Aarif Deen
The Avalanche ended their regular season with a shutout to cap off an insanely strong regular season. Their first-round opponent was finally determined. Also, the playoff schedule is here, and games begin tomorrow!
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — April 17.
Colorado Hockey Now
What a year it was for the Avalanche. On Thursday, their 2-0 shutout over the Seattle Kraken capped off their best regular season in franchise history, and tied for ninth best in NHL history.
It was confirmed about an hour after puck drop that Colorado will play the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round. The series starts with a rare afternoon puck drop before shifting to Los Angeles for Games 3 and 4. You can read more about the series below.
And you can view the schedule here.
I’ll be hitting the road next week for what’s going to be a long trip in L.A. for Games 3 and 4. The Avs play at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday before getting two full days off before Game 4 on Sunday. The extra means a longer trip, an extra hotel night’s stay, and a pretty costly budget. If you haven’t already, please consider donating to the CHN Travel Fund to help me get to those road games. I genuinely appreciate everyone who has already pitched in. You all rock.
You can donate via PAYPAL BY CLICKING HERE or VENMO BY CLICKING HERE.
Around The NHL
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins open their first-round series on Saturday. One of their veteran defenseman from the AHL is leaving the organization before that.
New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils landed one of the hotter general manager names on the market.
Here’s the full schedule for all eight playoff series.