After being handily beaten by the New York Islanders on Thursday, the Colorado Avalanche looked to salvage their New York trip by taking out the Rangers on Saturday afternoon. The Avalanche have lost just twice in regulation this season, making them the best team in the NHL.
The Avalanche didn’t have the dominant showing they would have liked, and it took overtime to get the job done, but they managed to defeat the Rangers 3-2 on Saturday. Let’s get into the most important takeaways from the 20th Avalanche victory of the season.
The Best High-End Talent in the League
On a near nightly basis, the Avalanche are driven by what may be the very best three-man core in the league. For the second time in three games, superstar Nathan MacKinnon registered a pair of goals – his 23rd and 24th of the year, best in the league.
Martin Necas continues to be the perfect partner in crime for the dominant MacKinnon. He picked up a pair of assists in the win, putting him into a tie with former MacKinnon running mate Mikko Rantanen for fifth in the NHL in scoring with 38 points (he also tied MacKinnon with his 24th assist).
Finally, Cale Makar is the best defenseman on the planet and it isn’t really even close. After a great November, Makar continues to produce at a level unseen by defensemen in this era. He registered his 25th assist on MacKinnon’s overtime winner, putting him on the fringe of the top 10 in league scoring.
Blackwood Filling in Admirably
One of the biggest stories for the Avalanche is the injury to Scott Wedgewood. Listed as “day-to-day,” the veteran netminder had been off to the best start in his career by a mile. He had been a clear force for the Avalanche, arguably even the team MVP through the first 25 games of the season.
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Since he left in the win over the Vancouver Canucks, Mackenzie Blackwood – the former starter who began the season on the injured list himself – has stepped in and done a fine job. He wasn’t good against the Islanders but that could be said about the whole team. Against the Rangers, he was pretty good, stopping 24 of 26 Rangers shots.
Blackwood isn’t playing quite up to the level that Wedgewood was, but few goalies in the league could say that they were. The Avalanche would obviously love to have Wedgewood back because it gives them a pair of legitimate no.1 goalies to lean on and prevents either from getting worn down too quickly.
Margin for Error Thin
While it is very easy to talk about how well the Avalanche have been playing this season – 20-2-6, an NHL-best 46 points – it takes one quick glance at the standings to show that the Avalanche aren’t untouchable.
Their nemesis, the Dallas Stars, are just three points back in the standings themselves. In fact, their 43 points would be best in the NHL if not for the Avalanche and are six points ahead of the next-closest team in the NHL (Washington Capitals, 37 points).
As well as the season has gone for the Avalanche, they have the Stars breathing down their necks. The Avalanche can’t suffer a prolonged losing streak or they could see their place atop the Central Division standings be compromised in no time.
Avs Keep Rolling
For the Avalanche, it is business as usual. They shook off a nasty loss to the Islanders by grabbing both points from the Rangers a few days later. They have very winnable games coming up on Sunday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers and on Tuesday against the Nashville Predators.
After that, the gauntlet will be laid down. The Avalanche will see the Winnipeg Jets, Minnesota Wild, Utah Mammoth, Vegas Golden Knights, Carolina Hurricanes, and Tampa Bay Lightning in their next nine games. If the Stars stay hot, the Avs could begin to feel the pressure.
