Sam Lafferty opened up the scoring in the first period at the 3:34 mark with an accurate wrist shot, low to the glove side of Avalanche goalie, Pavel Francouz. The Avs tied it with just over eight minutes to play in the period when Evan Rodrigues put away a rebound from the front of the net. The two teams traded goals in the second period. Andreas Athanasiou tallied for Chicago early in the frame, and the reigning Norris Trophy winner, Cale Makar leveled the score just past the halfway point of the period.

Taylor Raddysh provided the game-winning goal early in the third off a nifty set-up from Tyler Johnson. From that point on Petr Mrazek shut the door, cementing 31 saves on the evening.

The Hawks are hosting the red-hot Seattle Kraken on Saturday night. The Kraken are winners of their last seven contests. The puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 P.M. (CST).

The post Blackhawks Post-game One-timers — Jan. 12 vs. Colorado Avalance appeared first on The Rink.

The Avalanche did not take long to start the scoring even though the Kraken had their opportunities. Forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel beat former Avalanche goalie Philipp Grubauer (with the help of Carson Soucy running into his own netminder) at the 5:50 mark to give the Ball Arena crowd something to cheer about.

Following the Aube-Kubel goal, Grubauer put his net on lockdown for the rest of the first and most of the second period. A fortunate power play allowed wing Marcus Johansson to tie the game at 9:16, which held into the first intermission. The tight shot totals were 10–9 in favor of Seattle.

GRUUUUUUUUUUU pic.twitter.com/9GqItL8SP9

— ROOT SPORTS | NW (@ROOTSPORTS_NW) January 11, 2022

In the middle period, the Kraken came out shooting and brought a little luck with them. Jared McCann gave Seattle the lead on a bad-angle goal five minutes in, and Colin Blackwell gave them a two-goal lead 10 minutes later at the 14:20 mark.

Colorado cut the lead in half before the second intermission on Aube-Kubel’s second goal of the game with three minutes left in the second. Grubauer made 11 saves in the second period (some of them spectacular) to hold onto the elusive one-goal lead for the Kraken. He would be called upon in the third period even more, but his luck was not as good.

The Kraken’s bend-but-don’t-break defense finally gave way in the third period. Colorado peppered Grubauer with 14 shots, and goals by defenseman Devon Toews and Nazem Kadri snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat for the Avalanche. Toews’ goal was reviewed for a possible kicking motion, but eventually deemed good, which seemed to take the wind out of the Kraken sails.

Seattle could take a moral victory from this one, though, as they were heavy dogs coming in. They held the lead until late in the third and their goaltender played an excellent game. The final shot tallies were 35–24 in favor of Colorado.

Anchor points

I have been pretty hard on Grubauer (and for good reason), but I was really impressed with his play. He clearly came out with a little extra motivation to beat his former club and made some great saves. His team just left him fighting alone in the third period.

Another good sign for the Kraken was their power play breaking through in the first period with the Johansson goal and their penalty kill holding Colorado scoreless on three attempts.

The only Kraken line to have any success for the entire game was the Johansson-McCann-Jordan Eberle line, which was in the 60% range for Corsi and Fenwick. The Joonas Donskoi-Riley Sheahan-Alex Wennberg line was held to only three shots for and 10 against.

Soucy had a rough night, as he was directly responsible for two Avalanche goals. He ran into Grubauer on the first Aube-Kubel goal and inadvertently deflected the game tying Aube-Kubel goal into the net. He was on the ice for the Toews goal, as well.

Seattle was dominated in most possession metrics, but they focused on high-danger chances, which kept the game within their reach. Head Coach Dave Hakstol should take note and continue this approach. It never hurts to get the puck to the net and get some rebounds or redirections.

5-on-5 Corsi (total shot attempts) 58%–42%
5-on-5 Fenwick (Unblocked shot attempts) 58%–42%
5-on-5 High-danger chances for 56%–44%
5-on-5 Expected goals for 63%–37%
Face-off percentage 52%–48%

The Kraken have Tuesday off for travel but head to Texas to face the Dallas Stars on Wednesday night. The puck drop is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PST.

The post RECAP: Kraken run out of steam in the third period against Avalanche appeared first on The Rink.

Between The Pipes — March 8: Raj and Springer had lots to say about Philipp Grubauer’s performance and the Avalanche’s goaltending situation overall. It is worth a listen.

One thing noted is inconsistency is a big problem with the Avalanche, and I am in complete agreement. What are your thoughts? Listen to C.C. Hawkley and Scott MacDonald talk about the Avs’ problems in the Front Range Hockey podcast. They also discuss the netminder problems the team has, too.

Bednar on O'Connor: "He's taking time and space away. […] He's forcing the opposing power play and skill players to make quicker decisions because he's skating, he's moving his legs, and he's a quick, quick player, an explosive player." #GoAvsGo

— AvsBurgundyReview (@AvsBRblog) March 11, 2021

JJ and Aarif have a unique look back on the 365 days since Avalanche fans were allowed at Pepsi Center in this week’s Hockey Mountain High podcast. It is interesting hearing Aarif talk about all the changes that have taken place since then.

Other hockey news

All quiet on the NHL's waiver wire today.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 6, 2021

Lots of talk in the hockey world this week about fines and suspensions for players who are caught doing something they should not do on the ice.

The Tough Call website’s byline is “Hitting back at hockey hitting culture.” It lists hits on players and the website owner’s view of what he would have called had he been the referee on the ice at the time. See if you agree with some of his views.

A lot of the discussion in the space of suspensions centred around the Tom Wilson hit on Brandon Carlo of the Bruins. Andy Campbell had a really good take, from my perspective, when he talked about when a pattern of these serious hits needs to be factored into the mix in a recent article.

Brett Pesce gets a $5,000 fine for an intentional slew foot that could’ve seriously injured the player and Tom Wilson gets 7 games for boarding which wasn’t even called a penalty by 4 referees on the ice. I don’t get it

— Carlo Colaiacovo (@CarloColaiacovo) March 7, 2021

Fun, fun and more fun

And there was also some fun.

The Calgary Flames (CGY) have been placed on waivers.

— Dyl (@dhockey13) March 8, 2021

the nhl needs to change their format it would be so funny if the bottom 3 teams got relegated to the ahl

— csenge (@spinoramas) March 10, 2021

And whilst there might not be a lot of Avalanche fans who are also fans of Patrick Kane, he reached a milestone this week by having played 1,000 games. The Chicago Blackhawks had some fun. Go watch this YouTube video where Kane counts to 1,000 to help you fall asleep. That is one way to celebrate.

Hockey trivia

Elizabeth Graham was the first recorded goaltender to wear a mask in a hockey game. In a game in 1927, for Queen’s University, she wore a fencing mask #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/jmvTOUlanU

— Mike Commito (@mikecommito) March 8, 2021

Draft lottery changes

The NHL is proposing changes to the draft lottery that would see:

* teams limited to no more than two lottery wins in a five-year period
* teams only allowed to jump 10 spots with a lottery win
* a reduction in the number of picks decided by lottery from three to two

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 8, 2021

The mental toll of COVID-19

The toll on players mentally at the moment is bigger than you may think. This week in an article on ESPN, a number of players from different teams spoke about how they are struggling with the isolation of COVID-19 restrictions in the midst of what can already sometimes be a mentally grueling game.

You may get to watch more hockey

Next season, for anyone that has an NHL TV subscription, you will not need that anymore. Or perhaps it will not be an option for watching the games anymore given the new agreement that will be in play with ESPN. ESPN has won the NHL TV rights in the United States for the next seven years.

