Coming into Thursday night’s matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes, which turned back the clock with what may be the best unis in the league in the powder blue Quebec Nordiques jerseys, the Avalanche have been one of the hottest teams in the NHL.
The last time out, the Avalanche were outplayed by the Utah Mammoth but managed to walk away with one point in an overtime loss. Things looked ugly early for the Avalanche, but they fought back only to fall in a shootout to the Hurricanes 5-4.
The Avalanche Were the Better Team
When you look at the box score, it seems obvious what happened: the Hurricanes jumped on the Avalanche early, the Avalanche fought back in the third period, and the Hurricanes walked away with the second point in a shootout.
While that’s technically true, it doesn’t reveal the truth: the Avalanche were the better team, overall. The killer, especially in the first period, were a slew of turnovers that led directly to Hurricanes goals. There was perhaps no worse example than Gabriel Landeskog floating a blind pass into the middle of the ice which led directly to a shorthanded goal from Seth Jarvis.
Against a team like the Hurricanes, those mistakes are killers. If the Avalanche – who outshot the Hurricanes 48-31 – didn’t outplay the opposition, this more than likely ends in a multi-goal loss instead of stealing a point in regulation.
The Power Play Was Awful
One of the things that definitely handicapped the Avalanche on the night was the power play. It went an abysmal 1-for-8 on the night, not succeeding until the seventh power play of the evening late in the third period.
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A cursory look at the lineup and becomes to confusing to even the most casual of fan that a team with as much talent as the Avalanche could continue to struggle with the man advantage. They weren’t without chances but couldn’t find success until Valeri Nichushkin tied things at 4-4 late in the third period.
If the issues were that apparent, it would be a much easier situation to fix. That said, the Avalanche are 30th in the NHL on the power play, clicking at just 11.8% (the Hurricanes are 31st, funny enough). In a game like this, one or two of those power plays being converted changes the scope of this game.
Excellent Resolve
The other obvious takeaway from this game is that the Avalanche didn’t just pack it in and call it a night after going down 4-1 in the first period. A lot of teams simply would have gotten through the rest of the night and moved onto the next game.
The Avalanche responded by outshooting the Hurricanes 16-5 in the second period and erasing the deficit in the third period. Leadership from guys like Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon means that there is no quit.
While it would have been nice to close the game out in overtime or the shootout, it shows that the Avalanche are going to be a tough team to handle no matter the situation. Against one of the teams on the shortlist of contenders for the Stanley Cup, it is encouraging that the Avalanche refused to stay down.
Seeing the Silver Lining
There is a lot to feel positive about coming out of this game. The Avalanche remain unbeaten in regulation and have the most points in the NHL with 13. They’ll face a big test from another strong Eastern Conference foe when they have a home-and-home with the New Jersey Devils on Sunday and Tuesday.
The Avalanche have a lot of things to clean up yet remain arguably the best team in the league. If they can tighten things up and improve the power play to even middle of the road, they are going to be even harder to beat. That’s trouble for the rest of the league.
