The Colorado Avalanche Reached Hockey's Summit -- And Took Down A Dynasty In The Process
Like most dynastic teams, the Tampa Bay Lightning weren't used to failing in important games. As they won two straight Stanley Cups and reached the doorstep of a third, the Bolts racked up a 44-18 record in the playoffs -- rarely facing elimination, though always answering the call when they needed to. But for the first time in years, the Lightning met their match in the form of the Colorado Avalanche. Colorado won the Stanley Cup Sunday night by finishing off the two-time defending champs, owning a titanic championship showdown that was tightly contested but ultimately belonged to the better team. And now that one special run has been put on hold, it's natural to wonder whether the young and talented Avalanche just began a new one of their own.
Colorado's performance this postseason was dominant. The Avs finished the playoffs with a 16-4 record, a goals-per-game differential of plus-1.5 and an Elo rating of 1631, all of which rank among the best dozen or so among Stanley Cup winners in modern NHL history:
Colorado was among history's most dominant champs
Best Stanley Cup winners by postseason winning percentage, goals-per-game differential and Elo rating, 1927-2022
Team
Win%*
Team
Diff/G*
Team
Elo
1968 Canadiens
92.3%
1981 Islanders
+
1977 Canadiens
1716
1976 Canadiens
92.3
1970 Bruins
1978 Canadiens
1711
1988 Oilers
88.9
1985 Oilers
1976 Canadiens
1673...