Colorado's "mission 16W" is completed

Part of my routine is to listen to a local sports talk radio station as I drive home from work.  Since I’m not a big hockey fan, I didn’t know what they were talking about when they spoke of a “mission 16W” for the Colorado Avalanche.  I get it now.  A hockey team needs to win 16 games in the postseason to win the Stanley Cup.  Last night, the Avalanche did get their 16th win – a 2-1 victory in Game 6 – to earn their first world championship since 2001. 

Once again, I’m not a big follower of hockey.  Largely because I don’t understand it like I do other sports.  But you don’t need to know the ins and outs of hockey to know how special this Colorado Avalanche team really is, and how they just completed a very special season.  First off, the Avalanche were 56-19 in the regular season, followed by an impressive 16-4 in the playoffs.  According to the postgame show I saw after Game 6 on Sunday night, the 72 wins in all ties an NHL record for most victories all-time in a single season.

Furthermore, a word needs to be said about the team the Colorado Avalanche defeated.  To be the best the Avalanche needed to beat the best, and the best happened to be the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.  Tampa Bay was attempting to three-peat as champions, something that apparently hasn’t been done since the 1980’s.  While they were unable to do so, it is remarkable that they were able to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals for three years in a row.  While the winner of these big games are remembered, and the runner-up is often forgotten, I don’t think that will be the case for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In conclusion, one author put it well when he said, “The city rallied around the Avs like never before.  Sure, hockey is a winter sport and Colorado is a snow-capped mecca.  But the Avs are too often overlooked in a city with Broncos-tinted glasses that can’t even hold the gaze of 6-foot-11 inch Nikola Jokic, one of the NBA's all-time greatest players.  This week, however, the streets were awash with burgundy and blue.  The team’s signature colors even splashed the DIA flight boards to greet travelers” (from https://www.axios.com/local/denver/2022/06/27/colorado-avalanche-stanley-cup-denver).   I even caught Avalanche fever, and considering it concluded with a world championship, I’m glad I did.

 
Kevin