This is a critical stretch for the Colorado Avalanche. Chasing the Dallas Stars for home ice in the first round of the playoffs, they have quietly been one of the hottest teams in the NHL, with wins over wild card contenders like the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens.
Squaring off against the Detroit Red Wings, the Avalanche looked to make it three in a row and did just that. Let’s get to the takeaways from the Avalanche’s 5-2 win over the Red Wings, its 10th consecutive win on home ice and 11th in 13 games.
MacKinnon Making Hart Push
Nathan MacKinnon is coming off the best statistical season of his career, one which ended with his first Hart Trophy win as league MVP. Somehow, he may wind up having a better season even if the numbers won’t be quite as gaudy as they were a season ago.
MacKinnon tallied a goal and added an assist, pushing his league-leading point total to 107 through 72 games. Nikita Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl are his closest competition, both with 101 points and games in hand on the Avalanche.
Winning the scoring title and leading the Avalanche to the second spot in the Central Division would be quite the achievement for MacKinnon. The Avalanche faced a mountain of challenges to begin the season, and his torrid pace kept them going. If he can pull off the feat, he would be the first back-to-back Hart Trophy winner since Alex Ovechkin won the award in 2008 and 2009.
Dominant Special Teams Effort
The Avalanche have the capacity to ice one of the best power plays in the NHL, and that was before they added Brock Nelson at the trade deadline. With Detroit in the game at 2-1, the power play wound up being a difference-maker for the Avalanche on the night.
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Devon Toews scored early in the second and MacKinnon in the third to put the game out of reach. In the playoffs, when gaining a man advantage can be huge, capitalizing on those chances is of the utmost importance. The Avalanche are clicking well on the power play right now, sitting 9th in the league at 25.1%.
Space is about to be at a premium, especially in a first-round matchup with the Stars. The Avalanche will need to make the most of their chances, especially when they are on the man advantage. It could wind up being the difference between moving on and going home.
Great in All Areas
The thing that jumps out immediately when watching this Avalanche team is their ability to play all over the ice. They have the speed and skill to make the game wide-open, but now have the horses to win games by getting dirty in the corners and the front of the net.
The Avalanche did a lot of damage in front of the net, causing chaos in the crease on the first two goals. Valeri Nichushkin was in on both of those goals, and will no doubt be a critical piece of the playoff effort. The Avs then switched gears and showed their skill and finesse with a pair of power play goals.
It’s funny in an ironic way that the Avalanche look so different from the start of the season. With so many important names missing from the lineup, depth was challenged to the extreme. Now, they are arguably the deepest team in the NHL and running on all cylinders.
Home Ice Is Important, but Not Everything
The focus remains on the second seed in the Central Division. The Winnipeg Jets’ hot start has been the difference, and it’s clear they are going to win the division. That said, getting home ice would be nice, but it isn’t the most important thing right now.
Instead, the Avalanche should look to simply stay hot. Even if the Stars hold them off, it will be a monumental challenge to have to square off with a team like this. The Stars may have the edge, but it feels like the epitome of a 50-50 battle coming up in the first round.
