Colorado Avalanche

TAMPA, Fla. – When it was all over and the Avalanche had completed its climb from worst team in the NHL to Stanley Cup winners, captain Gabe Landeskog gathered the remaining players from the 2016-17 team for a group photo.

Landeskog. Nathan MacKinnon. Erik Johnson. Mikko Rantanen. J.T. Compher.

“The guys from the 48-point season!” Landeskog said on the Amalie Arena ice.

Those guys are now champions.

Those guys are now part of Denver sports history.

Those guys have overcome the heartbreak of previous playoff disappointment to lift the most beautiful trophy in sports and the most difficult to win.

The Avalanche completed a dominant postseason late Sunday night with a 2-1 Game 6 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, getting second-period goals from MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen and then playing one of the best championship-clinching third periods possible.

Believe it, Denver.

Savor it, Denver.

Enjoy it, Denver.

The Avalanche’s 10th come-from-behind win of the playoffs, which tied an NHL record, was arguably their most impressive. Forty-eight hours after squandering a chance to clinch the Cup on home ice and trigger pandemonium at Ball Arena, the Avs calmly came into Tampa, believed in their game, were confident in bouncing back and ended the Lightning’s two-year championship run.

“These guys inside the locker room and inside the organization have put in so much hard work and I’m just so happy and so proud to see these champions skating around the ice,” said Landeskog, who became only the third European-born captain to receive the Cup, joining Alex Ovechkin (Washington) and fellow Swede Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit).

A positive COVID-19 test meant commissioner Gary Bettman didn’t lead the post-game ceremonies, so it was deputy commissioner Bill Daly who presented defenseman Cale Makar the Conn Smythe Trophy for the playoffs’ most valuable player (he received all 18 votes) and then handed the Cup to Landeskog.

Landeskog’s first hand-off was appropriate  — to defenseman Erik Johnson, who is the longest-tenured Avs player. From there, it went to winger Andrew Cogliano, MacKinnon, defenseman Jack Johnson, center Nazem Kadri, winger Andre Burakovsky, Rantanen, center Darren Helm, defenseman Devon Toews and every other player who dressed and didn’t dress for Game 6.

Soon after, families and friends of the players and coaches were allowed to join them on the ice surface for nearly an hour of hugs and pictures.

The Avalanche’s postseason was a tour de force of skill (MacKinnon and Makar leading the way) and grit (untold contributions from players who weren’t even in the lineup when the playoffs began last month).

The Avs never trailed in a series. They never lost consecutive games. They went 16-4 (tied for second-best record in the best-of-seven era). They went 9-1 on the road. They were 5-1 in overtime (including 2-0 in the Final). They were 6-1 in one-goal games. And they 4-2 in close-out games.

Everybody was required to outlast the Lightning.

Tampa Bay scored first for the third consecutive game when a rare Makar turnover in his zone led to Steven Stamkos’ goal through the five-hole of goalie Darcy Kuemper.

Just 1:54 into the second, the Avalanche tied it on MacKinnon’s 13th of the playoffs. Skating 6-on-5 because of a delayed Lightning penalty, Landeskog passed center point to defenseman Bo Byram, who fed it to MacKinnon for the one-timer from the circle that beat goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to the blocker side.

At the 12:38 mark of the second, MacKinnon skated up the middle of the Lightning zone and his pass attempt to defenseman Josh Manson on his right went off defenseman Erik Cernak and bounded left to Artturi Lehkonen, whose quick snap shot beat Vasilevskiy to the high glove side.

How fitting that MacKinnon was involved in both goals of a Cup-clinching win. He had to wear the pressure of second-round losses the previous two years to Dallas and Vegas.

MacKinnon has now joined a distinguished group of top overall picks-turned-Cup champions that includes Stamkos, Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, among others.

“It’s hard to describe, honestly,” MacKinnon said. “The best part is sharing it with my teammates and my brothers.”

Not hard to describe was how the Avalanche protected the one-goal lead for the final period-plus.

Tampa Bay had no shots on goal for the first 10 minutes of the third period and only four for the final 20 minutes.

“It was one of our best periods of the year,” said Kuemper, who had 22 saves. “We talked about it in the intermission about keeping our foot on the gas and keep taking it to them and that’s what we did.”

The back-breaking third goal eluded the Avs, though, creating high drama in the final two minutes when the Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy.

Landeskog blocked a shot and literally crawled off the ice ahead of a stoppage with 1:15 left. Kuemper made a save through traffic with 1:10 left. And MacKinnon cleared the puck down the ice with 25 seconds.

At 10:48 p.m. local time, the Avs were champions.

The mob scene behind the Avs’ goal included every player who threw each of their sticks, gloves and helmets into the air. During the hand-shake line, which was led by Landeskog, Lightning coach Jon Cooper was gracious in defeat, sharing moments with Makar, Kuemper, Kadri and both Erik and Jack Johnson before a long conversation with Bednar.

“It was a lot of relief,” Bednar said. “I was in disbelief for a while. Guys were already on the ice and it takes a moment or two for it to sink in. It’s just hard to believe because we’ve been working for this for six years and on a journey with these guys and building the team.

“And then there is a sense of satisfaction.”

As there should be, Jared.

The Avalanche’s climb to the top of the NHL was literally terrible-to-terrific. In the 2016-17 season, Bednar was a rookie coach and his roster was young and not yet ready to win. The Avs won only 22 of 82 games and suffered six losing streaks of at least five games. General manager Joe Sakic, though, did not panic, choosing to stick with Bednar in the view he would grow along with his roster. Sakic was right.

June 26, 2022 joined June 10, 1996 and June 9, 2001 as Avalanche championship-winning dates. The Avs became only the fourth Cup champion since 1968 to win all four of their series on road ice. During the first two titles, it was Sakic who received the Cup from Bettman.

As the Cup was paraded around the ice by his players, Sakic beamed with pride. The journey was complete.

“Sometimes you need to go through tough times to eventually have this,” Sakic said. “It was well worth it. An amazing run by this group.”