NHL 27 predicts a dominant 116-point season for the Avalanche, complete with individual awards and star performances, but another disappointing early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
NHL 27 predicted a season full of highs for the Colorado Avalanche, only for it to end in another early playoff exit.
According to a simulation run by The Hockey News late Thursday evening, the Avalanche would finish the regular season with a 58-24-2 record, good for 116 points. That would be another spectacular regular season for Colorado, although it wouldn't be enough to repeat as Presidents' Trophy winners. The Tampa Bay Lightning took that honor in the simulation.
And then everything fell apart.
The Avalanche were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after a seven-game war against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Despite that, the Avalanche were everywhere to be found in the individual awards category.
Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon won the Art Ross Trophy for the first time in his career while also capturing his second consecutive Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy. MacKinnon finished with 55 goals and 61 assists for 116 points.
Martin Necas followed up his 100-point campaign from last season with another monster year, recording 26 goals and 81 assists for 106 points.
Cale Makar also added another major piece of hardware to his collection, winning his third Norris Trophy after putting up 12 goals and 84 assists for 96 points.
Brock Nelson was another big contributor, scoring 28 goals and adding 44 assists for 72 points, just three points shy of his career-high 75.
Artturi Lehkonen chipped in 20 goals, while the simulation also predicted that Colorado would add another familiar name at the trade deadline: Vladimir Tarasenko.
Apparently, that wasn't enough.
The simulation also brought back some familiar faces in a big way.
Nazem Kadri was the Kadri of old, exploding for 35 goals and 87 points. Gabe Landeskog, meanwhile, scored 21 goals, while Sam Malinski continued his development with a 47-point season.
On paper, that's an Avalanche team that should be capable of making a deep playoff run.
Instead, the Frostbite-driven simulation predicted another disappointing postseason ending.
