The Colorado Avalanche, three days off of a forgettable 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals, traveled east to take on the struggling Philadelphia Flyers. The Avalanche find themselves mired in the middle of the pack in the Central Division, trying to gain ground on the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild.
The Avalanche jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the Flyers, but had to hang on to come away with the 3-2 win. Though it isn’t the most noteworthy win, there are a few takeaways worth talking about. Let’s dive right in.
Team Giveaways Need to Come Down
In what is becoming a common theme for the Avalanche, they lost the giveaway battle on the night. While they aren’t one of the worst teams in the league in the category – they hover at 15th – it isn’t the most ideal situation to be in.
Through 18 games, they are averaging just north of 15 giveaways per game, something that is challenging the already uphill battle faced by the team. The Avalanche have found success with their bottom pairing, but Sam Malinski had a pair of giveaways of his own last night in 15 minutes of ice time.
Again, this isn’t a glaring issue. It’s something to keep an eye on, work on as a team, and nip in the bud before it becomes problematic on a nightly basis. Then again, it may be something to accept for a high-octane team that mitigates many mistakes by being as good offensively as the Avalanche are.
Makar Has a Big Night
Through the first baker’s dozen games of the season, Cale Makar was on a pace like no other for an NHL defenseman. He sat right near or at the top of the NHL scoring race. He joined Bobby Orr as only the second defenseman to begin a season with a point streak of 13 games or more.
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Since having the streak broken against the Jets, Makar has been quiet (for him). He had just two assists in four games, seemingly running out of steam after a torrid start to the season. Thankfully for the Avalanche, he woke up and carried the offense on Monday night.
He scored twice in the win, putting him up to eight goals on the season. That puts him on pace for a whopping 36 goals, a mark achieved just seven times by three different defensemen (Orr, Paul Coffey, and Doug Wilson). Makar still has the chance to do some incredibly special things for a defenseman this season and will be one to watch.
Faceoffs Becoming an Issue
What is becoming a sizable issue for the Avalanche is the faceoff dot. They handily lost the battle last night, winning just over 41% of the faceoffs on the night. While it isn’t a big deal to lose one night’s worth of battles, it is indicative of a bigger issue.
The Avalanche are 30th in the NHL in the faceoff circle, winning 44.99% of their draws. Only Mikko Rantanen has a win percentage above 50% (52.6%) but he’s only taken 76 draws on the season. Casey Mittelstadt continues to be porous, winning just 40.4% of his draws.
Though there is something to be said about faceoffs being a bit overrated – the Flyers are sixth in the NHL but one of the worst teams in the league – it is still a valuable tool. When the playoffs roll around, those faceoffs become more important and knowing you can win one at key times is crucial.
They Can’t All Be Pretty
After a slow first period, the Avalanche got a pair of goals from Makar within seven minutes of each other to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Mittelstadt’s goal midway through the third would prove the difference but the Flyers made it interesting late after Owen Tippett and Tyson Foerster scored less than two minutes apart.
While it would be nice for every game to be a blowout, the Avalanche are doing what good teams do: winning ugly. They had to hold off a late surge by the Flyers but still walked away with two points. The key now is to find a way to gain vengeance on the Capitals when the Avalanche roll into the nation’s capital on Thursday.
