, he's also a Conn Smythe Trophy winner after being named the MVP of this year's playoffs.

“We’ve seen him play this way from Day 1 of the season,” Colorado head coach Jared Bednar said, per Sean Leahy of Pro Hockey Talk. “This guy is elite, and with him, the job he does for us offensively and defensively, watching him play, how dynamic he is, he’s just the best defenseman in the game right now.”

This was the third time the Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup, but it had been a while since they last did so, having captured their first two in 1996 and 2001. All three of those teams were impressive in their own ways.

However, Terry Frei of Colorado Hockey Now showed no hesitation in naming this year's Avs as the best in franchise history.

It's hard to debate that after watching the Avalanche power through the postseason. They could even rank up there with some of the top teams in NHL history.

And with how Colorado played from the beginning of the season through the end, it was a team deserving of all the praise it has received.

TAMPA, Fla. — Cale Makar's most famous words of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final weren't his last, they were his first.

"They're a team that's looking to have a dynasty," Makar said on media day, prior to the start of the Colorado Avalanche's championship series against the two-time defending champions in the Tampa Bay Lighting. "We're a team trying to start a legacy."

Their legacy may have begun Sunday night.

The Avalanche ended the Lightning's bid for their third straight Stanley Cup. A 2-1 comeback win in Game 6 at Amalie Arena gave the Avs their first Stanley Cup championship since 2001 and the third in club history. With a talented young core in place, this might not be the last time you see this team in this position in the coming years.

It's a culmination of patience and prudence shown by Avalanche GM Joe Sakic. The team tasted bitter disappointment in recent years, losing in the second round in three consecutive postseasons and in the first the year before that.

But much like when the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bolts were swept in the first round of the 2019 playoffs, the adversity served them well. Tampa Bay stayed the course and turned into a juggernaut.

Sakic did the same, knowing his team would be better for it. He didn't fire coach Jared Bednar after the team lost to the Vegas Golden Knights last year, and he didn't make drastic changes to the roster.

"Sometimes you have to go through some tough times," Sakic said. "We thought we were in a real good place last year, and it didn't happen. And it didn't happen quick. You saw the emotion from Nathan [MacKinnon] after we lost to Vegas [last year]. But I can tell you, right from day one of training camp, they came ready to go. They all had worked extremely hard in the offseason. You can tell that they weren't happy and they were ready to be prepared."

"We learned to play the right way with a lead and manage the puck. That was the biggest difference this year from last year."

Sakic's deft management not only fortified the roster this season but also improved the team's leadership.

His deadline acquisitions included defenseman Josh Manson, who bailed out goalie Darcy Kuemper with a goal-line save in Game 6 of the second round, which ultimately allowed the Avs to win the game and eliminate the St. Louis Blues.

"The whole St. Louis trip was a turning point for our team," Makar said. "The whole experience of giving up a Game 5 and losing, the mentality flipped right after that game. We were like, 'We're going to win [the next game].' And we found a way with four seconds or so left. Manson made an incredible play for us."

Sakic also brought in Artturi Lehkonen, who scored the game-winner for the Montreal Canadiens to send them to the Stanley Cup last season and the game-winner in Game 6.

He also brought in veteran winger Andrew Cogliano, who brought the team together Saturday night and delivered a motivational speech, along with MacKinnon and captain Gabriel Landeskog.

"When a guy like that talks, you listen," Makar said. "He spoke to us, it was him and Landy and Nate, basically just calmed the guys down and made sure that, regardless of the outcome, we just put it all out there and see where the game lies."

The emotional leadership the veterans provided was a huge boost, but it also helps to have all-world players like Makar. The Avs' defensemen scored 18 goals and assisted on 49 for 67 points. Only the 1985 Edmonton Oilers received a larger contribution from their defense corps with 77 points. Makar was at the center of it all throughout the postseason, along with defense partner Devon Toews.

