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Avalanche Mid-Season Check-in

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We gave you a preview Colorado Avalanche 21/22 season that was optimistic. How have the Avalanche stacked up at the All-Star break?

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The Colorado Avalanche came into the season as the odds-on favorite to win it all. We gave you a preview with the following projections:

Here is how those predictions stack up today:

Record:

Current Record: 32-8-4 68 Pts. (1st in NHL) Projected: 58-20

The Avalanche are ahead of even our lofty projections. They are on pace to break the record of 132 standings points set by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1976-77 season with a 60-8-12 record. The Avalanche are currently projected to rack up 133 pts.

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Leading Scorer:

Projected: Nathan MacKinnon Current: Nazem Kadri (60PTS/19G)

Due to no fault of his own, Nathan MacKinnon just wasn’t on the ice enough in the first half to lead the team in scoring. He has played 31 games to Nazem Kadri’s 41. He is still in the top 5 with the usual suspects. See the full top-5 below.

Courtesy of Sports-reference.com
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TEAM MVP:

Projected: Gabriel Landeskog Current: Gabriel Landeskog

As you can see above, despite only playing 36 games, Landy is 3rd in scoring, 2nd in Goals, 4th in Assists, 2nd in PIM, and the list goes on. The Captain is the heart of this talent-laden team. And with the big 8-year extension, it will be beating for years to come.

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Top Rookie:

Projected: Bo Byram Current: Alex NewHook

Like Mack, Bo just hasn’t been on the ice enough. Newhook has played almost twice as many games as Bo (34 to 18). And in kind leads the duo in every offensive category and all but blocks and hits defensively by only a handful. Byram has plenty of time to catch up with his efficiency (11 points in 18 games). He needs to get and stay healthy.

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Most Improved Player:

Projected: Valeri Nichuskin Current: Devon Toews

This one was the first one that took some serious consideration. You have our pre-season pick in Valeri Nichuskin, Nicolas Aube-Kubel/Logan O’Connor exceeding expectation on the offensive side. But no one has taken the leap that Devon Toews has. Before the season Toews was a good Defenseman with some playmaking ability. He has emerged as a top-10 Defenseman in the entire league. And second on the team to only the other-worldly Cale Makar. The Toews/MacKinnon 2-man game is deadly when both are on the ice. Just look how he stacks up below.

Courtesy of Quanthockey.com
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Best Acquisition

Projected: Kurtis MacDermid Current: Nicolas Aube-Kubel

MacDermid’s acquisition for a 2023 4th-rounder warranted headlines. His size was a massive add both literally and figuratively for the Avalanche. Aube-Kubel was a pick-up off the scrap-heap from the Philadelphia Flyers and is massively outplaying his perceived role. Before coming to the Avalanche in 102 games (All with Flyers) he had 28 points. In 32 games with the Avs, he has 13 points and 6 goals (both career highs). His previous highs were 12 and 3 in 50 games last season in Philly. Everything he does from here on out is icing on the waiver-claim cake. Check out how he stacks up against MacDermic below.

Courtesy of Hockey-Reference.com
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Award Winners:

With the belief Bo and Mack will get healthy and ball out. We will stick with all three award projections.

End of Season:

WITH A PARADE.

Now that you see how we stack up at the mid-point. What are your thought? Where do you agree/disagree? Let us know in the comments and social feeds!

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Colorado Avalanche Have Chance at Revenge vs Blues

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The Colorado Avalanche come off a tough loss to conference foe Golden Knights. They now have fellow conference and division foe, St. Louis Blues, next on the docket.

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The Colorado Avalanche is in the middle of finding an identity and fitting in some new pieces. This has many in Avalanche Country looking to pull the rip-cord. I say hold on, this is a long season that is only 2-weeks old. No wholesale changes should be made after 5 games.

With that being said, there are some areas of concern. The Avalanche has the 30th ranked power-play at a paltry 9.1%. They are also 26th in penalty minutes (71) and 23rd in shooting% (.083). No offensive category has them ranked above 20th.

