DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche was riddled with injuries and was eliminated from the playoffs mid-season. She could have given up.

But the defending champion refused. Not only did they secure their playoff berth in the Stanley Cup, they even won the Central Division title.

And now, the goal will be to win a second trophy in as many years as their playoff run Tuesday at Ball Arena against the Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS, ALT, ROOT-NW) begins.

ALSO READ : Makar is ready to return to action in Game 1

“We could have said to ourselves that we won the cup last year and that we can forget about that for this year and think about next season. But no, we persevered,” said center Nathan MacKinnon.

“I’ve never found myself on a team with so much resilience, that’s for sure. It’s really impressive how we pushed to win the section. »

Back to January 12th. The Avalanche faced the Chicago Blackhawks, the worst team in the NHL at the time. Colorado lost 3-2 to lose a seventh game (1-6-1) of eight.

“It hurt because I thought we played well but we still lost,” said MacKinnon. This is when you start questioning yourself. »

The Avalanche was 14 points behind the Dallas Stars, leaders in the Central Division, and four points behind the Edmonton Oilers, the last team to make the AFC playoffs.

“Everyone doubted us in January and even in our minds it was the same,” admitted the striker Mikko Rantanen. But we found a way to make it happen and the word determination really describes our team. »

The Avalanche won 31 of their next 43 games (31-8-4), including a 7-0-1 streak in their last eight games, to win the Central Division title. His .767 point percentage after Jan. 12 was third-best in the league behind those of the Boston Bruins (.798) and Oilers (.795).

MacKinnon had 72 points in 43 games during that span, ranking second Connor McDavid, who scored 74 in 39 games. Rantanen had 55 points in 43 games in that series and finished fifth in the NHL.

The Avalanche had to wait until the last game of the season last Friday to secure the division title while playing a second game in two nights. After a 3-1 lead, Colorado saw the Nashville Predators come back into the game to level the game 3-3, but MacKinnon scored with 1:42 in the game to gift the win to his people. The forward had three goals and one assist in the game.

“He’s a competitor,” said head coach Jared Bednar. It’s part of his identity. The best example is the other night in Nashville.

“We were a bit tired. We did some good things early in the game to score. They got chances and leveled the game, but he decided to make the match his own. He gave us the win with his hat trick. Nobody would stop him. »

Avalanche injured players have missed a total of 463 games this season.

Captain Gabriel Landeskog was not used. The defender Stop Makar – who won the Norris and Conn Smythe trophies last season, missed 22. The list goes on.

But that didn’t serve as an excuse.

“Mentally we’re a really strong team and that’s because of our coaching and management team,” said Rantanen. We all try to get better every day.

“We don’t want to be satisfied. It would be the worst thing that could happen because we would start thinking it would be easy for us. It won’t, and we know it. That says a lot about the mentality of the team and our mental strength. »

Traits that should come in handy in the playoffs, especially since the Avalanche boast a near-perfect medical record. Apart from Landeskog, who we won’t be seeing this spring, anyone can play.

“We know what to expect in the playoffs,” said Bednar. This team had to roll up their sleeves and fight for every win, and a lot of it wasn’t easy, but we found a way to win. You have to do that in the playoffs. »

Anyone who thinks the Avalanche have too much energy left over for the season and may not have enough stocks to play two months of playoff hockey should listen to what MacKinnon said in the locker room after Monday’s practice session.

“It’s so much fun,” he said. What we like best: Play each round, meet up in opponent’s arena before coming back here to play. It’s so much more fun than a game on a Tuesday in January.

“When I think back to them [finale de la Coupe Stanley], I would love to experience that again and enjoy it even more than last time. I want to enjoy all these moments. »