The Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche had great regular seasons, only to fall flat on their faces during the playoffs.
The Nuggs lost in the first round, even after Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards was injured.
Now the Avs are on the brink of going home, down 3-0 to Las Vegas in the Western Conference Final.
Whose playoff performance is more disappointing: Denver Nuggets or Colorado Avalanche?
Let’s start with the Avalanche, who now need a miracle to make it to the Stanley Cup Final.
Down 3-0, Colorado has to win four straight to keep their season alive.
Only four teams have done that in the history of the NHL. They were: The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1975 New York Islanders, 2010 Philadelphia Flyers, and 2014 Los Angeles Kings. And only two series came this late in the playoffs; 1942 was the Final, 2010 was the ECF.
Considering how dominant the Avs were during the entire regular season, and even in the first two rounds of the playoffs, their complete collapse in the Western Conference Final has been seriously surprising.
Through the first two series, Colorado was 8-1. They swept the LA Kings and beat rival Minnesota Wild 4-1.
Everything was going to plan. That was, until elite defenseman Cale Makar was injured in Game 5 vs. the Wild. His shoulder/collarbone seems to be ailing him, and that hurt Colorado in the first two games of the Western Conference Final.
The Avs were completely out-matched and out-played by Las Vegas in Game 1. The Golden Knights took a 2-0 lead in the second period, and pushed it to 3-0 early in the third. Colorado lost 4-2.
Game 2 was somewhat similar. But knowing they had to split at home before going to Las Vegas, the Avalanche came out on fire. They scored early, when Ross Colton put one between the pipes 3:01 left in the first.
It stayed 1-0 Colorado until the Golden Knights seemingly wore the Avs down and put three straight goals on the board in the third to win 3-1. It was clear the Avs were in disarray without Makar, their second-best player and top defenseman.
Then came Game 3, which was the biggest disappointment of them all.
Colorado led 3-0, all three goals scored in the first period. It was clear they were going to win this game and make the series 2-1.
However, the momentum shifted to Las Vegas in the second period where they scored three straight goals to tie the game up 3-3. Scott Wedgewood struggled and hasn’t been as dominant as he was in the regular season. It’s not even close.
It was knotted up at 3-3 until Tomas Hertl scored to push Las Vegas into the lead with 12 minutes to go.
The Avs lacked passion, desire to win, heart.
Losing a playoff game after being ahead 3-0 is almost unheard of. The Avs were 74-1 in those situations, and Las Vegas was 0-19 when down 3-0 in a postseason game before the win. It was a failure as bad as losing an NBA game when up by 20 (like the Nuggets did in 2024 vs. the Timberwolves).
We should note that while Makar returned in Game 3, Nathan MacKinnon was injured when he took a slap shot off his right knee in the second.
Tonight, the Colorado Avalanche face Las Vegas in Game 4 (7 p.m. MT) and it’s unclear if MacKinnon will play, and how well. The Avs are all but cooked at this point, and they had a 26-point advantage in the regular season, which was the biggest difference for a WCF since 1996.
Denver Nuggets flopped in Round 1
For the Avs, their breakdown has been disheartening, but it’s not as bad as the Nuggets losing in Round 1 vs. the Timberwolves.
There are a lot of similarities in the losses, though. Or at least the likely loss for the hockey team, since it’s not over yet.
Just like the Avs are dealing with injuries to their key players, the Nuggets were without Aaron Gordon for half the series against Minnesota. They also played without Peyton Watson, who was arguably their sixth man this year.
But that’s no excuse.
Every team is dealing with injuries in the playoffs. And the Timberwolves were no different.
Donte DiVincenzo tore his Achilles in Game 3, and then Anthony Edwards hurt his knee later in that first half. And yet somehow, some way the Nuggets still lost.
At that point, they were down 2-1 in the series and had a chance to come back.
But Nikola Jokic didn’t look like himself offensively, and he was a complete liability defensively.
Down 3-1, the Nuggets dug down deep and won.
However, they lost Game 6, even though Minnesota was also without Ayo Dosunmu.
In that Game 6, Jamal Murray couldn’t buy a bucket, Bruce Brown was awful, and Christian Braun was a no-show.
All series long, Murray was bullied by the Timberwolves. Just like during the season, and just like in the playoff series loss to Minnesota in 2024. It seems they’ve found the formula against Murray, even when he finally made the All-Star Game for the first time this season.
And Jokic was simply off. Maybe his knee injury from earlier in the year was still wearing on him, or maybe that elbow injury that was rarely discussed bothered him. We may never know because he wouldn’t blame injuries for poor play.
So, who disappointed more, the Denver Nuggets or Colorado Avalanche?
It’s hard to pick, but I’m going with the Nuggets here. They couldn’t even get past Round 1 while Minnesota was down two starters, and their superstar in Ant. Conversely, the Avalanche at least made the WCF. Although, this complete meltdown was certainly unexpected and surprising.
Just like with the T-Wolves are a terrible matchup for the Nuggets—they were literally constructed to beat Denver by Tim Connolly—the Golden Knights are a bad matchup for the Avalanche. They seem to have figured Colorado’s game plan out and know how to outlast Colorado as the Avs wear down late.
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