The undefeated Blues on the other hand…well just look at this team comparison against the Colorado Avalanche courtesy of Yahoo! Sports:

The Blues have come out the gate firing after their early exit at the hands of the Avalanche in last year’s playoffs. But they will be without old friends Ryan O’Reilly and Brandon Saad due to Covid-19 protocols that played a big role in their win over the Avs earlier this season. Ryan and Brandon combined for 2 points, 3 SOGs, 21 FWs, 1 hit, 4 blocks, and 3 takeaways in the Blues’ 5-3 win. They obviously had a point to prove to their old squad.

This does not mean this Blues squad is overwhelmingly weakened. They still have the likes of top goal scorer David Perron (6 G) and Vladimir Tarasenko who has 6 points and 26 SOG. This St. Louis squad is still loaded for bear and a home crowd to feed off of.

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They also have the confidence of thoroughly dominating this team in their house just a little more than a week ago. Those memories are fresh for both the Avs and Blues bench. Not so sure they are in Vegas as they have the Blues as home underdogs as of this writing. Either they see the losses of O’Reilly and Saad or see more in the Knights loss than even I did.

Key Stats:

.910

Yes, the Colorado Avalanche has lost twice this season with their goalie surpassing this mark. This is an outlier, market correction will come, and should soon.

-5

This is the combined +/- of Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. While their scoring has seen an uptick over the last 2 games, their efficiency is still lacking.

Key Players:

Logan O’Connor: Can the little-known winger continue to shine on defense while adding some offense? (13 SOGs, 1 pt)

Bo Byram/Cale Makar: Can the youngsters trust the process after a tough loss and keep up the defensive energy they displayed throughout the Knights matchup?

Mikko Rantanen: He is the early season MVP and most consistent player on both ends. Can he continue this ride to a possible career year?

Final Prediction:

Colorado 3- St. Louis 1

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Colorado Avalanche Lose Duel With Knights

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The Colorado Avalanche was coming off a big shootout win over Tampa Bay. The Vegas Golden Knights came in limping on a 4-game losing streak.

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The Colorado Avalanche did nothing to show they were supposed to be the better and healthier roster in the first period. The Las Vegas Golden Knights came out with the energy and desperation you would expect from a contender in the throes of a losing streak. The Knights also had an injury list that looked like this. That’s a lot os size, scoring, and just plain nastiness.

So hence why I was so optimistic in my preview of this game. The Avalanche came out flat looking like the jet lag hadn’t worn off yet. They were lethargic all over the ice and Darcy Kuemper allowed to early goals to Chandler Stephenson (3rd at 2:00). Then a short-handed goal to Reilly Smith, his first, at the 9:37 mark. That’s right, not only did they go 0-2 on the power-play, they allowed the Knights to score on the Avs advantage.

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Darcy and the defense were able to stiffen from there, though the Golden Knights won the scoring and physicality battles in the first period, taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

The 3rd period started with the Avalanche coming out hot. The physical play hit a level I haven’t seen from this team yet this year. You had Kadri de-skating Knights in the corner. Logan O’Connor was decapitating players in the neutral zone and taking on all comers that the Knights could throw at them. You even had folk-hero Jack Johnson getting a 10 minute major for a questionable hit on Keegan Kolesar mid-ice. Which lead to him giving Nicolas Roy a 2-piece and a biscuit. That foray lead to this ruling and penalties assessed:

Courtesy of Yahoo! Sports

This boiled down to two minutes of 4-on-4, and three minutes of Vegas with the advantage. This turned into a godsend for the Avalanche skill players that couldn’t seem to find a crack in the Vegas defense despite the uptick in physical play swinging the pendulum of momentum in their direction and had Ball Arena rocking. Cale Makar would send them into a frenzy at the 19:23 mark with his first goal of the season, assisted by Nathan MacKinnon (5) and Bo Byram (4).