The newly crowned Norris Trophy winner's 29 points were the most points by a defenseman in one postseason in 28 years and the fourth-highest in Stanley Cup history. His point total was the second-highest ever recorded by an Avs player, with the highest mark (34 points) having been set by Sakic.

"Best player in the world," Colorado defenseman Bowen Byram told Bleacher Report.

The way they jump into the rush makes it feel like Colorado has five forwards on the ice, yet they're still able to contain the puck, retrieve it and slow down the opposing forwards when needed. It's incredibly effective with the right personnel.

"I feel like a difference-maker in this series, it could have been that, maybe individual-wise," Makar said. "But I feel like for us, our main thing was that we always wanted to be up in the rush and give our forwards options because they're so good at gaps and so on and so on."

For longtime veterans such as Erik Johnson, Jack Johnson and Cogliano, it's the ultimate payoff. Cogliano had come close to the Cup once before in 2015 with the Anaheim Ducks, but that team lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final. It was a devastating blow for a contending team. The club largely shared the same sentiment: You never know when you're going to get another chance at a Cup.

Cogliano finally got one again.

"I think the biggest thing is, to say you're a champion, that's the biggest title you can get in this game," Cogliano said. "To beat a team like that is something special. This team deserved it. I really do think that. This is a great bunch of people from the top down. And we earned it."

MacKinnon also had some famous words last year: "I haven't won s--t."

He can now say he's won it all.

After 21 years, the Colorado Avalanche are again Stanley Cup champions. And in order for that to happen, they had to take down the two-time defending titleholders.

It was a challenge, but the Avs proved they were up for it. On Sunday night, they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, capturing the Cup for the third time in franchise history.

"There's a huge sense of satisfaction. Relief is part of it right away when I heard the buzzer go," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com. "I'm just so proud. Really, honestly, I'm just so proud and excited for our guys to get rewarded."

The Avalanche seemed poised to end the series two nights earlier. After winning Game 4 on the road to take a 3-1 lead, they returned home for a Game 5 matchup on Friday.

Against many teams, Colorado likely would have ended the series that night at Ball Arena in Denver and celebrated in front of its home fans. But Tampa Bay wasn't going to go down that easy and won 3-2 to stave off elimination.

However, that was only momentary. And for the Avalanche, the fact that they beat a team as talented and resilient as the Lightning—and denied them a three-peat—only made it sweeter on Sunday.

“To beat them is probably a little more satisfying, to be honest, because they are champions,” Colorado forward Andrew Cogliano said, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. “They know how to win. And, ultimately, when you can beat the champions, you know you really earned it.”

In Game 6, the Avs overcame an early one-goal deficit by scoring twice in the second period. Nathan MacKinnon knotted the game at 1, then Artturi Lehkonen gave Colorado its first lead of the night just past the game's midway point.

That's all it would take. The Avalanche got a solid performance from goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who denied 22 of the Lightning's 23 shot attempts and held them scoreless for the final 56 minutes and 12 seconds.

When the final buzzer sounded, Kuemper and his Colorado teammates threw their sticks in the air as pure elation broke out on the ice:

Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog was the first to get his hands on the Stanley Cup, but it didn't take long for him to start sharing it with the rest of the team:

And the celebration didn't stop when the Avalanche returned to the visiting locker room at Amalie Arena:

This was the fifth straight year that Colorado had made the playoffs, but it had been eliminated in the second round each of the previous four postseasons.

However, it was only a matter of time before the Avalanche made a deeper playoff run, and this seemed like the year for it. They finished the regular season with the most points in the Western Conference and only got stronger once the postseason arrived.

Colorado defenseman Cale Makar, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the MVP of the playoffs, wasn't surprised that his team got it done this year.

“It’s just been building over time,” he said, per Whyno. “I’ve been here only three years. A couple of tough exits in the playoffs. It was just all leading up to this.”

The Avalanche may not be done contending for the Cup anytime soon, either. Makar is only 23, and there are plenty of other young, talented players on the team's roster.

