Avalanche Embracing Game 7 as 'Great Opportunity'

Another step in the journey.
After being pushed to the brink of elimination, the Colorado Avalanche persevered with a character 4-1 win in Game 6 on Friday night against the Seattle Kraken. In doing so, the group ensured that this First Round Series of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs will go the distance as the Avalanche now have the opportunity to continue their title defense and advance to the Second Round with an all-deciding Game 7 at Ball Arena on Sunday night with a 7:30 p.m. MT puck drop.

"The home crowd is a big difference maker," E. Johnson said. "Those are the games that you pretend to play in when you were a kid. Those are fun atmospheres. We worked for home ice, so to have home ice advantage in a situation like this, we're excited."

For the defending Stanley Cup champions, their journey to repeat has been anything but easy and not just in the postseason, there's been wave-after-wave of adversity that has relentlessly burdened the team. Whether it's been the onslaught of injuries - that reached just under 500 man-games lost in the regular season - and have carried over into playoffs, the Game 5 suspension for Cale Makar, Valeri Nichushkin's absence due to personal reasons, or any other outside noise that has buzzed with doubts surrounding the Avalanche's capabilities.
But in every instance, the group hasn't recoiled from the challenge nor have they conceded to making excuses. Instead, time-and-time again the resilient group has risen to the occasion, shown resolve and found a way to show exactly why they hoisted the coveted Stanley Cup last year. And while this isn't the exact same special group from last year's championship, this pesky group thrives on having a chip on their shoulders. They've been incredibly determined all season long as theyclinched the Central Division for the third-straight year despite being 14 points outside of first place in the Central Division on Jan. 15.
"Like anything, success is never achieved easily," Erik Johnson said after Game 6. "There's always adversity. No matter what you do in life, success is never going to be easy. No one said it was going to be easy and we didn't expect the series to be easy. To get where you want to go - which is to win the [Stanley] Cup again - there's always adversity. That's just life. You battle through adversity to reach your goals and it's not always easy and it usually never is."
Game 6 was no different.
They entered the game following a heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss in Game 4 and an uncharacteristic and disconnected 3-2 loss in Game 5 on home ice, which put the Avalanche on their heels. To make the challenge even steeper, the group had to then return to Seattle on Friday night with the Kraken's chance to close out the series in Game 6 and dethrone the defending champs on home ice.
But they didn't. The Avalanche showcased their tenacity, veteran experience and the foundation of their success, their unwavering belief in one another no matter who is in the lineup.

"A huge part of our identity is the belief that we can overcome obstacles," Lars Eller said. "We've overcome deficits in games many times since I joined last month. We've overcome adversity. Now, we have another obstacle, another mountain to climb and it's a great opportunity."
It was a clinical effort from Colorado, who played to their identity, rolled line-after-line and stifled Seattle with stingy defensive details. And now, the Avalanche poised themselves to accomplish a feat the team has yet to do so in 21 years, come up with a triumphant Game 7 performance to advance. The last time in franchise history the Avalanche won a Game 7 was on May 15, 2002 in the Western Conference Final against the San Jose Sharks as Colorado shut out San Jose 1-0 .
And while the Avalanche - in their words - managed to restore a little bit of the team's "swagger" back and play to their intrinsic DNA, the wise group knows Sunday will be a steep challenge and even moreso now with the news that veteran forward Andrew Cogliano sustained a neck fracture and is out indefinitely following a hit-from-behind made by Seattle winger Jordan Eberle who was only administered a minor penalty with no supplemental discipline. And while the Avalanche will greatly miss Cogliano's experience and tenacious presence, it's just another motivator for the group to rally around eachother with heightened pressure that coincides with a Game 7 as they look to close out the series - where the winner will face the Dallas Stars in the Second Round - and do so on home ice in front of Avs Faithful.
If this Avalanche group has proven anything, it's that they don't shy away from challenges no matter the circumstances, but will rally around each other to find a way, their way.