After finishing dead last in the National Hockey League just five years ago, the Colorado Avalanche have come back to the top of the mountain in the hockey world, capturing the Stanley Cup in six games against the two-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

After blowing the opportunity to win the Cup on home ice in Game 5 after giving up a late goal to Ondřej Palát, Colorado overcame a 1-0 deficit in the second period of Game 6, with the tying goal coming from Nathan MacKinnon, and winning goal from trade-deadline acquisition and clutch playoff scorer Artturi Lehkonen. Locking down in the third period, the Avs held Tampa to just four shots in the final frame, sealing the victory at Amalie Arena and denying the Lightning the first Stanley Cup three-peat since the New York Islanders from 1980-83.

The win marks the Avalanche’s third Stanley Cup in three Finals, following their titles in 1996 and 2001. The Avalanche saw 22 IHLC champions from seven countries on their roster hoist the Cup, including Gabriel Landeskog, just the fourth European to captain a Cup-winning team, star forward Nathan MacKinnon and Conn Smythe Trophy winner Cale Makar, leading the team with 29 points in the playoffs, all hoisting their first Stanley Cup.

With the victory, four Avalanche players now add a Stanley Cup to their World Championship Gold, leaving them one Olympic Gold Medal away from joining the Triple Gold Club – Landeskog, who captured World Championship Gold with Sweden in 2013, along with Canadian teammates MacKinnon, Ryan Murray and Darcy Kuemper, Gold Medal winners in 2015, 2016 and 2021, respectively.

Our congratulations go out to the players, management and fans of the Colorado Avalanche, with those on the roster that have also held the IHLC highlighted in bold:

Photo Credit: NHL – IIHF – HHOF – IOC