SI:AM | Avalanche’s Dream Season Comes to a Screeching Halt

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I don’t like that the vibes around the U.S. men’s national team already seem off.

In today’s SI:AM:
⛈️ Thunder one win away
🇺🇸 U.S. World Cup roster revealed
🏀 WNBA power rankings

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Avs sent packing

The NHL’s best team just crashed out of the playoffs in spectacular fashion.

The Avalanche, who won the Presidents’ Trophy after posting the best record in franchise history, were swept by the Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night.

Vegas struck first in Game 4 with a goal by Mark Stone early in the first period, and Cole Smith added another late in the third. Colorado had a brief glimmer of hope when it scored with the extra attacker on the ice with about two minutes left, but it was too little too late. The Golden Knights hung on for a 2–1 victory to complete the sweep.

“We ran into a buzz saw in Vegas,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “I think they deserved the credit. It’s not a knock on how hard they played, but they’re a well-oiled machine right now, peaking at the right time. I look at their series and man-to-man they’re playing at the top of their game. We’ll have to regroup and reassess and reflect on our season and the series and go from there.”

The Avalanche picked a terrible time to play their worst hockey of the season. They had been nearly unstoppable up until now, posting an impressive 55-16-11 record. Only six other teams in the past 30 years have had 16 or fewer regulation losses in a full season. And they did it by dominating on both ends of the ice, leading the league in both goals scored and goals allowed. Colorado’s success continued in the playoffs, too. It swept the Kings in the first round, then made quick work of the Wild in five games in the second round. There wasn’t much reason to believe the Avs wouldn’t cruise past Vegas to reach the Stanley Cup Final.

The Knights’ 95 regular-season points wouldn’t have been enough to get them into the postseason if they had played in the Eastern Conference, but it was good enough to win the mediocre Pacific Division. They needed six games to win each of their first two playoff series against the Mammoth and the Ducks. But they didn’t flinch against the mighty Avalanche. The Knights were most fearless in Game 3, when the Avs came out hot and held a 3–0 lead after the first period. Vegas then scored five unanswered goals to push Colorado to the brink of elimination.

The Knights have made a habit of surprising people in the playoffs. They famously reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in 2018, losing to the Capitals in five games. They got back to the Final in ’23 and beat the Panthers in five games to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. Now they’re back in the Final for the third time in the team’s nine-year existence.

Vegas might not have had an excellent regular season, but it’s benefiting from having several players step up at the right time. A hot goalie can often carry a team deep into the playoffs, and Carter Hart went from saving 89.1% of the shots he faced in the regular season to 92.2% in the playoffs. Center Brett Howden has also been a pleasant surprise, with 10 goals in 16 postseason games after scoring 12 goals in 58 regular-season games.

The biggest star, though, has been Mitch Marner. The former Maple Leafs right winger was traded to Vegas last summer and has seven goals and 14 assists this postseason for a league-high 21 points. After years of disappointing playoff results in Toronto, he’ll finally be playing for a chance to lift the Cup.

“I think I always believed in myself. I knew the guys in this locker room believed in me. Everyone around me, family-wise, believed in me as well,” Marner said after Game 4. “Just wanted to go out there, do my thing, do my work and just have belief in myself to do the things I can do.”

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… things I saw last night: 5. Jackson Merrill’s effortless home run robbery. 4. An even better home run robbery by the Guardians’ Daniel Schneemann. 3. Victor Wembanyama’s really tough tip-in while flying through the air. (Can you believe he only made four field-goal attempts and that was one of them?) 2. Munetaka Murakami’s game-tying home run in the eighth inning. It was his 19th homer of the year, the most of any hitter in the AL. (Kyle Schwarber leads the majors with 21.) 1. Brayden McNabb’s long pass to set up Mark Stone’s opening goal.

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