ESPN & NHL details
* ABC/ESPN will have four of the next 7 Stanley Cup Finals
* ABC/ESPN will have one conference final each year
* 25 regular season games on ABC or ESPN
* ESPN+ will stream more than 1,100 games
* ESPN+/Hulu will exclusively stream 75 national games

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 10, 2021

The price of the Disney Bundle is going up.
* With Disney+/ESPN+ and Hulu (ad supported), it will be 13.99/per month
* The same no ad bundle will be $19.99/per month

— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 10, 2021

The post ICYMI: Week of March 12 — Avalanche news and more appeared first on The Rink.

The game was a downhill slide then trip then face-plant into the dirt for the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avs had a decent start, nothing spectacular, in the first period. The San Jose Sharks had some good energy. It was very fast-paced, even with the four penalties in that period.

Samuel Girard scored the first goal of the game just after a power play expired, so it counted as an even-strength tally, and the Avalanche went into the second period up 1–0.

Early in the second, Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog scored on the actual power play, which was quite impressive even with the Sharks’ dismal defense and goaltending. Any time the top line of Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen were out on the ice, the Sharks managed to hem them into their own zone. When the top line was out, it was very hard for them to get offense. 

Then in the third, the Sharks came out swinging and the Avalanche looked listless. The momentum shifted to the Sharks and stayed there after their go-ahead goal was an unfortunate bounce off Nazem Kadri’s stick. Then, the Sharks scored three more times unanswered, leading to their 6–2 victory over the Avalanche.

Offense was going to be a key facet going into this game. The Avs were out three defensemen in Erik Johnson, who is out long term with an upper-body injury, Cale Makar, who is out day-to-day and Bowen Byram, who was revealed injured just a couple hours before the game started. 

This left Colorado with a d-core of Girard, Ryan Graves, Jacob MacDonald, Dan Renouf, Conor Timmins and Devon Toews. MacDonald, Renouf and Timmins largely play in the AHL and had a cumulative 28 NHL games between them.

Plus, the Sharks’ defense was pretty abysmal, at least in comparison. Martin Jones had a goals against average of 3.70, and in San Jose’s previous game against the Blues, they let in seven goals. But, they also scored six in that same game, so their offense was not to be discounted. 

This game, there were bursts of offensive energy from the Avalanche, but it largely seemed like they were not ready to play. All the players the fans wanted to step up unfortunately did not. Girard, while he scored, had a bad turnover that almost cost a goal, MacKinnon and Rantanen were largely quiet and the depth of Andre Burakovsky and J.T. Compher just puck-watched on the game-tying goal. It was frustrating to watch. 

Afterwards, the players interviewed said that they had a poor effort. Toews pointed out that they did not play well in front of Philipp Grubauer, who was not pulled. Landeskog agreed in a separate interview and said the team left Grubauer out to dry.

So, what was Colorado’s response?

Game two: March 3

The Avalanche knew they needed to come back big in this game. The offense was not really there in the Monday night game, and the defense was left to flounder. 

And while this game was an excellent victory for the Avs, it is a bit bittersweet due to the ensuing injury.

The first period was scoreless, which was surprising considering the Sharks’ penchant for scoring six goals recently and the Avs’ desire to make an impactful response. The energy was a bit all over the place, opportunities generating in sudden bursts for both the Avalanche and the Sharks, but the goalies stood strong. 

Scoring opened up in the second when Rantanen scored on a beautiful one-timer that would end up being the game-winning goal (spoilers) in the last six minutes of the period. 

Anyone else singing the “Mikko Rantanen” song during intermission? …no? Just me?

— The Rink — Colorado Avalanche (@TheRinkColorado) March 4, 2021

The Avs got some good opportunities at the start of the third, and Girard capitalized to make it 2–0 with a beautiful slap shot. 

Then the bittersweet injury happened.

Sharks rookie Joachim Blichfeld put a high hit on MacKinnon, sending the Avalanche star to the ice where he did not get up until he was helped to the locker room. A scrum ensued in front of the Sharks’ bench, led by young fourth-liners Tyson Jost and Logan O’Connor. 

https://twitter.com/Emily_Wade/status/1367349022348906499

Referees assessed the hit to be a shot to the head and received a match misconduct and got ejected from the game. The Avalanche went on a five-minute major power play, and Landeskog scored less than 15 seconds into it. The score became 3–0, and MacKinnon did not return for the rest of the game. 

“Not going to comment on that hit. … We’ll let the trainers take care of that,” Landeskog said after the game. “Happy to cash in on the power play.”

Colorado continued to get chances, but it turned into a 4-on-4 for almost a minute when Brandon Saad slid into the Sharks’ goalie. The Avs only scored once on their major, but managed to kill off the Sharks’ power play. 

Rantanen scored his second of the night on a wraparound, the fourth and final goal of the game. Shortly after, Joonas Donskoi took a penalty and the Avalanche killed it off as well. The Sharks seemed to lose their steam, a reversal of the game on Monday.

Sneaky lil’ move there, Rants #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/BaFGyQzmAi

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 4, 2021

The Avalanche won the game 4–0, getting two out of four points in San Jose. They outshot the Sharks 38–26 in that game, showing both a stronger offensive and defensive effort. 

While this game was a shutout victory, it was marred by the MacKinnon injury. There is no official update on MacKinnon yet, but there is still some good news to gleam from this game. Grubauer got his third shutout of the season after letting in six goals the previous game. 

Takeaways

The Avs are showing that even if they have a rough game, they know how to respond. The team improved to 12–7–1 on the season, tying the Minnesota Wild. The power play, at least for Landeskog, is figuring it out, and the penalty kill is staying strong. 

Byram and Makar are still out, not to mention the longer term players Johnson and Pavel Francouz.  It is not revealed yet if they are going to be available for the upcoming games against the Anaheim Ducks. It is also up to the Department of Player Safety to see if Blichfield gets any supplemental discipline.

The Colorado Avalanche are not going to win every game, but answering games after losses is important. The Avs have shown that they can respond with a solid effort and win. I am looking forward to what happens next in Ball Arena!

The post RECAP: Avalanche split pair of games with Sharks appeared first on The Rink.

We will see two more between these teams, first the outdoor game at Lake Tahoe on Saturday, followed by the final meeting of four next Monday in Colorado.

This is the first time that these two have met this season. Ask the vast majority of people and they will tell you the Avs and Golden Knights are the two best teams in the west. Those who do not will tell you that combined with St. Louis, they make the top three, however you want to order them.

On the face of it, neither team has done anything to show dominance so far. They have split the two games—the Avalanche were shut out in the first of those—no one has laid down a marker.

That is not what I believe.

The way in which these games have unfolded, with COVID-19 and injury issues in Colorado, combined with the fact they were so rusty in the first game after their enforced COVID-19 break means the Avalanche have won big, and here is why.

Avalanche match Vegas in five out of six periods without star names

If you take every single period individually from those two games, the final period of the second game is the only time where the Avs really struggled to get a grip. Strangely enough, they scored late in that period to win a game, but that is all about clutch players surfacing at key moments.

As for the other five periods, those were even—neither team established a definitive clear gap between them and their opponents, with every period swinging at some point. The key here is that we saw Colorado do this without Sam Girard, Erik Johnson and Cale Makar on the blue line.

That is their future Norris-winning stud, most experienced blue liner and a rock-solid top-four guy who is only not receiving as much praise as he should because the team is too loaded.

We don't talk about him enough because the Avs have so many fun players but Sam Girard is one of my favourites to watch. Just love seeing him fly around, put people in the spin cycle, and create for others pic.twitter.com/gwJvzE0lKt

— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) January 29, 2021

Top-line winger and key power play component Gabe Landeskog missed the two games, as did Tyson Jost, arguably the best bottom-six forward so far this season. Throw in Matt Calvert, missing for a few weeks now, and even Kiefer Sherwood, a surprise positive, and you see how short this team has been.