After being outshot and outhit in the first period, Colorado flipped the script in the second. Taking a 16-11 lead in hits, and getting to 19-18 in SOGs. They also brought it close in blocks at 13-12. The Colorado penalty kill showed some grit also as they kept the Knights scoreless on the advantage through 2 frames, and Darcy looked like the steady vet Sakic traded for.

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Many will consternate about Jack Johnson’s hit being across the line. That would imply it was dirty, I don’t believe it was dirty, and was just what this team needed at the time. It sparked them to bring it to within one goal. Yes it left them short handed on defense. But it wasn’t the reason they lost, it was the reason they got back in it. Unfortunately they just ran into Robin Lehner on a night he was all the way on. Kuemper had a winning stat line with a .929 save% stoning 26 of 28 shots. Lehner was just better stopping 26-27 for a .963 save%.

The Golden Knights had never lost 5 in a row. Lehner ensured he was not going to be a footnote in that history. The Avalanche were able to continue their energy through the third. Just too bad for them, Vegas matched it, and were able to hold on for a 3-1 win that concluded with Colorado giving up their third empty-net goal by Kolesar.

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It was great to see this Avalanche team stand up to the bully, too bad they still took the L. The old bugaboo of a poor power-play reared it’s ugly head for Colorado, but they also held Vegas scoreless on the advantage. Vegas has still not scored a single power-play goal this season. But they still stole a win on the road.

Up next they have a St. Louis Blues squad that already has a dominate win against the Avalanche this season. The Avalanche were not playing with this level of precision and physicality then, which should lead to a much better showing by the home squad.

Up Next:

@ St. Louis Blues Thursday, October 28 @ 6:00 PM MST

Where to Watch:

Stream: ESPN+(w/subscription)

National: ESPN

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Colorado Avalanche Face Division Foe Las Vegas in Return Home

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The Colorado Avalanche return home a little banged up. Las Vegas comes in depleted in what should have been a marquee matchup.

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The Colorado Avalanche draw another tough foe with an injury-depleted roster in their return to Ball Arena. Las Vegas comes into the Mile High City limping, both figuratively and literally. They have 9 players on the IL currently, with names varying from Zac Whitecloud to Max Pacioretty. They will not get the best of their division rival in this one.

The Colorado Avalanche have returned to the favorites and it’s easy to see why Vegas would turn against it’s own when you look at this team comparison courtesy of Yahoo! Sports:

As much as I have made of the Avalanche’s struggles on the power-play. The Knights are one of only two teams that are worse. Vegas has yet to score a power-play goal this season. And one thing I probably haven’t talked about enough is the Avalanche Penalty Kill unit. They are stoning opponent power-plays at an 81.3% clip. That’s despite the sloppy play during their 3-game losing streak that has them middle of the pack in penalty minutes.

Not drawing penalties is one strength this Vegas team has shown in the early going. As evidenced by the graphic above showing they are 2nd in the league currently. This means we may not have to talk much about power-plays like in our other previews and reviews. But this is historically a heated rivalry, so that could counteract this balance.

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However this matchup ends up going, it will sure to be a hard-fought victory either way. Vegas has prided itself on its size and scoring ability. While the Avalanche has gone the speed and athleticism route. Which has always led to some exhilarating matchups. I’m not so sure Vegas has the bodies left to keep up in the thin air of Denver.

Key Stats:

5

That’s how many points MacKinnon has after his big game in Tampa. For the Avs to continue winning, he will need this to spark his own personal streak. As he goes, this team goes.

3.51

This is Darcy Kuemper’s current GAA, although he bounced back nicely against Tampa. He needs to get this much closer to his career average of 2.48. Avalanche fans should look forward to some market correction here.

Key Players:

Bo Byram: His fire against Tampa was wonderful to see and as I have stressed, this Knights team has been lightened. He will need to throw his weight around.

Cale Makar: Just like with Bo, can he continue the improved defensive effort and physical play he displayed against Tampa?

Mikko Rantanen: The current Avs Goal Leader is an underrated scoring asset this team deploys deftly. If he can continue this pace with the improved play of Mack and Landy, this team will show why they are the favorites for a second straight President’s Trophy.

