Avalanche ready for showdown with Lightning

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) The Avalanche are just four wins away from clinching their first championship since 2001.

“It’s exciting to still be playing, and knowing that you’re one of the final two teams," captain Gabe Landeskog said on Sunday. "But, the toughest round is still ahead of us. That’s an exciting challenge. It’s gonna be fun seeing what we can do as a group.”

If the Avalanche are going to make history, they'll have to dethrone the 2-time defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, who are just the sixth NHL team to reach three straight Cup Finals.

“If you wanna be the best, you have to expect to be able to beat the best," coach Jared Bednar said. "That’s them, and we’re ready for the challenge. We’re getting ready for the challenge. It’s going to be a long, hard-fought series. Two great teams going at it. We are confident in what we do. Likewise, I’m sure they are too, being back here again.”

"They are really good team," defenseman Bo Byrum said. "They’ve won 2, back to back, Stanley Cups, but we are confident in ourselves as well. We have a really good team. It’s not easy to get to the Cup Finals."

“The experience (the Lightning) have is invaluable at this time of year," Landeskog said. "They find ways to step up at this point in the season. When the playoffs roll around, they’ve been able to turn it on. They’ve got a lot of things going for them, but so do we. So, it’ll be a fun series.”

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is Wednesday night on KRDO.