Martin Necas celebrates his goal against the Blackhawks. © APA / PATRICK MCDERMOTT

Avalanche are the first team to secure playoffs.

In the end, it was really no surprise: The Colorado Avalanche secured their playoff berth with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, becoming the first team in NHL history to do so. They also became the first team to reach the 100-point mark.

March 21, 2026

By: nhl/sn

All of this is a logical consequence, considering that coach Jared Bednar's team was the best in the entire league for 117 days this season. Colorado is thus only the sixth team in the past 40 years to reach triple digits in this statistic. Three of the previous five teams went on to lift the Stanley Cup – the Detroit Red Wings in the 2007-08 and 2001-02 seasons, and the Dallas Stars in 1998-99.

So, a good omen for the Avalanche? Definitely not a bad one. The fact that the Avalanche can already think about the playoffs before the Easter holidays is mainly due to the fact that the team's stars are putting on strong performances night after night.

Nathan MacKinnon is one of the key players. © APA / STEPH CHAMBERS

First and foremost, Nathan MacKinnon. Before the season, he had already stated that the window for winning the Stanley Cup again with this team was still open. And he's doing everything he can to make his prediction come true. He currently has 114 points. This puts him tied with Nikita Kucherov for second place in the scoring race, just one point behind Connor McDavid. In the battle for the Rocket Richard Trophy as the team's leading scorer, he's in the lead with 45 goals. Cole Caufield follows in second place with 40 goals.

And then there's the expected return of the injured players. Captain Gabriel Landeskog could rejoin the team for the current road trip. Artturi Lehkonen, Ross Colton, and Logan O'Connor were also on the ice before the game in Chicago. "They're all making progress," confirmed Bednar. Even more promising prospects for the crucial phase of the year.