A busy week for the Avs as many accomplishments have been achieved throughout the entire organization. First off, the Avs have officially clinched the 1st seed in the entire Western Conference and are Central Division champions with 116 points, while having 7 games remaining until playoffs. The team is also currently on a 9-game win streak with a 11-game point streak. In other good news for the club, they set a franchise record for home ice wins after their 29th win in decisive fashion over the Los Angeles Kings, breaking the old one which was set at 28. This wasn’t the only record broken that night, as they set a single season franchise record for wins with 53 total. However, these records have only increased as this week has progressed.
Andre Burakovsky also has set a personal best in goals, assists, and points with 22 goals and 36 assists, accumulating to 58 points. Not only has this been a productive week, but the front office remains busy by signing the University of Minnesota Captain Ben Meyers to a 2-year ELC contract through the 2022-2023 season. His cap hit after the 2 years will be 1.825 million dollars. He was named the Big Ten Player of the year after turning NHL heads by his offensive production in college, recording 41 points in 34 games played. Ben Meyers was also ranked the number 1 college free agent, so this a massive signing. Unfortunately, he won’t be eligible to participate in the upcoming playoffs, despite being able to play during the remaining games left in the season.
The first game of the week was against the Los Angeles Kings on national television. Another Avalanche of goals was poured onto the Kings. A 9 spot was put up by Colorado in what was a defensive collapse by the goalie tandem of Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen. Nathan MacKinnon had a 5-point night with a hatrick and 2 assists, extending his goal streak to 4-straight. Cale Makar also had a great night with 1 goal and 3 assists. Both Val Nichushkin and Nicolas Aube-Kubel had found the back of the net twice. Andre Burakovsky also grabbed a goal to add to the lead. It was a 9-3 statement win, without 2 of the Avs top scorers which include Nazem Kadri and Gabriel Landeskog .
On the next day, the New Jersey Devils came to town to face the Avs. Pavel Francouz got the start in net for the Avs. Offense didn’t quite explode until the 2nd period. A 3 goal 2nd period for the Avs with Logan O’Connor, Andre Burakovsky, and Arturri Lehkonen all depositing pucks into the back of the net. The Devils did finally spoil the shut-out bid late in the 3rd period by Jesper Bratt, but that was all they had. Pavel Francouz stood tall all game to claim the 3-1 victory over New Jersey. This resulted in the record expanding to 30 home wins and 54 season wins.
In the last game of this week, it was an exciting matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes. Canes snatched the win the last time these 2 powerhouses clashed, so the Avs seeked revenge. To get the game started, the Avalanche scored 4 unanswered goals. J.T. Compher was responsible for 2 of them, while Nathan MacKinnon contributed to 1 to reach 30 goals on the season. Ben Meyers in his NHL debut, collected his first ever goal to make it a 4-0 contest. Jordan Staal finally answered with 2 goals himself to cut the lead in half in the 2nd period. Alex Newhook for the Avs extended the lead to 5-2, but would be answered quickly by Sebastian Aho to make it 5-3 heading into the final frame. Mikko Rantanen took the initiative to score at the beginning of the 3rd period to keep extending the lead. But, the Cane kept chipping away to stay in it. Andrei Svechnikov snatched his 30th of the season to make it a 2-goal game. Later in the frame, Nathan MacKinnon had the dagger to take the Canes by a score of 7-4. An exciting affair that expanded the record even more to 31 home wins and 55 on the year.
2-weeks remain before the highly anticipated playoffs occur. The Avs are currently the favorite to win the Cup. What’s next for them is the final game of the homestead against the Capitals on Monday, before taking off on a 3-game road trip north to face the Kraken, Oilers, and Jets. Nazem Kadri is looking to potentially make a return this week, as Devon Toews will be taking a break until the playoffs to recover from lingering injuries. A scary Avs team is still looking to finish the season strong before taking care of business in the playoffs. By clinching the West, they may not be playing as hard so injuries aren’t an issue in quest for the prized cup. Depth of this team is deep though, so we will see how it all plays out.
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