Avalanche Cup film

"The 2022 Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup Film," chronicling the Avalanche's run to their first Stanley Cup championship since 2001, premiered at midnight Thursday on ESPN+.

Produced by NHL Original Productions, the film features highlights, exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with key players and coaches throughout a 56-win, 119-point regular season and a dominating performance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Avalanche went 16-4 in the postseason, including 9-1 on the road, where they closed out every best-of-7 series, including sweeping the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference First Round and the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final.
Colorado outscored opponents 85-55 and averaged 4.25 goals per game, led by defenseman Cale Makar, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner voted as most valuable player of the playoffs with 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists). A six-game win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final gave the Avalanche the championship and prevented the Lightning from becoming the first team to win the Cup in three consecutive seasons since the New York Islanders won four straight titles from 1980-83.
The Avalanche (27-18-4) play at the Lightning on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, SNE, SNO, TVAS, SN NOW) for the first time since their 2-1 victory in Game 6 of the Final. Colorado holds the second wild card into the playoffs from the West despite missing defensemen Josh Manson (lower body) and Bowen Byram (lower body), and forwards Darren Helm (lower body) and Valeri Nichushkin (upper body), for much of the season. Their captain,
Gabriel Landeskog
, has yet to play after the forward had arthroscopic knee surgery Oct. 18.
"I think we can win it again," center Nathan MacKinnon said during the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend in Sunrise, Florida, last weekend. "I feel confident, so that's the goal."