Return to a full-strength roster

Given the season so far, do not be surprised to see this team ever field a full roster, but let’s work on the assumption they can at some point.

Move one, likely to happen before the outdoor game is Makar in and Dennis Gilbert out.

This instantly makes the Avalanche better at both ends of the ice. Then add Landeskog to kickstart the power play once more, go back on the top line and slot Jost back onto the fourth line. Again, this makes the team instantly better at both ends of the ice.

We will also see more balance. Logan O’Connor can slot back into his “crash, bang, wallop” fourth-line role, with Jost and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, meaning the Avs can push forward with that line rather than simply aiming to survive.

Further in time, we will see the likes of Calvert and Johnson returning, adding veteran presence and calm, while crucially upgrading the quality of the roster, too.

If you are a member of the Vegas Golden Knights’ franchise and see how those two games have just been played out and then look at the above improvements the Avs can make, you would be lying if you said it did not worry you.

The play of Philipp Grubauer

Coming into the new season, Philipp Grubauer splits fans into three camps.

• Those who thought he was not the man to lead this team
• Those who thought he was good enough but had health problems
• Those who thought he was good enough and the Avs just needed to sit tight

We certainly have more people in the final camp now after what has been a huge start to the season by the German netminder. He has played really well in every single game, but in Vegas, he took that to a whole new level.

Philipp Grubauer had another strong game tonight, stopping 27 of Vegas' 29 shots. His .936 save percentage is third in the NHL among goalies who have played 5+ games.

"He’s the backbone, and he’s essentially driving the bus for us," Nazem Kadri said.

— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) February 17, 2021

Marc-Andre Fleury was exceptional at the other end of the ice, and Grubauer needed to be at the very top of his game to keep the Avs in it. Both netminders knew that just one mistake in those two games could have been the difference between victory and defeat, and the Colorado Avalanche were not let down at all by their man in the cage.

With question marks over Grubauer, many made this team Stanley Cup favorites. If he can somehow play like this for a full season—and stay healthy—those predictions become a lot firmer.

The coming of age of Bowen Byram

Not every fan was onboard the Byram hype train at the start of the season, and would not have minded him developing for another year elsewhere. Those who were not sure probably comforted themselves knowing that the Avs intended to shelter Byram as much as they could on the bottom pairing, allowing him to grow into games.

Injuries and COVID-19 threw that out of the window in Vegas, and Byram thrived on it. Yes, he will continue to make the odd rookie mistake. We all have to expect that and live with the consequences.

He played 23:07 in game one, smashing his previous high by almost two minutes. That itself is impressive enough, but game two demanded more from the 19-year-old. He played 25:05 on Tuesday, again, an almost two-minute jump from his previous best, and for the first time this season, taking over 30 shifts in a game.

Byram is no longer being sheltered by the Avalanche, and quite frankly, he does not need to be.

Note the veteran play to get the puck toward players crashing the net for the game winner below.

That game winner by Kadri was exactly what the doctor ordered.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/Acu4BCMS6v

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 17, 2021

Time to be positive

If you look at everything in reverse and see the Avalanche splitting games with an under-strength Vegas team, who have multiple key pieces coming back in, you would be a little worried.

But, we are on the right side of this, so it is time to be positive. At full strength, the likelihood is that the Avs win both of those games in Vegas, rather than splitting them. Going back to the top paragraph, this is a team who many believe to be one of the best two teams in the west, if not, in the top three.

With good health, the Colorado Avalanche are superior, and after splitting two games on the road in Vegas with so many pieces missing, they have started to prove that.

The post RECAP: Why splitting the games in Vegas is great for the Avs appeared first on The Rink.

After taking both games, the Avs not only moved to 5–3 on the season, but they scored 10 goals,  with numerous depth players playing their best hockey thus far. Secondary scoring has finally arrived in Denver.

Avs fire without the top line

Of those 10 goals, Mikko Rantanen scored one, while both Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog were kept off the scoresheet. Two goals came from defensemen, with the remaining seven all being scored by depth forwards—the players fans were hoping would step up soon.

Brandon Saad put just one point on the board in his first six games with the Avs, a disappointing start for someone expected to add a little more offense to the team. But he scored two goals against San Jose, and also had two assists, giving him a far more respectable five points over eight games.

Nazem Kadri is another player who has received a little bit of criticism for his start, with just two points from the opening six games. An assist in the first game against the Sharks helped Kadri to his best game of the season so far, but that was eclipsed in the second, with a three-point night (two goals, one assist). Kadri now has six points through eight outings.

Nazem Kadri (2-1—3) factored on all three unanswered goals and Philipp Grubauer made 21 saves on 21 shots as the @Avalanche outscored the Sharks by a 10-3 margin across their two straight meetings. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/QU6QshtBNQ

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 29, 2021

Despite missing time already this season, Andre Burakovsky now has six points in five games, with three goals and three assists. He bagged two assists in the first game, while adding a goal in the second, to continue his bright start to the season. Burakovsky has been one of a small number of shining lights away from the top line.

Other important notes included first points of the season for Valeri Nichushkin, bagging a goal and an assist in the 7–3 win on Tuesday. Tyson Jost and Kiefer Sherwood also notched assists—their first points of the season—in the first game.

Injuries necessitate more secondary scoring

The Avs are going to be without Matt Calvert and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare for quite some time it seems, and that is going to put more pressure on the second and third lines to deliver.

Kiefer Sherwood has stepped into a role on the fourth line in place of Calvert and performed well so far, certainly not making any mistakes. Someone will have to fill in for Bellemare and the favorite to do that is Logan O’Connor, who will add grit and penalty killing ability, but may not add much in terms of scoring.

It would be no surprise to see the fourth line move into a full shutdown role, especially on the road in Minnesota this weekend, so scoring will have to come from the top three lines if the Avs are to continue their winning run.

Comment below.

The post RECAP: Avalanche of secondary scoring in Colorado sweep of Sharks appeared first on The Rink.

Even without Cole, the Avalanche have seven very solid defensive players in their lineup, and it is expected that a combination of six from those seven will play from here until the end of the season, barring any major injuries of course.

But how exactly will they look? Right now, that is certainly up in the air, and perhaps the most intriguing element of this Avs roster.

The best lineup?

What we saw from Colorado on Tuesday night against San Jose appears to be their best lineup on paper. This leaves Conor Timmins as the healthy scratch, with a lineup of Byram, Samuel Girard, Ryan Graves, Erik Johnson, Cale Makar and Devon Toews on the ice.

Byram was paired with Girard for much of the game, which was fine given their superiority over the Sharks and the comfortable nature of the game. But if that was on the road against a top team, would the Avalanche be happy trusting Byram at the side of Girard?

This is where we are likely to see changes to the defensive pairings, certainly for specific games but also depending on the situation the Avs are in and what they need at that moment.

Cale Makar (@Cmakar8) is just in sync with everyone… pic.twitter.com/aRq8Ax0ykU

— NHL (@NHL) January 27, 2021

Situational defensive pairings for the full season?

We have seen Colorado use situational pairings with success in the past, so they are certainly not afraid to do this. On countless occasions last season, we saw Girard play with Makar when they have an offensive zone faceoff and wanted to apply some pressure.

With so much talent on the back end this season, do not be surprised if we see more of this, both to apply attacking pressure and also shore up defensively when it is needed.