Final Prediction:

Colorado 4 – Las Vegas 1

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Colorado Avalanche Break Streak Against Lightning

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The Colorado Avalanche came in amidst a 3 game losing streak. After the game they handed that baton to the defending champs in 4-3 shotout win.

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The Colorado Avalanche finished their East Coast road trip with a shootout win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the defending back-to-back Stanley Cup champions. Both teams were in a rut and came out with high energy. The Avalanche were on their first power-play barely 30 seconds into the contest. And the high-energy chippiness never waivered.

The Lightning had the right game plan, using their size and aggression against the smaller Avs squad. They outhit Colorado 43-32 and the Avalanche ended up with 7 power-plays when all was said and done. But this Colorado Avalanche squad showed the resilience and 5-on-5 dominance that took them to the President’s Trophy a year ago.

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Darcy Kuemper was able to get to a .900 save percentage on 29/32 shooting by the Lightning. The Avs have two wins so far, both have Kuemper with a .900+ save%. One of those goals would have knocked this team off-kilter during their 3-game losing streak. It was the first goal by Mathieu Joseph, his first point of the season, that he smacked out of mid-air and squabbled past a sprawled-out Darcy. It was great to see Kuemper bounce back and show some resilience after back-to-back sub-par performances and a day-off against Florida as we discussed in our preview.

Looks like Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog read the preview as well. They came into this game with 1 goal and 2 assists between them. They ended the game with 5 points, 2 goals, in this game alone. And this doesn’t include the game-saving Landy shootout goal.

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Bo Byram and Cale Makar took another step. Cale was everywhere with 2 assists and 3 hits in 34 shifts, he was also responsible for the game-winning shootout goal after an Anthony Cirelli miss. Bo showed he’s not scared of anybody giving up 30-50 pounds against players like Pat Maroon and Victor Hedman without backing down an inch. He put the league on notice, you can’t bully the kid.

Although it was nice to see old friend Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, it was better to shut him out of the boxscore outside of 1 SOG. But it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows for the Avs. They were outshot 32-27 when it comes to SOGs. They were only 1-7 on the power-play. And they lost the face-off battle as well as being outhit as mentioned before. So there is definitely still plenty for Bednar to harp on their two off-days.

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But let’s not nitpick too much, and just enjoy the fact this squad finally showed their dominance outside of one unlucky goal in the second period as mentioned before, and a late let-down that allowed Brayden Point to score his second goal of the season at the 17:25 mark in the 3rd. In between those 2 plays, this Avs squad showed resilience and physicality that was lacking in the previous 3 matches.

It was also crappy to see Sam Girard hit the injured list after a horrible hit that should have drawn a boarding penalty. The hit was almost identical to the one that got The Captain ejected and suspended. Yet nary a whistle within earshot. But again, unlike the last three contests, this Avs squad responded and fought for the victory instead of sulking and rolling over.

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Next on the docket is division rival Las Vegas Golden Knights, that resilience will be paramount to this Avalanche team turning this much-needed victory into a winning streak.

Up Next:

vs Las Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday, October 26 @ 6:00 PM MST

Where to Watch:

Stream: ESPN+

NHL, SPORTS

Colorado Avalanche Face Reigning Champs

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The Colorado Avalanche are stuck in a 3-game losing streak. They look to end it against the defending champs in Tampa.

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The Colorado Avalanche were the odds-on preseason favorite to wint it all. The Tampa Bay Lightning are the defending back-to-back champs. Neither team has displayed that dominance through 4 games in the 2021/2022 season. The Avalanche sit at 1-3 after 3 straight listless losses. The Lightning sit at 2-2 after consecutive losses of their own.

I don’t know of anyone that believes the early season struggles for either of these teams to continue for any extended period of time. But it sure has bandwagoners ready to jump ship on both sides. If you truly understand hockey, you know both rosters are far too stacked to struggle indefinitely.

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The Avalanche have had buzzsaw of early opponents with the undefeated Panthers and Blues. And the one-loss Capitals. That is not an excuse, this is still supposed to be the best team in the league. But through 4 games, they have been thoroughly outplayed both at home and on the road.

