Though the Colorado Avalanche have already played a game (and lost to the Boston Bruins) since the NHL was rocked, they are still clearly recovering in the wake of the massive trade that saw forward Mikko Rantanen shipped to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Tuesday night presented an important opportunity. Facing a New York Islanders team desperate for points, the Avalanche needed to move on from the trade and start to find their game again. Instead, they dropped a pivotal 5-2 decision on the road. Let’s get into the takeaways.
Things Still Don’t Feel Right
If you have watched more than a handful of Avalanche games before, it goes without saying that things just don’t feel quite right since the trade went down. It took everyone by surprise, even Rantanen himself. The team is now trying to find a somewhat new identity with one of its core pieces gone.
Something is missing from the flow of the game for the Avalanche. Nathan MacKinnon tallied his league-leading 59th assist of the season but he hasn’t felt quite right since the trade went down. Given that he and Rantanen were running mates, that makes sense.
It’s going to take some time for the Avalanche to adjust to life without Rantanen. They are unfortunately in one of the toughest divisions in hockey, so the room for error is slim. It’s time to move on and figure things out.
Lehkonen a Driving Force
One major positive out of all of this has been the emergence of Artturi Lehkonen. Since coming over in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens, he has steadily improved. Though the recent additions from the Carolina trade are finding their way early, it has been Lehkonen that has been the biggest X-factor.
Related: Avalanche’s Necas Making Good Impression After Rantanen Trade
Lehkonen’s performance this season has been a revelation. He has already tied his career-high in goals with 21, doing so in just 40 games this season compared to 64 games during the 2022-23 season. He’s on one of the best points-per-game paces of his career as well.
Lehkonen has risen to the challenge with guys like Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin out of the lineup. He will remain a pivotal figure for the Avalanche as they find their way in a post-Rantanen world and fight to get into the top three in the Central Division.
Finding Balance Again
The biggest thing you see when watching the Avalanche is the lack of balance. They almost seem streaky, finding a way to deliver pressure for an extended period of time before falling back on their heels and requiring Mackenzie Blackwood to bail them out.
Even the late-game pushes feel off balance. Last night, down one with less than four minutes left, it felt like the Cale Makar show and no one else was really involved. He darted and drove through traffic while everyone else just kind of stood around.
This has been a problem for the bulk of the season. The Avalanche struggle to put together a complete effort night in and night out but are good enough to overcome most of the time. It wasn’t enough here against a desperate Islanders team that has been hot of late.
Need to Regroup
Though it is still a shock that Rantanen is no longer a member of the Avalanche, the team needs to refocus and regroup. They have a nice little cushion in terms of a wild card spot, but the goal should be to not face the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs.
Thankfully, there is still time. There are but a few points separating the Avalanche from the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars. The Avalanche need to make the most of upcoming divisional games and find a way to be themselves again even if an important piece of the puzzle is no longer there.