If the Avalanche need a goal, they could add Byram to the side of Makar to give the youngster a chance to show his skills in the offensive zone, something we have seen a little of already this season. If the Avs need to shore up defensively, we may see Byram move down to play alongside Johnson, who can keep risks and mistakes to a minimum alongside the rookie.

Girard is also likely to get involved here, as he has started the season in excellent form and has worked with Makar in the past. That would leave Toews and Byram without a partner, so we could also see those two put together in specific circumstances.

The positives for Bowen Byram

The long-term expectations for Byram are that he develops into a highly skilled top-four defenseman, but there was no expectation for him to do that this season. It is fair to say he could well be on his way to doing that already just four games into his NHL career.

The biggest positive for Byram is that there is no pressure on him because there is so much talent on this defensive unit. There is no reason for him to shine, and if he does not, then others certainly will.

However, Colorado will give Byram the chance to shine, and put him in favorable situations, which is a real luxury and one that is only going to help the rookie rearguard. Favored positions when the team has an offensive zone faceoff and being a little sheltered in tough games should only equal more points and more chance to impress for Byram.

Byram could very well find himself alongside every other Avalanche defenseman at some point this season, but fear not, if he does, it will only be for the good of the team and for Byram himself.

Bowen Byram's first NHL point was a beauty!#BoAvsBo pic.twitter.com/xGYvSudsTh

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 23, 2021

The role of Devon Toews

If there is one member of the Avs’ defensive unit that has an intriguing outlook, then it is certainly Toews. The 26-year-old has been a huge addition to the blue line and has impressed throughout the beginning of the season.

Toews is a player who can play in all situations, has a spot on the power play, spends time killing penalties and is the current regular partner to Makar on the No. 1 defensive unit. However, if the Avalanche want to put either Girard or Byram at the side of Makar in certain situations, then it will be Toews that suffers because of that.

Although starting on the power play, do not be surprised to see Toews come off that at some point, allowing him to focus on penalty killing, with few options for that on the Colorado blue line. The team would likely prefer to keep Girard and Makar for the power play, possibly with Byram, while Toews would join Graves and Johnson to form a unit of three penalty killers.

Toews has done absolutely nothing wrong since joining the team, and has been one of the bright spots of the season so far. Even with that, he may have to settle for being displaced from time to time by the more offensive players who currently sit behind him on the depth chart.

What to look out for this season

Colorado has six very good defensemen, seven including Timmins, and as a unit, this is the envy of many in the league. However, the actual pairings for this defense look a little vague, and we may see these pairings change depending on the situation in a game, or the opponents the Avalanche are playing.

This has been used with success in the past, and the hope is that it can be used in the same manner again. Look for Byram to be one of the real winners if this happens—his emergence has given the Avs another weapon—and do not be surprised to see them use him in the best possible way.

The post With so much talent, will the Avs abandon defensive pairings this season? appeared first on The Rink.

C + A + A = Top Line #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/D0q0yzXSiK

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 16, 2021

They have played together for years and they have an undeniable chemistry. They are also an offensive powerhouse together and apart, with a collective 1,212 points across the three of them. 

Instead of going with that top line, Head Coach Jared Bednar chose the combination he had been testing throughout training camp with Andre Burakovsky taking Landeskog’s spot and Landeskog added to the second line with Nazem Kadri and newcomer Brandon Saad. 

Burakovsky had a decent showing in an otherwise dismal game. He scored the only Avalanche goal of the contest on the second unit’s power play, but was a -1. 

Burky with first goal of the season! *tips cap*

Now let's see a few more!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/ewH4HZTUYL

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) January 14, 2021

In the first game against the Blues, the line of Landeskog-Kadri-Saad was a collective -10, and did not tally a single point. 

Saad is currently a -4 and has not yet registered a point. This is not a reason to panic just two games into the season. Saad missed the first part of training camp, and is adjusting to a new team. If 10 games pass and he is still pointless? Maybe cause for concern, but, he might just need time to acclimated. It is still early. 

Landeskog’s performance in the first game against the Blues was the interesting showing. The Avalanche captain was -3, took a tripping penalty against Tyler Bozak and looked a bit sloppy. Like Saad, he was also out of training camp early on, but Landeskog has been with the Avalanche organization for his 10th year. 

After that game, Bednar was quick to say during practice on Thursday that he would be reuniting the famous top line to the collective “THANK YOU” of Avalanche fans. 

A couple changes on the top two lines for the #Avs, per coach Jared Bednar:

Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Saad-Kadri-Burakovsky

Bednar said he wanted to move Saad to the left so he's using his forehand more, and Landeskog moved back to the MacKinnon line.

— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) January 14, 2021

In the second game, Landeskog scored two goals, one being his 200th, and Kadri scored a goal. But they were not on a line together. The top line of Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen was reunited, and each of them scored at least a goal in that blowout 8–0 victory. 

It absolutely made sense to break up the Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen line ahead of the season—it allows depth scoring down the front and gives that second line a bit more toughness. 

Plus, back in November of 2019, there was a month-long stretch where both Landeskog and Rantanen were out with injuries. In a shortened season in such a hectic time, there is a need for flexibility when you have to factor injuries and COVID-19 protocol. If those three can only score together, that is going to be a problem.

With new players, it takes time to get adjusted to a new system. So as those players get adjusted and the chemistry grows, then it might be time to switch things up. More line changes and different combinations are likely to be tested as the season continues, as different lines might work against different teams. 

“I’m certainly going to stick with (Landeskog, MacKinnon and Rantanen on the top line) here for a few games,” Bednar said after practice on Sunday. “Sometimes, I think we’re better with them apart and sometimes we’re better with them together.”

The post Colorado Avalanche top line reunited after dismal start appeared first on The Rink.

This dynamic is what resulted over the weekend in response to the news that Corey Crawford would not be returning to the Blackhawks this season, followed by the trade of Brandon Saad to the Avalanche for, largely, Nikita Zadorov.

Here’s the first thing everyone seems to be missing: the Blackhawks have really shown no actual evidence that they’re even starting to “rebuild.”

They traded Olli Maatta last week for an ECHL player who will, in all likelihood, never get a whiff of the NHL. But they saved a couple of million dollars in salary.

They let Crawford go seek his best deal elsewhere, installing Malcolm Subban (for now anyway) as the team’s number one. And they saved probably $3 million in salary hit.

They dealt Saad to the Avs. And saved about $1.8 million in salary.

Did they get what a rebuilding team would want in return in any of these deals (draft picks or quality prospects)? No.

They’re just cutting costs and getting whatever they can back, and then trying to “backfill” each position with less salary. They know it. Their trade partners know it. Fans and the media should therefore also know it.

Don’t confuse this with a rebuild.

Why not? Well, first, the NHL salary cap is not growing and every team in the league is in a seriously reduced or negative revenue situation. So, virtually no team can absorb a $3-$6 million contract in trade without asking the other team to retain salary and/or take another salary back.

Second, the Hawks behaved like, well, the Hawks. While trading Saad, letting Crawford leave and even to an extent trading Maatta were not overly popular moves, no one was really surprised. The Hawks could do these things and still say with a straight face, “we’re trying to remain competitive. We intend to compete for playoff spot.”

Which they will say. Because, for the last 3 years at minimum, the Blackhawks have behaved like they think their fanbase is stupid and will buy anything. And a large chunk of the fanbase, in turn, has largely done nothing to disprove it.

If Bowman had dealt Duncan Keith or (“heaven forbid”) Patrick Kane, then there’s literally no meatball in any corner of Hawk fandom who would be confused—it would be an actual rebuild, where the team has committed to tearing down, and really rebuilding.

