The Colorado Avalanche have continued to play at an elite level after returning to the ice in 2022. The club hasn’t lost in regulation in the 6 games they’ve played since the Covid break. Currently, the Avs are 5-0-1 in their last 6 and are 8-1-1 in their last 10. In each of the last 6 games, the team was down at some point and were able to climb back to either win the game or force overtime. This shows a lot about the gritty characteristics of this group when trailing in games. Even though the Avs are on a point streak, they stand 2nd in the division at 47 points. The 1st place team at the moment is the Nashville Predators with 50 points in 37 games, which has come to a lot of people’s surprise. The Predators were not expected to make the run that they are making now at the beginning of the season, but silenced the critics by sitting at the top. Also teams such as the Blues and Wild are also hanging tight in the Central, making it potentially a 4 way race to the top by the end of the year. Blues have 47 points in 36 games played, while the Wild have 44 points in 33 games. Like the Wild, the Avs only played 33 games which is good news considering they’re 2nd and are on a roll.
Once again, the at home success for the Avalanche has been a major advantage for their squad and actually broke their home win streak of 11 Saturday, against the Toronto Maple Leafs in dramatic fashion. Initially, the Toronto Maple Leafs came out strong, scoring 3 goals in the first period. Alex Kerfoot, the former Av, scored the opening goal while Auston Mathews scored the next 2 goals. Nathan MacKinnon responded with a much needed goal late in the 1st period to soften the deficit to 3-1. The Leafs came out in the 2nd period to extend their lead to 4-1, but after this, it was all Avs. Cale Makar, who leads all defensemen in goals, scored his 15th to make the score 4-2 going into the final frame of action. The Avs then through a persistent effort, were able to equalize the game at 4 apiece because of goals from the Captain Gabriel Landeskog and J.T. Compher. These 2 goals in 3rd period forced overtime, in which defenseman Devon Toews was up to the task to score, to make it a 5-4 win over the Leafs. Mikko Rantanen and Nazem Kadri were both productive by creating opportunities for their teammates to score. Rantanen had 4 assists, while Kadri had 2. This win at home broke their original record of 11 home wins to 12.
The Avs next opponent was the Seattle Kraken, once again in Denver. Ball Arena welcomed former Avalanche goaltender Phillip Grubaur and forward Joonas Donskoi, for the first time since their departure during the offseason. The Kraken came to play in spite of being last in pacific and at one point during the contest, held a 3-1 lead. Nicolas Aube-Kubel had his first 2 goal game of his career, being responsible for the game getting to 3-2. He was a great pick-up after being placed on waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers earlier in the season. The Avs then provided a surge in the 3rd period to tie and then take the lead late in the game. Devon Toews scored his 7th of the year tying the game. Nazem Kadri scored the game-winning goal, acquiring his 13th one of the season. The Avs extended their win streak to 13 in a row at Ball Arena. It is evident that they love to play at home in front of the Avs faithful.
The Avalanche played the next day against their divisional rival, the Nashville Predators. This game took place in Nashville and presented a lot at stake considering that the winner would be at the top of the Central division. The Avs prior to this game were 9-0-3 for games that were back-to-back. Tough news before the game for the Avs as Gabriel Landeskog was taken into Covid Protocol, just after it was announced he was the NHL’s first star of the week. Aside from this, the game went on as planned. The Predators didn’t take long to get going, scoring the first 2 goals of the game. The Avs wouldn’t respond until the 2nd period thanks to Nicolas Aube-Kubel cutting the lead in half. This was his 3rd goal in 2 games. Andre Burakovsky joined the action later, tying it at 2. Shortly after, the Preds took back the lead after Luke Kunin’s 2nd goal of the game. The highly anticipated 3rd period was no short of back and forth action. Nathan MacKinnon got the boys back in business with a power-play slap shot for the tie early in the period. Once again, a former Av, Matt Duchene made it a 4-3 game on the power-play for the Predators. The Avs were in need of a response and Cale Makar once again showing off his magic, delivered to force another overtime. The Avs took this momentum with them into the overtime period, but lost it fast as they were called on a controversial too many men on the ice penalty. This then led to a sudden death goal by Matt Duchene to seal the deal for the Predators. This allowed them to maintain their spot at 1st in the central. The Avalanche stay at 2nd, but continue their 6 game point streak.
The Avalanche have come from behind every game in 2022 and haven’t had a regulation loss. Lots to build from this as they continue to look to get to the top of the Central division. Nazem Kadri continues to show his value as he now has a 13 game point streak. He is also ranked 2nd in the league for points per game (PPG) at 1.60. Nathan Mackinnon ranks 4th on this list with a 1.52 points per game (PPG). To give you an idea how impressive that is, Connor McDavid who is considered the best player in the league, has a points per game average (PPG) of 1.61. To build off of that, Gabriel Landeskog is ranked 6th (PPG 1.35) and Mikko Rantanen is tied for 7th (PPG 1.33) on that list. This shows how offensive powered the Avs are. Cale Makar also demonstrates his amazing offensive skill almost every night as he leads all defensmen by a large margin in goals at 16. The closest competitor to that is Roman Josi at 12. Devon Toews has also been productive as he has contributed well offensively but also defensively. He is tied for 1st in +/- category at a +26. This team has lots of talent, along with some great depth to make a serious run in the playoffs. The Avs will be back at home on Friday against the Arizona Coyotes for a back-to-back series. The 2nd game will be played Saturday in Arizona, where the goal will be to claim 4 points.
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