3 Takeaways From the Avalanche’s 5-2 Win Over the Devils

Colorado Avalanche fans may not yet be panicking, but there is definitely concern in the air following a 6-2 drubbing at the hands of the Nashville Predators. With so much star power, the expectations are excellence on a nightly basis and the Avalanche have been anything but excellent.

Against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, however, the Avalanche were indeed excellent. The Devils had been hot but the Avalanche got into gear in the second period and unleashed a third period onslaught to take the 5-2 victory on home ice.

The Shot Numbers Are Deceptive

On paper, the Avalanche dominated the first two periods but trailed until nearly 11 minutes into the second. They had a 31-12 shot advantage heading into the second intermission with the game locked up firmly at 1-1. What went wrong?

The shot numbers may be a bit deceptive, it seems. The Avalanche are just 21^st in the NHL in high danger shots for this season (15) while being second in low danger shots for (354). They have high shot totals, but they aren’t coming from areas of the ice where scoring chances increase.

They did a better job attacking in an overwhelming third period, but it has been a theme so far this season. Jake Allen had a good game for the Devils overall, but part of that is because the Avalanche aren’t consistently attacking the center of the ice in the opposing zone.

A Strong Game From Blackwood

A lot has been said about the Avalanche goaltending situation this season. It has been far from bad, but it also hasn’t been the dominant tandem that helped make the Avalanche so strong a season ago.

This was the kind of game Mackenzie Blackwood needed to get under his belt. He turned aside 20 of 22 shots on the night, the second goal coming with less than five minutes remaining in a blowout.

They don’t need Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood to be dominant again, but they have to be better than what we’ve seen so far. This was a good showing by Blackwood as he continues to establish himself as the go-to guy in Colorado’s net.

Still Some of the Strongest Depth in the NHL

Nathan MacKinnon did his damage with a goal to make it 4-1 but the team’s depth did the heavy lifting in this one. Jaden Schwartz continues to be one of the most underrated players in the league, scoring his fourth of the season.

Nazem Kadri finally seems like he is on track, picking up his second goal and adding an assist while Parker Kelly and Gabriel Landeskog also contributed goals. It just underscores how many different guys on this team can beat an opponent.

The Avalanche are getting scoring from their stars but they have a whopping six players with double digits in points and 14 that have at least five points so far. When they get going, the Avalanche can pour it in from anywhere in the lineup and that showed against the Devils.

A Necessary Response

This was a more than required response given how things have gone the past two weeks. The Avalanche had been 2-3-1 in their previous six, including losses to the Predators and Philadelphia Flyers.

Getting back a win from the Devils – who they lost to 4-3 on Oct. 20 – had to feel good. The Avalanche have to make the most of the coming schedule to start putting some wins together. In their next five games, they play the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Predators, and Detroit Red Wings. A nice winning streak could get the boys rolling heading into a tougher November slate.