The Hawks haven’t done that. They’ve just nipped around the edges (yet again) with these moves. Purely to reduce salary commitment in the only way possible in a flat cap league.

Again, look at the moves in full context:

Let Crawford go—but re-sign Subban for a lot less money.

Trade Maatta—but then pick up Zadorov and sign him for (slightly) less than Maatta was making.

Trade Saad—then sign Matthias Janmark (for a lot less salary.

It’s doesn’t take a genius to see what’s going on. When it comes to “rebuilding” the Hawks are still half-pregnant—even if veteran players like Jonathan Toews feel “betrayed” by these moves and Bowman was talking about having to have “hard conversations” with those vets.

They’re just trying to continue the “half-rebuild” a lot cheaper due to reduced revenue.

Nothing’s changed as far as any kind of actual plan. Just that ayroll will be lower and the 20-21 team will be worse—maybe a lot worse.

I’m not making excuses for Bowman. I have been riding the Bowman Must Go train for a while now. But these moves feel a lot more driven by the Wirtz family, and their notorious affinity for the bottom line, than anything else.

For all the emotional attachments we have to our teams, traditions and colors, hockey is first and foremost a business. A big money business.

And for all the indignation about a rebuild where the team isn’t getting returns in trade that would support a real rebuild, the sad truth is what the team is actually doing is even more painful than a rebuild.

The mediocrity will not only continue, it will get worse—with less quality goaltending, less size/skill combination up front, and far too much reliance on young, undeveloped players.

Don’t let the drama on Twitter or Bowman’s statements fool you. Not much has changed. And this isn’t about rebuilding (so far anyway). It’s strictly about reducing.

The post Analysis: don’t confuse a cost reduction with a “rebuild” appeared first on The Rink.

Saad was drafted by the Blackhawks in the second round (43rd overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 30, 2015, with defenseman Michael Paliotta and center Alex Broadhurst for forwards Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano, Jeremy Morin, Corey Tropp and a fourth round pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Saad was re-acquired two seasons later from Columbus in the infamous Artemi Panarin trade on June 23, 2017. Saad has a year remaining on his current contract.

Gilbert is a 2013 third-round draft pick (91st overall) of the Blackhawks and played 21 games with the team this past season.

TRADE ALERT: The #Blackhawks have acquired defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Anton Lindholm from Colorado in exchange for Brandon Saad and defenseman Dennis Gilbert. pic.twitter.com/rUf1xLoPbc

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) October 10, 2020

Coming to the Blackhawks are 25-year-old defenseman Nikita Zadorov and 25-year-old AHL defenseman Anton Lindholm. Zadorov played in 64 games for the Avalanche last season, scoring 13 points (four goals, nine assists) and accruing 65 penalty minutes. Zadorov signed his one-year qualifying offer of $3.2 million just prior to the trade being announced.

Lindholm has played 66 career games with the Avalanche, but has been mostly an AHL-level player. Last season, he played 45 games with the Colorado Eagles and had a paltry three points (one goal, two assists). He carries one more year on his contract with $742,500 owed in salary.

The post BREAKING: Blackhawks trade Saad, Gilbert to Colorado for Zadorov, Lindholm appeared first on The Rink.

Colorado did come out strong initially, scoring two early goals and dominating early gameplay, but they suffered multiple penalties in the second period which the Stars capitalized on, resulting in four unanswered goals before the end of the second. And, despite a valiant effort by backup goaltender Pavel Francouz, the Avalanche now look to play from behind in their race for the Stanley Cup.

Starting goaltender Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Erik Johnson did not play and, per Bednar, are out indefinitely. In place of Johnson, the Avalanche pulled Eagles defenseman Kevin Connauton into their lineup, who worked hard but could not quite fill the role of Samuel Girard’s defensive partner. Forward Matt Calvert was a scratch for both Game One and Two against the Stars and continues to be day-to-day.

First period

Colorado began the game by putting pucks on net at every single chance they were given, and the scoreboard reflected their intensity. Dallas committed their first of nine penalties at just 5:54 into the period, and the Avs’ top line did not disappoint. Less than 30 seconds into the power play, MacKinnon slapped a beautiful saucer pass from Rantanen into the back of the net. The goal tied MacKinnon with Joe Sakic and Marian Stastny for the longest playoff point streak in franchise history.

Nathan MacKinnon wires home Mikko Rantanen's perfect saucer pass pic.twitter.com/w65AgPQ76Q

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) August 25, 2020

The Avalanche continued to put pucks on net in the period, with good shot attempts by Ian Cole and exceptional saves by Francouz. A double penalty for roughing on Gabriel Landeskog and Mattias Janmark generated no goals, but the Avs ultimately outshot the Stars 20–6 in the period. They put bodies in front of Stars goalie Anton Khudobin, dominated the crease and killed all three of Dallas’ first-period penalties.

Second period

The quick and aggressive Colorado team from the first period carried over into the first half of the second. After a slashing call on Joe Pavelski against MacKinnon, MacKinnon slipped a pass to Rantanen from behind the net, who shot it high above Khudobin’s right shoulder, and the Avs scored their second power-play goal of the game for a 2–0 lead.

Mikko and Nate on the power play.

It's like we've heard it before!#GoAvsGo https://t.co/RfwNp4Z0a5

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 25, 2020

After the goal, however, the Avalanche’s luck seemed to roll only downhill. The Stars attempted to dislodge a puck that Francouz had already covered, and a fight broke out that resulted only in a slashing penalty on Girard against Corey Perry. Then, at 9:43 into the second period, Cole committed an interference penalty against the Stars, and Pavelski and Radek Faksa scored two goals on the ensuing power play to level the score at 2–2.

The penalties from both teams did not stop there, but Colorado could not capitalize on any of their power plays and the game began to look chippy. At 15:34 into the second period, Dallas deflected a shot into the net over Francouz, putting the Stars up 3–2. With less than three minutes left in the second, Nazem Kadri—who has excelled in the playoffs for the Avalanche this season—left the ice after blocking a shot. He returned to the bench at the start of the third period, ruling out a serious injury. The Stars scored again shortly after, and although the goal was challenged by the Avalanche’s coaching staff, the referee review resulted in a good Dallas goal. The Stars ended the period with a 4–2 lead and having closed the shots-on-goal gap significantly.

https://twitter.com/hayyyshayyy/status/1298100905678692355?s=20

Third period

Despite hopes that the Avalanche would come out swinging in the third period, and despite two Dallas penalties that led to good Avalanche power play opportunities, Colorado continued to choose the extra pass over available shot attempts. The team looked visibly frustrated at times, and despite bursts of physicality and defensive hustle, they could not close Dallas’s goal lead and finished the game down 5–2 after an empty-net goal by Jamie Oleksiak. Although a couple of Stars goals seemed reliant on luck and bad puck bounces, the Avalanche defense ultimately could not immobilize the Dallas offense, and missed shot opportunities resulted in an Avalanche loss.

What’s next

With the Stars up 2–0 in the series, Dallas and Colorado face off for Game Three on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. MDT. Colorado will be playing from behind and looking to close the two-game deficit. Defenseman Erik Johnson will likely miss Game Three as well, and fans should expect Colorado to step up their defensive play in his absence. On stat watch is Nathan MacKinnon, who has scored at least a point in all 10 games the Avalanche have played this postseason and continues to climb the record boards.

The post Despite goals from MacKinnon and Rantanen, Avalanche fall to Stars in Game Two after five unanswered Dallas goals appeared first on The Rink.

Players to watch

Our predictions

The post Series Preview: Avs to face Dallas Stars in Western Conference Semifinals appeared first on The Rink.

