Luc Tardif was particularly pleased with how the ice surface held up to a three-game day: "There is no reason that the NHL will not come."

There you have it, eight Colorado Avalanche will depart for Italy and hope to win gold on Sunday, February 22nd. It’s quite an honor as the last time NHL players attended the Olympics the Avalanche sent Matt Duchene, Gabe Landeskog, Paul Stastny and Semyon Varlamov to the festivities.