The Colorado Avalanche found a way to end their regular season in style as they come back from a 2-0 deficit to win 4-2 against the Anaheim Ducks. They ended the second period without getting on the board until Wyatt Aamodt, Jack Drury, Charlie Coyle, and Erik Johnson put up a four-goal third period to complete the comeback.

Scott Wedgewood made 18 saves on 20 total shots.

A Showing for the Rookie

Wyatt Aamodt received the call-up to join the Avalanche on the road on Friday morning, along with Colorado Eagles’ teammates Jack Ahcan and Jere Innala. Of those three players, Aamodt is the only one who hadn’t played a single NHL game. He made his NHL debut on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.

Sunday’s game against the Ducks was his second NHL game, and if it isn’t one to remember…

Aamodt joined in on the rush with Martin Necas, receiving a drop pass and snapping it at the net. The puck ricochets off of Ducks’ defenseman Pavel Mintyukov and past goaltender Lukas Dostal to get the Avalanche on the board. His first NHL point, and it comes in the form of a kickstarting goal for his team.

In 66 games with the Colorado Eagles this season, the 27-year-old undrafted defenseman has 3 goals and 13 assists.

What an End to the Regular Season

After Sunday’s win, Colorado heads into the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 102 points. They are securely cemented into the 3rd place spot in the Central Division. On Saturday night, the playoff matchup for the first round was announced. The Avalanche will play the Dallas Stars.

Per a member of the Avalanche staff, the schedule for round one of the playoffs is set to be announced following the conclusion of the NHL regular season on Thursday, April 17th.

The Stars delivered a devastating exit to the Avalanche in the second round of the 2023-24 playoffs last year, with forward Matt Duchene scoring the game-winning goal in double overtime.

The rivalry seems to be an even bigger deal this year given that long-time forward for the Avalanche, Mikko Rantanen, now wears green on the other side of the ice. The Finland native spent 10 years with the Avalanche organization before he was dealt in a blockbuster trade to the Carolina Hurricanes, who flipped him again at the trade deadline to Dallas.

The Stars still have two games remaining but are firmly in the Central’s second-place spot with the Winnipeg Jets having secured the President’s Trophy on Sunday. They currently sit at 106 points on the season.

What’s Next for the Avalanche?

Per Avalanche Media Relations, the Avalanche will not practice on Monday, April 14th. A schedule has not been released for the remaining week, but seeing as Colorado is the first NHL team to finish their regular season, this week will likely be one for the group to fine-tune skills in practice, but mostly to get the rest they need before playoffs officially begin on April 19th.

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