In the eight matchups this campaign, the Avs were led by center Nathan MacKinnon (two goals, four assists) and defenseman Devon Toews (three goals, two assists). On the flipside, the Knights' Max Pacioretty (six goals, two assists) and Mark Stone (one goal, five assists) were the team's leading scorers versus Colorado.
The Avs advanced to Round 2 after they won their best-of-seven set against the St. Louis Blues 4-0. MacKinnon (six goals, three assists), Gabriel Landeskog (two goals, six assists) and Mikko Rantanen (one goal, six assists) led Colorado offensively in the first round. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer won all four games, posting a 1.75 goals-against average and .936 save percentage.
It is the third straight season that the Avalanche has qualified for the second round of the playoffs. The last time the team got past the opening round three years in a row was when it did so in four consecutive campaigns from 1999-2002--the only other time the club has accomplished the feat in franchise history.
Vegas advanced to the second round for the third time in its history after defeating the Wild 6-2 in Game 7, earning a 4-3 series win. The Golden Knights were led in the Round 1 matchup by Stone (four goals, one assist), Mattias Janmark (three goals, three assists) and Chandler Stephenson (five assists) in the series.
The second-round begins on Sunday at 6 p.m. MT at Ball Arena. The full series schedule will be announced by the NHL in the near future.