Tampa Bay won the Stanley Cup in 2020 and 2021. Now, it could be time for Colorado to begin a streak of its own. At the least, it seems unlikely to be another 21 years before it wins another Stanley Cup Final.

Colorado Avalanche fans will have to cancel their plans for Thursday.

The team announced it will hold a parade Thursday to celebrate its Stanley Cup victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The festivities will get underway at Union Station and conclude at Civic Center Park. A rally will commence upon the conclusion of the parade.

Those unable to attend will be able to follow the fun on Altitude Sports and Denver7.

This year's Stanley Cup victory parade will have a slightly different feel from the last two editions. The Lightning took to the Hillsborough River as to savor their triumphs in 2020 and 2021.

The two-time defending champions didn't go down without a fight. They took Game 5 and went ahead early in Game 6 with a goal from Steven Stamkos, which was a promising sign based on recent history.

But Nathan MacKinnon leveled the score less than two minutes into the second period, and Artturi Lehkonen added a second at the 12:28 mark.

As the playoffs got underway, fans in the Mile High City were likely cautiously optimistic.

The Avs tied for the NHL's highest point total in 2020-21 but lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round of the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Once again, Colorado was among the league's elite and finished first in the Western Conference. The players wrote a different postseason story this time around as they suffered just four defeats across the entire run.

This isn't a franchise that's unfamiliar with the pressure that can come with high expectations. But now the Avalanche will find out what it's like to go from the hunter to the hunted.

The good news for general manager Joe Sakic is almost all of the key pieces will be back for next season. Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky, both unrestricted free agents, are the notable exceptions.

With Conn Smythe Trophy winner Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog all locked up for multiple years, Thursday might not be the only time this group is basking in Stanley Cup glory.

Cale Makar joined select company as the Colorado Avalanche lifted the Stanley Cup for the third time.

Makar was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player during the Stanley Cup playoffs. He's just the fourth defenseman over the last 20 years to earn the honor.

As Colorado held on for a 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6, the Conn Smythe was widely viewed as a two-horse race between Makar and Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon notched his 13th goal of the postseason Sunday and provided an assist for Artturi Lehkonen's go-ahead tally with 12:28 off the clock in the second period.

But Makar had a postseason to remember given both his position and age (23).

The third-year defenseman had 29 points (eight goals, 29 assists) in 20 playoff games. Only three other defensemen (Paul Coffey, Brian Leetch and Al MacInnis) have finished with more points in a single postseason run.

Makar is less than a week removed from lifting the Norris Trophy to cement his status as the NHL's top defenseman. Now, he has some more hardware to add to his showcase.

To say Makar has a bright future is stating the obvious. He's already a two-time All-Star who has savored the highest team and individual accolades handed out in hockey. Imagine what more he might achieve.

But perhaps the one question on everybody's minds is how the New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars all passed on Makar in the 2017 NHL draft.

The Colorado Avalanche are Stanley Cup champions for the first time since the 2000-01 season.

Colorado defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final on Sunday and prevented the Eastern Conference representatives from winning the title for a third straight season.

Unfortunately, though, the Avalanche's celebration took its toll on the Cup:

It appeared as if the Lightning would build on the momentum they generated from their Game 5 win and force a decisive battle back in Colorado when Steven Stamkos started the scoring in the opening period.

Yet Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon took over in the second period with a combination of speed, skill and ability to create for himself and others by drawing defenders. He scored the visitors' first goal, assisted the winning one from Artturi Lehkonen on an odd-man rush and earned plenty of praise, along with his teammates, for the Stanley Cup win:

On the other side, Tampa Bay appeared to lose its cool as the game slipped away.

The players complained after the whistle on multiple occasions, and the offense completely broke down in the third period. In fact, the Lightning managed an ugly four shots on goal throughout the last period and never consistently created pressure on Colorado goaltender Darcy Kuemper.

Even though he wasn't busy for long stretches with the game on the line, Kuemper still made an excellent save on Nikita Kucherov late in the third period to preserve the lead and stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced.

That was enough to lift the Cup.