Both No.1 Seeds Eliminated, Avalanche Trash Flames in Calgary, 1-5

Colorado Avalanche defeated and eliminated No.1 seed in the Western Conference, Calgary Flames last night. The guests from Denver were better at Scotiabank Saddledome 1-5, and overall they won the series against Flames with 4-1.

After the elimination of Tampa Bay Lightning, this is the second surprise since the start of the NHL playoffs, and it appears that this postseason might be the most interesting one in the past several years.

Following the game, Avalanche’s players were very happy with the success they’ve made but specifically stated that they aren’t done here. Several of their players said, that after the victory against the Flames, they can beat anyone and that their ambitions increased.

“I think everybody’s hungry. We could see even after this game, guys were not celebrating too much,” said Mikko Rantanen.”It’s big, but we’re not done yet.”

The Avalanche smashed Flames in Canada. In each and every aspect of the game, the guests were better. They controlled the match, and forced the stiffed hosts to make mistakes, and once they got the lead, it was obvious that Jared Bednar’s boys are going to the second round.

Gabriel Landeskog brought the lead to the hosts with 9:40 into the match, after redirecting Tyson Barrie’s point shot.

Three minutes later, Philipp Grubauer was in the middle of attention, as the Avalanche goalie saved a penalty shot of Flames’ left winger Johnny Gaudreau. The punishment for that came less than two minutes later through Rantanen who doubled the lead.

The home team preserved the chances for a comeback with TJ Brodie’s goal six seconds before the end of the first period.

Colin Willson marked the second period beating Mike Smith twice, and sealing the fate of the favorites in this series. His first goal came 6:52 after the start of that period, and the second was a powerplay goal 5:13 before the end.

Rantanen ambushed Flames in the 57th second of the final period, with his second of the day. It was another powerplay goal of the boys from Colorado, who made a huge upset.

Mike Smith, Flames’ goalie was honest after the game, admitting that his team got outplayed, but also, that they didn’t play their best hockey.

“I don’t think we played our best consistently through this series, and you have to be your best if you want to move on,” Smith said. “You can’t move on just being average, and they were the better team.

After Lightning’s exit, this is another surprise in the last couple of days. For the first time in the NHL history, top two teams from the respective conferences got trashed in the opening round. The only difference is that Flames at least recorded one victory, but their elimination took place in front of their own crowd.

8 vs. 1

THIS SERIES WAS FUN#GoAvsGo #GoAvsGo https://t.co/KQqe3kL7iG

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 20, 2019

The level of disappointment among the players and the entire organization is enormous.

“Obviously we had high expectations for ourselves.” Flames left wing Johnny Gaudreau said. “It sits with you for a while, probably until the end of the playoffs. It’s going to be a long couple of months.”

On the other hand, Colorado amazed everyone. Especially after getting back on track following Game 1 and a tough loss (4-0) in Calgary. After that, they drilled their way to the second round, with two overtime victories, which boosted the morale of the crew.

They are now making plans for the next round where they have Vegas Golden Knights or San Jose Sharks as the potential rivals.

One of the best players in series against Flames, Rantanen explained the mindset of his team during the post-game interview last night.

“We know we’re not done yet. There’s lots of work to do. This is the first step.”

That last sentence is indicating that Avalanche now dream big, Stanley Cup trophy big.