Despite having Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog back, this Avalanche squad is still down Valeri Nichushkin and Devon Teows. Those are two underrated keys to this roster. Nichushkin gives you size and scoring ability. Toews brought another speed and scoring element to the roster. The good news is Friday Toews was removed from the injury report. Which means he should play Saturday.

Outside of PP%, these teams are almost identical to start. Look at this team comparison courtesy of Yahoo! Sports:

This should be a game where the Avalanche can get back right against a team experiencing similar struggles. But it could just be a continuance of their recent ineptitude. I like to stay on the positive side of things as much as possible. So I will take the improved physical play, and better goaltending as a sign for better things to come.

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Final Prediction:

Colorado 3 – Tampa Bay 2

Key Players:

MacKinnon/Landeskog: For this team to get back on track, the Mack Attack and Captain must step up and show why they are 2 of the best in the business. They need to show Sakic picking Landy over Grub was the right move.

Devon Toews: If he is fully healthy and can play. Can him and the top line reignite the magic they created after the trade last year?

Darcy Kuemper: Can the vet rebound to his game 1 form after a night off?

Key Stats:

1

Just like last game, this is Mack/Landy goals combined through 4 games. This must change Saturday.

Hits/Face Off Battle

In the only game the Avs won both (Game 1) they won the game. It seems if they outmuscle at the point, they win at the net. Then the game.

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Colorado Avalanche Continue Losing Streak in Sunrise

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The Colorado Avalanche switched it up in goal for the first time this season. Unfortunately the results remained the same after 4-1 loss to Panthers.

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The Colorado Avalanche decided to go with Jonas Johansson over Darcy Kuemper to try and inject some life in this squad. Early it seemed to work as the Avs matched the Panthers’ energy through the first frame. After the Panthers took an early lead on Sam Reinhart’s first of the year at the 14:32 mark of the period. Much has been made of the non-call for icing on this play that lead to Sam Girard eating the boards hard and sending him to the locker room for evaluation. But one play should never derail a championship team. The Avalanche answered with Mikko Rantanen’s second goal of the season at the 19:06 mark. Unfortunately, this would be the only time they could manage to get the puck to the back of the net.

Sergei Bobrovsky, the Panthers’ backup goalie, looked like he belonged as a starter after stoning 30 of 31 Avs attempts. Bobrovsky was a brick wall, very few shots even hit the post. Johansson did his best to match Brobrovsky block for block. But unlike Bobrovsky’s defense, Johansson’s defense hung him out to dry like poor defensive positioning that lead to the Sam Bennet goal, his 4th, in the second period, on the power play.

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Johansson actually surpassed the .900 save% we discussed in the preview to this game with a .917 mark. But when your defense allows 38 SOG, that number becomes much less important. I couldn’t fathom a team with Bo Byram, Cal Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and Gabriel Landeskog could be outscored when they met the physicality of the opponent. The consistent lack of effort on the defensive end is getting concerning.

It was nice to see the Colorado Avalanche show more physicality as they tied the Panthers in hits with 26, and outpaced them 18-16 in blocks. This was a nice step forward to see, and one I want to see continue. Erik Johnson was a big part of this, leading the team with 4 hits and 26 shifts. I think if he, Jack Johnson, and Macdermid can get on the ice together consistently, this physicality will only increase,

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The biggest concern to me is their lack of oomph on the Power Play (0-3). This team was able to cover for this bugaboo last year with 5-on-5 dominance. This year, that 5-on-5 dominance is non-existent, amplifying their Power Play woes. Then you add in the poor defensive showing so far, and you have the ingredients for this start to the season.

Another concern is unlike the last 2 games where the Avalanche showed life late and brought it close before giving up an empty-net goal to end it. In this game, they couldn’t even do that. They were thoroughly dominated from the beginning of the second period forward. They made Brobrovsky look like the second coming of Dominik Hasek. I don’t want to take anything from Brobrovsky’s performance, it was masterful, but he’s not .968 save% good.

