It’s hardly a surprise but the Colorado Avalanche have made it official: they are headed to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after sealing the deal in a 6-4 victory over Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night.

With that victory, the Avs have not only booked a return ticket to the postseason but also extended their win streak to four games. They are also 9-1-1 over their last 11 games. Just like always, Nathan MacKinnon was phenomenal in the Pens game, as he found the back of the net twice, while four other Avs players scored a goal each to give netminder Darcy Kuemper stout run support.

The Avalanche now have 106 points, the most in the NHL at the moment. They lead the Central Division by 15 points, the biggest margin by a leader in all four divisions.

Colorado has made the playoffs in each of the past four seasons but failed in all of them to get past the second round. But this time, it feels as though the Avalanche are primed for a much deeper run, considering how fantastic they have been on both ends of the ice. They are third in the league in scoring with 3.79 goals for per game and seventh defensively in terms of goals allowed with only 2.74 surrendered per contest.