Samuel Girard, Nikita Zadorov, and J.T. Compher also contributed goals. The Avalanche scored three of their seven goals on the power play, capitalizing swiftly on Arizona’s mistakes, and killed the only two penalties they took in the game. Goalie Philipp Grubauer saved 23 of 24 shots on goal.

First Period

The Avalanche took advantage of Arizona’s early mistakes, with Kadri scoring a powerplay goal at 15:21 in the first period on assists from Gabriel Landeskog and MacKinnon. The goal placed Kadri second only to Joe Sakic in powerplay goals scored by an Avalanche player in a single season’s playoffs. The Avs’ powerplay passes also looked sharper than usual this period, and at one point they rearranged their regular positioning so that both MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen set themselves up behind the net, with Landeskog hovering on MacKinnon’s usual left blue circle.

It proved successful, as only four minutes later Girard scored the Avalanche’s second powerplay goal of the game on a quick slap shot from the blue line. Arizona was penalized a third time in the first period for having too many men on the ice, and although the Coyotes killed the penalty, a successive turnover resulted in a breakaway goal for Kadri with only 1:32 left in the period. The Avalanche ended the second period up 3-0 and ahead in shots on goal 12-6.

Naz on a breakaway?

Beautiful. Inspiring. Perfect. Flawless.#GoAvsGo https://t.co/4Yv7iJcOHi

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 19, 2020

Second Period

The second period started off more slowly than the first, but the lack of action did not last long. The Avalanche demonstrated their depth in period two, with good shot attempts taken by Matt Calvert, Matt Nieto, and Compher. While Arizona’s Darcy Kuemper continued to make great saves, the Coyotes’ defense looked haphazard and the Avalanche never stopped putting pucks on net. Halfway through the second period, MacKinnon fired a one-timer into the back of the net, extending the Avalanche’s lead to 4-0. He was assisted by Rantanen, who passed the puck cleanly through four Coyote players onto MacKinnon’s tape.

This was the goal that Nate scored, right before the other one.#GoAvsGo https://t.co/dNjUrGOpWt

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) August 19, 2020

Less than a minute later, the Coyotes were called for a hooking penalty, and MacKinnon scored again on a second one-timer after receiving a quick touch pass by Rantanen. MacKinnon wasn’t finished accumulating points, however, and with 1:44 left in the second, he fired a wrist shot toward the net which was tipped in by Zadorov after a good cut across the slot. The Avalanche ended the period up 6-0, having scored three goals in both periods.

Third Period

Just as in game four, the third period of game five resulted in a single Arizona goal (scored this time by Clayton Keller) to deprive Grubauer of a shutout, as well as a change in net for the Coyotes, who replaced Kuemper with Antti Raanta. The Avalanche took two penalties in the third—one on Tyson Jost for holding and the second on Andre Burakovsky for the same—but killed both of them and continued to dominate the Coyotes both defensively and offensively. The Avalanche also continued to demonstrate their depth when, with 4:41 left in the period, Compher scored on a pass from Nieto from behind the net. Game Five finished similarly to Game Four, with Colorado beating the Coyotes 7-1 and eliminating Arizona from the playoffs.

Nathan MacKinnon:

"Things have changed a lot since (my rookie year)…the message from training camp a year ago now was to just win. Our time has arrived."#Avs

— Scott MacDonald (@0ffScottFree) August 20, 2020

What’s Next

It’s on to round two for the Colorado Avalanche! Colorado’s next playoff opponent will be either the Dallas Stars or the winner of the series between the Vancouver Canucks and the St. Louis Blues. Playing against Dallas or St. Louis would see the Avalanche face off with a division rival, and playing against Vancouver would see the Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes matchup many fans have been discussing. Game time is currently TBD, but fans should be looking to the middle of next week in anticipation for game one of round two.

The post Recap: Avalanche beat the Arizona Coyotes 7-1, advance to second round of Stanley Cup Playoffs appeared first on The Rink.

Fans talked a lot over the course of the 2019–20 regular season about the Avalanche’s mediocre-to-awful power play execution and what changes needed to be made in order to improve it. Whether the team relied too much on one-timers from Nathan MacKinnon in the left face-off circle, whether their passing lanes were too predictable, whether the second unit was underperforming or whether special teams simply needed to put more pucks on net were all issues discussed and debated as the calendar year turned from 2019 to 2020 and the Avs’ power play conversion rate…well, let’s just say it did not look much better.

Nathan MacKinnon fires a one-timer. (Photograph courtesy of Sports Illustrated)

The Avalanche ended their regular season with a power play percentage of 19.1, while the other top three teams in their division—the Jets, Stars and Blues—finished with percentages of 20.5, 21.1 and 24.3, respectively. The differential is not massive, although St. Louis ranks third in regular season power play conversions, and yet for a team currently sitting near the top of Western Conference power rankings and one that has made such a strong run this year for Ole Stanley, you would think their power play numbers would be a little higher.

But should you?

Yeah. You probably should.

On the other hand, I think most of us would agree that single statistics rarely tell the whole story.

Colorado is currently third in the league in scoring differential, behind only Boston and Tampa Bay, and despite much anxiety regarding the goaltending situation, Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz have brought their A game and kept the Avalanche’s save percentage hovering around .913. While Colorado did go 1/5 on the power play in their postseason exhibition game against Minnesota, they also went 18/80 on power play conversions from January through March, which puts their power play percentage over the second half of the season right around .225. And, there are some things stats just cannot track, like whether MacKinnon goes on a record-breaking 13-game point streak or just how good Cale Makar’s defensive playmaking abilities are going to be.

Oh, or if they manage to score a game-winning goal with 0.1 seconds left in the game.

Thanks, Naz.

So, for a little bit of postseason inspiration in the midst of anxiety surrounding Colorado’s special teams, let’s take a look at some teams who managed to grab the Cup in recent years while underperforming on the power play.

In the 2011–12 season, Los Angeles finished with a power play conversion rate of 16.96 when the league average that year was 17.31. When they won the Stanley Cup again in the 2013–14 season, their percentage was even worse at 15.14 when the league average was 17.89. But, they had a killer center in Anze Kopitar, who led the playoffs in points both years, as well as a top-scoring defenseman in Drew Doughty and a goaltending performance for the books from Jonathan Quick.

The Chicago Blackhawks also struggled on the power play in both of their most recent Stanley Cup finals. In 2012–13, their power play percentage came in at 16.67 when the league average was 18.82, and in the 2014–15 season, it was a little better, but still not great, at 17.69 when the league average was 18.66. But, they also had star forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, solid netminding from Corey Crawford and exceptional defensive performances from the likes of Duncan Keith, not to mention some good young draft picks contributing like Teuvo Teravainen.

So, what is it going to take for the Avalanche? And how much need is there to worry?

Clearly, the team has a lot of the ingredients it takes to win. Blue line depth, all-star forwards, two goaltenders who are both reliable enough that Bednar does not even decide who to play until the very last minute. Five on five, Colorado looks pretty darn good.

But five on four, or even five on three…

Maybe special teams need to force the puck to MacKinnon less often. Maybe Colorado needs to shoot more and stop looking for that extra short pass. As one Twitter user suggested, maybe the Avalanche could just…refuse to take the advantage?

Yeah alright, that is not an option.

But, while I certainly hope the Avs figure out a way to fix their special teams, I have also been a little less worried knowing that previous teams have snatched the Stanley Cup with worse regular season power play performances.

On the other hand, we probably should not let our guards down. Playoff hockey is never quite like regular season hockey, and in this regard, 2020 is no exception.

The post How successful can the Colorado Avalanche be with a mediocre power play? appeared first on The Rink.