Here’s to hoping another day off gives this team time to make real adjustments, regain some energy, and come out firing on the last leg of this road trip in Tampa, Florida Saturday evening.

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Up Next:

@ Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday, October 23 @ 5:00 PM

Where to Watch:

Stream: ESPN+

Denver: AltitudeTV

NHL, SPORTS

Colorado Avalanche Look to Break Panthers Streak

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The Colorado Avalanche have looked lackluster in their last 2 games after an opening night throttling of the Blackhawks. Despite scoring 10 goals in 3 games, they sit at just 1-2.

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The Colorado Avalanche came into the season with all the expectations. The Florida Panthers are trying to show they belong in that convo while reeling off 3 straight wins to start the season. This is the first of 2 stops in Florida to complete this 3-game road trip. The Panthers have actually scored 14 goals in their 3 games. The difference comes in the defense and goaltending as the Panthers have only allowed 6 goals in their 4 games, to the Avalanches 13 GA in their 3 games.

I really thought Nathan Mackinnon returning to the roster would give it more of a jolt than it did in their 6-3 loss to the Capitals. Hopefully having both Mack and Landy back for this one will provide that jolt. The loss of Jack Johnson to COVID protocols hurts, but having the Captain back should offset some of that pain.

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As much as I love J.T. Compher, no team wins consistently with him as their leading goal scorer. Which is currently where he rests on this Colorado Avalanche squad with 2. One thing these teams have in common is an inability to score on the Power Play with the Avalanche sitting at 9.1% and Panthers at 10%. The 5 on 5 is where these 2 teams shine, Florida more than Colorado to this point.

I am not of the ilk that is ready to panic after a 1-2 start. And much has been made about the play of Darcy Kuemper, who has looked outmatched at times against the Blues and Capitals. But I believe it’s more a team issue, than a goalie issue. Time after time against the Blues and Capitals Kuemper was left out to dry by poor defensive zone discipline and defensive effort/discipline. So I’m not ready to pull the cord on Darcy either. Way too small of a sample size to gain any meaningful information yet. If this becomes a consistent problem over the next week or so, then you can start pondering trades. But for a goalie, not a Jack Eichel, Eichel is a luxury, goalie may be a necessity.

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Key Stats

.917

That is Darcy Kuemper’s career save percentage. In the one game Kuemper had a .900+ save percentage the Avs won.

1

That’s how many goals Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon have combined. This must change and quickly for the Avs to get to their winning ways, sample size be damned.

Key Players

Gabriel Landeskog/Nathan Mackinnon: As these 2 go, this team goes.

Bo Byram/Cale Makar: Can the 2 young guns replace the physical play of Jack Johnson?

NHL, SPORTS

Colorado Avalanche Outplayed by Washington Capitals

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The Colorado Avalanche entered Tuesday against the Capitals after a heartbreaking loss to St. Louis. They looked to correct the slow start that cost them Saturday.

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The Colorado Avalanche laid an egg against St. Louis until about 6 minutes left in the contest. They made a furious rally to get to within 4-3 with 2 minutes left. They ended up losing 5-3 after the tying goal was waved off for kicking, and an empty-net goal by the Blues to seal it. That slow start that allowed St. Louis to build an insurmountable 4-1 lead would doom them against the high-powered Washington Capitals. After the first period, it looked more of the same.

The Avalanche was out-shot in that first period 19-5. I think it’s an obvious statement to say that will never get it done. The return of superstar and perennial MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon to the lineup should have signaled a return of the high-pace play that defined this team over the last couple of seasons and we discussed in my season preview. It just did not translate in that first period. Thankfully due to some heady goaltending by Darcy Kuemper and a short-handed goal by J.T. Compher they kept the Avalanche to within 2-1 at the first break.

