Mikko Rantanen would have never believed that he would have a hat trick in a Game 7 against Colorado.

The wild-card berth has suited Minnesota well.

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog returned to the lineup and played his first NHL game in nearly three years Wednesday night in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars in Game 3.

Nathan MacKinnon had a part in both of Colorado’s strange goals in the second period before adding an empty-netter late as the Avalanche beat the Dallas Stars 5-1 in the opener of their first-round Western Conference playoff series.

The Dallas Stars and the Colorado Avalanche are meeting in the playoffs again, this time in the opening round with Mikko Rantanen on a different side.

Gabriel Landeskog played in a professional game Friday night for the first time in nearly three years as he suited up with the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League.

The Colorado Avalanche trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews had an easy excuse for not attending practice on Friday.

The Washington Capitals put Alex Ovechkin on injured reserve and recalled fellow Russian winger Ivan Miroshnichenko from the minors.

The first two weeks of the season have not been kind to a few of the top Stanley Cup contenders.

New York Islanders coach Patrick Roy stepped onto the ice at Ball Arena and briefly glanced toward the rafters.

The biggest factor in the direction of the Colorado Avalanche’s offseason plans may just hinge on trust.

Wyatt Johnston scored twice on the eve of his 21st birthday as the Dallas Stars pushed Colorado to the brink of elimination with a 5-1 win in Game 4 that came hours after Avalanche standout Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months.

The biggest controversy so far in the NHL playoffs came in the first round when the Tampa Bay Lightning on the wrong end of a couple of questionable goaltender interference rulings in the game they were eliminated by Florida in the first round.

Fresh off adding center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Sean Walker, the Colorado Avalanche made two more moves by bringing in forward Yakov Trenin from Nashville and forward Brandon Duhaime from Minnesota.

The Colorado Avalanche are not commenting on the status of forward Valeri Nichushkin, who has been away from the team for a few days.

Colorado Avalanche star defenseman Cale Makar has been suspended one game by the NHL for his hit on Seattle’s Jared McCann in the first period of Game 4.

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar is back in concussion protocol.

Jack Hughes scored on a power play early in the third period and Vitek Vanecek made 24 saves for his first shutout with New Jersey in the Devils’ 1-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.

Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin each scored two power-play goals, Mikko Rantanen had four assists and the fast-skating Colorado Avalanche began their Stanley Cup title defense with a 5-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

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

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

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Philipp Grubauer made 18 saves and Gabriel Landeskog scored the go-ahead goal in the second period to lift Colorado to a series sweep of the St. Louis Blues with a 5-2 win in Game 4 of the West Division series.

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.

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.