As with every game, you take the good with the bad, so time to take a look at the pluses and the minuses in the game against the Coyotes for the Colorado Avalanche.
+ THE SECOND PERIOD
It feels awfully different putting a plus in front of the middle session as opposed to a minus.
The Avalanche certainly flipped the script, playing not only their best second period of the season, but arguably their best period of the season…period. The issue with second periods hasn’t really been offense, because the Avalanche are still scoring quite a few goals during the middle session, but they have been bleeding goals against.
In 18 even strength minutes, they gave up just eight shot attempts to the Coyotes, and a measly two scoring chances. It’s something they really haven’t had any issues doing in the other two periods, but for some reason, the second has been a nightmare for them. Maybe it’s a one-off, or maybe it’s something they can build on, but they’re definitely capable of it.
+ Alexandar Georgiev
It’s been a long time since we’ve heard “Georgie! Georgie! Georgie!” chants at Ball Arena. It might have happened during that first six game stretch, but it certainly hasn’t since. In the third period, Georgiev heard the chants of his name after some big saves on a penalty kill, and then as soon as it ended, he made another strong save on someone in front of the net. That sent the game to a commercial break, and we heard the chants for a good 30 more seconds.
He played great in the third period against the Senators, and really, outside of the fourth goal, the second was really strong as well. They need some consistency in net, and they need it pretty quickly.
+ Pre-Scouting
The first three goals went high glove. Plenty of other players were clearly targeting that area, including Sam Malinski in the second period when he was all alone in front. I’ll give some credit to the pre-scouting from the Avalanche and their staff, because it was definitely a point of emphasis.
+ Depth Scoring
Colorado was desperate for some depth scoring, and on three of the four goals, they got it. Defense played a big role in those goals, but when the Avalanche are really rolling, their defense is more involved than 90% of the other teams in the NHL. It had been a long time since we saw a guy like Fredrik Olofsson find the back of the net. 17 games, to be exact. He not only chipped in with the goal that essentially ended the game, but made a great play on the Manson goal to look off the defender, creating a lane to hit the defenseman.
And how about that pass from Andrew Cogliano? After the game, he said something to the effects of “a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while,” but you know that had to amp the bench. Just look at Logan O’Connor‘s face when I asked him about it.
+ Physicality
The first period was really tame, and it actually looked like both teams might be content to just play a little bit of shinny hockey until the break hit.
Then Miles Wood changed all of that.
His hit on J.J. Moser, which knocked the defenseman out of the game, cranked the intensity up quite a bit, and the Avalanche didn’t back down. Wood and Crouse went toe-to-toe in a fight, and then it looked like Matt Dumba was doing his best to get under the skin of every Avalanche player. He tried, but he didn’t get anyone to bite and take a penalty. We had after the whistle stuff, we had MacKinnon bowling over a man without the puck, and a ton of anger in general.
There have been fights in both matchups between these teams this year, so maybe it’s the beginning of some hate. The game after Christmas will be a true indication of that.
– Losing The Shutout
It’s not the end of the world, but man, you’d love to complete the shutout in a game like this when Georgiev is having his name chanted. Miles Wood had a great game, but probably went a little too hard at the end of the game on the forecheck, and took a penalty, which allowed the Coyotes to capitalize. For as strong defensively as the team played, you just want to see them be rewarded with a goose egg.
+ Happy Holidays!
CHN won’t be disappearing completely, as I’ll likely put something up on Christmas, but it will likely be a little lighter, as I enjoy a little break for the Holidays. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone who comes to this site and reads what I’ve got to say. I appreciate each and every one of you!