The Minnesota Wild put together a clutch 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6, forcing a Game 7 with the favoured Knights. This means there will be minimal recovery time for whoever comes out on top before heading to Colorado for Game 1 of the 2nd Round.
Although, that may not be a bad thing.
According to NHL.com writer Tom Gulitti, the last 20 years have actually favoured teams that just got out of a 7-game series when they square off against a team that just swept.
In all five occurrences in the last two decades, the team that just went the distance in the round before has come out on top. This could be coincidence, but it could also be a nod to the idea that there is such thing as too much rest.
The Avs haven’t played a game since Sunday, and Round 2 is scheduled to start this upcoming Sunday. That’s a full week of no game action, and most players would agree that this is a little too much time off.
Saying that, the Avs are such a well-balanced team, it’s hard to imagine it taking too long to get up to speed. Also, these are just stats for the last five series. According to NHL PR, there have been a total of 14 occurances, and it's evenly split down the middle.
The Avs are likely hoping to have a fate more similar to the 1999 Dallas Stars. This team, of course, won the Stanley Cup.
(H/T Tom Gulitti)