Before the Stanley Cup playoffs officially begin, teams will have an opportunity to get their legs back under them with exhibition games leading into the weekend. Naturally, these tune-up games are being held between teams who have long storied and brand new rivalries. This is no exception for the Colorado Avalanche as they will take on the Minnesota Wild for a midday showdown.

The lone exhibition showdown against the Wild will be used to help players get their legs back under them, as the Avs prepare to battle for the top spot in the Western Conference, along with the St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars, and the Vegas Golden Knights. Following their exhibition game against Minnesota, the Avalanche will begin their quest for the Western Conference crown against the defending Stanley Cup champions on Sunday, August 2 at 4:30 pm.

What to expect against Minnesota

I think once the players are able to knock off some rust after the first period, things could get fairly physical between the Avs and the Wild. Although it may not be on the same scale as Toronto vs Montreal or Calgary vs Edmonton, this is a rival for the Avalanche, and things can get heated quickly. However, I am only expecting a few hard hits and maybe a few post-whistle scuffles, as this is still only an exhibition game after all.

As reported by the Colorado Avalanche, there will be no experimenting with line combinations or testing players in particular situations. So with this in mind, look at the Avalanche to head into their exhibition showdown with the lineups they have recently been using, shown below.

Another thing fans can expect in the Avs exhibition showdown against Minnesota is to see both Pavel Francouz and Philipp Grubauer in the net at one point during the game against the Wild. It doesn’t matter who is starting the game, as both goaltenders will be in the net at one point of time against the Wild. Bednar has also stated that Grubauer and Francouz will split time in the net between the three round-robin games.

While it is not set in stone, there is also the strong possibility that we will see Bowen Byram play some minutes against the Minnesota Wild. After attending training camp last season, and playing in a few preseason games with the Avalanche, Byram tallied 52 points in 50 games for the Vancouver Giants.

With six games happening, it will be a full day of NHL hockey — something that fans have been waiting since March to say. In what should be an entertaining showdown, be sure to turn into Altitude or NHL Network to catch the Avalanche take on the Wild in their lone exhibition game at 12:30 p.m. MDT.

The post Colorado Avalanche vs Minnesota Wild – Exhibition Game Preview appeared first on The Rink.

I recapped the Ducks game previously and my hopes for the team came true – A continuation of their strong defensive effort and Pavel Francouz playing lights-out yet again. The game against the Kings wasn’t quite the blowout revenge that many fans wanted as a followup to the Stadium Series game, but pulling off a 2-1 shootout win should provide a lot of hope for the rest of the season.

How it went down

The Kings didn’t technically score a 5v5 goal, with their only tally of the evening coming off of a penalty shot. I thought the call for a penalty shot was questionable, but this isn’t the time to complain about reffing.

Austin Wagner makes no mistake on the penalty shot as he gives the LA Kings a 1-0 lead

AND THAT JERSEY THO #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/hAUxBFChAL

— LA Kings (@LAKings) February 23, 2020

It would have been nice to get the save there, but Francouz locked down the net after allowing it, stopping the rest of the shots he faced in regulation, overtime, and all three L.A. shootout attempts. He’s been very solid as a backup this season and it looks like he’s really settling in as the starter, as Philipp Grubauer’s status is still uncertain. Francouz now sits at a 2.27 GAA and a .927 Sv%.

The Avs’ sole regulation tally of the evening came off of the stick of Ryan Graves, who picked up his 9th goal of the season. That’s 25 points so far on the season for Graves, who also sits at a +43. Plus/minus isn’t the most significant stat, and his is surely inflated from the players he’s deployed with, but it’s great to see him having such a good season. I’m of the strong opinion he’s going to get better as time goes on and I doubt we’ll see him move before the deadline. What I don’t doubt is that he’s going to get a hefty extension after this season, especially if his point production keeps up.

Did somebody order extra Gravy?!?!

(: @AltitudeTV) #GoAvsGo https://t.co/5CjRVEUA74

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 23, 2020

It’s never inspiring to see the Avalanche go into overtime. Their 3v3 play is better this season than it was last year, but we’ve seen a few too many overtime meltdowns this season to be comfortable. The highlight of OT was the penalty kill. J.T. Compher went off for a hook and the Avs finished out the overtime period playing 4v3. They weren’t organized, exactly, but they did a good job of blocking shots around the net and Francouz held strong.

The Kings didn’t score on a single attempt in the shootout and Joonas Donskoi collected the win for the Avs with a filthy move in the third round of the shootout.

Got 'em! #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/6PcOaj3yPB

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 23, 2020

Takeaways

The Avalanche didn’t play the best game in L.A. It was messy. The passing didn’t look good and they lacked in speed, some of which can be attributed to the back-to-back. Despite that, they pulled it off. The lineup is currently ravaged by injury and the top line isn’t producing, so the depth has had to step up to keep the wins coming.

While blowout games might be more satisfying to watch, the one-goal games are won by tight fundamentals. Battling back from a deficit, continuing to find ways to solve goalies, and locking down the net are all going to be crucial going forward.

The Avalanche need to improve the powerplay above all else. They went 0/5 in this game, unable to get set up enough to attempt quality shots. Granted, a number of their usual powerplay faces are out, with Mikko Rantanen injured and André Burakovsky out of the lineup for what was reported differently as illness and an injury at different points throughout the night. It hasn’t been outstanding for most of the season, though, and it’s going to need some changes through March and into the post-season.

The Avalanche don’t play again until Wednesday, which will be a home game against the Sabres. With the trade deadline fast approaching, the exact lineup for that game may be in question, but it’s going to be an important game to win in front of the home crowd. After this short break, the Avalanche play at least a game every other day for the rest of the season, with two more weekend back-to-backs.

They trail St. Louis by one point and are only one point ahead of the Stars, so the race to the top isn’t settled quite yet – Even if playoffs are nearly a certainty.

The post Avalanche sweep Southern California appeared first on The Rink.

Bowman knew as well as anyone, he had lucked into a prime position, after his team had finished twelfth in the Western Conference the previous season—a position that typically would have a team drafting between 7th and 10th—where Bowman was in the previous year’s draft.

The rest, as we know is history: Bowman selected Kirby Dach, a talented young player with a high ceiling. The problem is, to paraphrase, man does not win by Dach (and/or Boqvist) alone.

A lot of Hawk fans forget, or simply weren’t around or engaged, the several years of sucking the franchise had to endure in order to acquire the picks that became Patrick Kane (first overall in 2007) and Jonathan Toews (third overall in 2006). They also take for granted the big walloping draft successes that previous GMs Mike Smith and Dale Tallon had in unearthing Dustin Byfuglien, Duncan Keith, Corey Crawford, Niklas Hjalmarsson and others in the draft’s later rounds.

Because another fact is that Bowman’s drafting past the first round has not been stellar through a now decade long tenure. Sure, everyone points to Brandon Saad and Alex DeBrincat, while conveniently forgetting many more Bowman second rounders who never amounted to squat. And where are the later round value picks? Unless you count Andrew Shaw, not on this roster.

The truth is, getting value past the first 15 picks of the first round is hard. Scouting is better than ever. Teams know more about the prospects now than ever before. The other side of the coin is, the value at the top of virtually every draft now is also hard to dispute.

For evidence, look no further than two of the Hawks’ recent games: thorough beat downs courtesy of the Colorado Avalanche.

I remember going to a game at the UC in 2013, just after Christmas, where the Hawks put the same kind of beating on Colorado, 7-2. Back then, the Hawks were the elite team and the Avs were the doormat.

Had to suck to be an Avs fan back then. But ask most pre-2007 Hawk fans: that’s what you need to go through to become a great young team again—as the Hawks were from 2008 or so to 2015.

