COL-celebrate 4-8

For the Colorado Avalanche, there was nowhere to go but up after they finished with an NHL-worst 48 points (22-56-4) last season.
This season the Avalanche, one of the youngest teams in the League with an average age of 25, started winning and gaining confidence. Now they're going to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time since 2013-14.

The Avalanche (43-30-9, 95 points) clinched the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference by defeating the St. Louis Blues 5-2 on Saturday. They'll play the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference First Round.
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Here are five reasons the Avalanche clinched a playoff berth:

MacKinnon's breakout season

Forward Nathan MacKinnon, 22, is getting Hart Trophy consideration for good reason after finishing with 97 points (39 goals, 58 assists). During his 14-game point streak (27 points; 13 goals, 14 assists) from Feb. 24 to March 22, the Avalanche went 8-3-3. He ended a nine-game streak without a goal with the game-winner Saturday.
"Nate's done a great job," defenseman Tyson Barrie said. "You can tell the maturity and just another year [of playing] and all credit to him. He's worked so hard this offseason and he's taking it to another level."

Proving everyone wrong

The Avalanche wanted to show they weren't that same team from last season. There were a lot of factors to their successful turnaround.
"The changeover in personnel, getting younger, faster, a change of attitude, there's a certain determination in our group this year," coach Jared Bednar said. "Day 1 from training camp, we wanted to prove that wasn't us last year and earn back some respect from the League. That core we have, the young guys who have returned, have taken on bigger leadership roles and they've been real consistent with the way they approach our team on a daily basis. They lead by example."

Timely winning streak

On Dec. 28, the Avalanche were seventh in the Central Division. The next day they won the first of 10 straight games. It was the longest winning streak in the League since the Columbus Blue Jackets won 16 in a row from Nov. 29, 2016 to Jan. 3, 2017, and the second-longest streak in Avalanche history since they won 12 straight from Jan. 7 to Feb. 10, 1999.
"That was the best winning I've ever been a part of. It was a lot of fun," forward Mikko Rantanen said. "We haven't had too many lows of the season. We've been pretty consistent and that's the biggest key if you want to make the playoffs."

Varlamov's work

Goaltender Semyon Varlamov was 24-16-6 with a 2.68 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. He helped the Avalanche keep pace in the Central Division by going 7-3-3 with a 2.21 GAA and .937 save percentage in March. Varlamov won't play against the Predators because of a knee injury, but they don't get to this point without him.

Reliable at home

The Avalanche won 28 games at Pepsi Center, tying their single-season record set in 2000-01. MacKinnon scored 67 (26 goals, 39 assists) of his 97 points at home. The power play on home ice finished eighth at 25 percent (39-for-156).