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The 2nd period started better for the Colorado Avalanche as they would get a goal from Darren Helm just 3:12 into the period. They even had an 8-5 SOG advantage in the period until the 14:00 min mark. Then the wheels fell off for the Avalanche. Anthony Mantha started the Capitals cascade at 14:47 with his 100th career goal and first of the 2021/2022 season. Then Evgeny Kuznetsov added his 2nd of the game and season at the 16:41 point in the 3rd. That would cap the scoring in the frame and a 4-2 Caps lead. The Avs would end up tied at 8-8 with SOG.

The third period started where the second ended. At just :39 into the frame Nic Dowd added the 5th lamp-lighting for the Capitals, his first of the season. The period would end the way the Blues game ended. With the Avs pulling to within 5-3 with a Power Play-Empty Net goa by Mikko Rantanen with the 6-4 man advantage. This was the first Power Play goal of the season for the Avs and the first goal by Mikko. Then immediately after Alex Ovechkin finally got into the act with an empty-net goal to give us the final score of 6-3.

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While much could be lumped on Kuemper in the Blues matchup last Saturday. Today was much more on poor defensive positioning and defensive zone discipline that lead to multiple break-aways for the Capitals. The Capitals were also more physical, as they not only out-shot them 39-26. The Avs were outhit 20-15, and also lost the faceoff battle 32-26. They were thoroughly outplayed in every area. Let’s hope Jack Johnson returning after an early puck to the face doesn’t let this play continue as they have a hard road ahead with trips to Sunrise and Tampa Florida before they get back home to Ball Arena.

Up Next:

Vs Florida Panthers on Thursday, October 21 @ 5:00 PM MST

Where to Watch:

ESPN+

NHL, SPORTS

Colorado Avalanche Look For 2-0 Start Saturday

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The Colorado Avalanche play game 2 against the St. Louis Blue in their first. After drubbing the Blackhawks on opening night, Colorado looks to assert dominance vs Blues.

The Colorado Avalanche came out firing against the Blackhawks and left Ball Arena with a 4-2 win. The only true question I had for this roster coming in was quieted considerably as Darcy Kuemper looked more than up to the task of replacing Philipp Grubauer. They did lose Captain Gabriel Landeskog for 2 games due to a suspension stemming from a bad hit late in the Blackhawks game. And star Nathan MacKinnon has been ruled out for Saturday due to a positive COVID test right before opening night. Devon Toews is still on the injured list. But they did get back their coach Jared Bednar after his own bout with COVID.

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Despite the losses of Mack, Landy, and Toews, this team still has plenty of star power, scoring, and defense. The ridiculous depth of this roster with Cale Makar, Bo Byram, Nazem Kadri, etc. should be just fine for the next few games. They first face the St. Louis Blues, a team they swept out of the playoffs in the first round last year. Colorado and St. Louis actually split the regular-season series 3-3.

St. Louis made the playoffs despite a negate point differential (-1), which means they were stout in close games going 27-20 overall. But that lack of scoring did them in during their first-round matchup with the Avalanche. With the distraction of Vladimir Tarasenko’s trade request still looming, and no moves outside of Pavel Buchnevich and Bradon Saad, I see no true upgrades on this St. Louis roster.

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Biggest Concern:

Against a better team, say Tampa Bay or Las Vegas, the loss of Mack, Landy, and Toews would worry me. But with the way, Kuemper played in game one, and this being a home game, I’m much less anguished. This St. Louis squad should not be taken lightly, but outside of their top-line, Colorado blows every other line out of the water in pure talent. So we will put “biggest concern” in quotations.

Key Stats:

Colorado was 0-4 on the Power Play Wednesday night. While giving up a Power Play goal to Chicago. This is a small sample, but a continuation from last year where the Av’s 5-on-5 dominance was unmatched. But was at the bottom of the league with the advantage and against the advantage. Something that really showed up against the more physical Golden Knights in the playoffs. This is why Sakic went out and got the likes of Jack Johnson and Kurtis MacDermid and moved Nichushkin to the second line and PP unit. We’ll see if we start seeing the fruits of his labor against a light Blues defense that will most likely be without David Perron.

Final Prediction:

Colorado 5-St. Louis 2