Unfortunately, the Hawk front office, while they know this all too well, also knows that if they really tank—in order to really rebuild—a lot of fans and corporate sponsorship dollars are going to head for the door.

Yet, look at the Avs, who paid that price for several seasons:

Gabriel Landeskog, drafted second overall in 2011

Nathan MacKinnon, first overall, 2013

Mikko Rantanen, tenth overall, 2015

Cale Makar, fourth overall, 2017

You can say I’m cherry picking. But take a look at another former Chicago doormat in the Central Division, the Winnipeg Jets: same thing.

And, again, take a look at the arc of the Chicago Blackhawks themselves—not just from 2006 to 2015, but causally, from 2003 to 2007, when they absolutely sucked. Weren’t fun to watch. No one came to the arena. When they traded away fan favorites like Alex Zhamnov, Marty Havlat and Steve Sullivan—but accumulated tons of draft picks (that turned into the Dave Bollands and Bryan Bickells) and quality young prospects. And “earned”—as painful as it was for the organization and fans—the draft position to snag Toews and Kane in consecutive years. And who knows how much better things might have been had they taken someone better than Jack Skille seventh overall in 2005?

Unrestricted free agency is a great (but expensive) way to add a missing piece you need to reach the next level (see: Campbell, B, 2008 and Hossa, M, 2009). But the way to rebuild a franchise remains through the draft—not just having a few later round hits but grabbing at least 3-4 (or more) elite surefire blue chippers at the top of the draft.

Some will now point to Dach and Boqvist as getting the Hawks “almost there.” Except neither has proven a thing in pro hockey yet (and both by the way have concussion histories). But let’s assume both players are going to be a special—that’s a head start. Great. Now what are you going to do with $40 million in cap space wrapped up in players over 30, only one of whom is still playing at a high level.

Meanwhile, the Hawks sit only above the LA Kings in the West, with $11 million in cap hit wrapped up in what they call “the best one-two punch goalie tandem” in the league. Like that matters when you get absolutely shelled the way Crawford and Robin Lehner have most nights.

Wake up. It’s pure marketing bs, people.

This team is not good, but probably just good enough to play its way into a 12-15 selection in the first round year after year, out of the prime spots for great transformational players, while we wait for the contracts of Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Kane, and Toews to run out. Yep, they may get hot again in the next few weeks, go on a 5 or 6 game winning streak. But who wants to bet, before the leaves are on the trees again, they won’t derail and meltdown the way they have every season in recent memory?

Where am I going other than Downer Town?

It’s my belief that aside from lucking into Dach, the Hawks are, by choice, stuck in “half rebuild” mode, and will be for a long time, praying and hoping that Toews and Seabrook and Keith especially suddenly age backward five years, and the Hawks become a competitive team again—without doing anything more than adding an Olli Maatta here or a Calvin DeHaan there.

Yet, every year since 2015, as especially since 2017, we’ve seen this formula fail.

And every year, the Hawk front office goes out and does it again. Not because they’re dumb. Not because they’re insane. But because they know if they really tear down—as in trading Keith or Kane or Toews or some combination thereof for younger players and picks—(most) fans and corporate dollars will disappear from the UC like a pizza at a frat house. No one wants to hear it. No one wants to think about it. “You can’t trade Kane—he’s the only thing that makes them worth watching.”

And you like what you’re watching?

You see, the fact remains, the price of a glorious young team on the way up is typically a few years at least of unquestioned suckitude. A half empty arena. Pain. Discouragement. When it sucks to be a fan of a team—ask those of us who followed this franchise for decades. And you can bring up the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural season as a counterpoint, except they worked expansion masterfully—different circumstances entirely.

The cruel irony is that Kane still in his prime, and what’s left on the tires of Keith and Toews, make this team just good enough to sort of tease a playoff spot for a while every year, and then finish out of prime draft lottery position (this year’s fluke notwithstanding).

Let that sink in.

And then ask yourself, are you happy with this team? Have you liked finishing 12th-13th in the conference year after year?

If so, maybe you just have an addiction to seeing Kane and Erik Gustafsson team up in 3-on-3 a few nights a year and a few “silky” shootout moves—which mean nothing in terms of actual playoff hockey (a phenomenon some Hawk fans have apparently now forgotten)—and you will keep buying tickets and merchandise and argue to keep the #OneGoal Dream alive in vain hope of one last hurrah from “the core.”

Or maybe after another year or two of this “half pregnant,” not rebuilding, not contending nonsense, you’ll have an epiphany of sorts. And realize this isn’t working.

In other words, use the only real power you have as a fan: stop supporting this mess with your money and maybe then it’ll actually change for the better.

Comment below.

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The Blackhawks’ lines and pairings were:

Brandon Saad — Jonathan Toews — Alexander Nylander
Alex DeBrincat — Kirby Dach  — Patrick Kane
Dominik Kubalik — David Kampf — Andrew Shaw
Matthew Highmore—Ryan Carpenter — Zack Smith

Duncan Keith — Erik Gustafsson
Calvin de Haan — Brent Seabrook
Olli Maatta — Connor Murphy

Corey Crawford got the nod in net for Chicago, opposite Pavel Francouz for the Avs.

FIRST PERIOD

Did not go well.

Nathan McKinnon tipped a JT Compher shot from the left circle past Crawford at just :59 on the Avs’ first shot of the game. 1-0 Colorado.

And things got worse from there. Less than 3 minutes later, Ryan Graves got his turn also from the left circle, set up by Matt Nieto and McKinnon. 2-0 Avalanche at 3:17. Not long afterward, Andrew Shaw tried to “juice” his teammates by taking on the much larger Graves in a fight, earning kudos from the Hawk radio broadcast team for changing the tone of the game.

Except, he really didn’t.

Sure, Zack Smith cut the lead in half at 9:14 on a Ryan Carpenter feed, beating Francouz from the top of the crease. 2-1 Colorado. 

But after an Erik Gustafsson penalty, Avs defense phenom Cale Makar burned the Hawks from above the circles on the power play, making it 3-1 Avs.

Gustafsson took another late penalty, but the period ended without any further scoring. Shots were actually 10-7 Chicago for the period, but the Avs were basically besting the Hawks with their speed for better scoring chances and lots of odd-man breaks.

SECOND PERIOD

Also, proved basically disastrous for Chicago.

Two quick goals, one at 9:45 by Valeri Nichushkin, and another by Compher at 11:26 made the score 5-1 Colorado.

Patrick Kane salvaged a small token of respect from the period, scoring at 19:56 from Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad, making the game 5-2. Again, shots were 19-7 Chicago in the period, but Colorado often had the Hawks on their heels regardless.

THIRD PERIOD

The Hawks didn’t have much pushback in the third, especially with Duncan Keith out with a groin injury suffered earlier in the game. The Avs for their part, seemed to have it on cruise control, hence the period ended at the same score it started with. 5-2. Shots in the third were 8-7 Colorado.

THE GOOD

Shaw showed some energy aside from just scrapping with Graves. The Hawks’ fourth line of Smith, Carpenter and Matthew Highmore was arguably their best.

THE BAD

Not a great outing for Crawford, who seemed to have trouble tracking the puck early on. Gustafsson and Keith were both -2.

THE UGLY

The speed difference between the Hawks and the Avs was clear. Further, and because of that difference, the Blackhawks lack of structure and tendency on the part of their defensemen to overcommit up the ice was taken advantage of all game by Colorado—hence the number of odd-man rushes the Avs had.

The Blackhawks and Robin Lehner get a shot at redemption tomorrow night in Colorado. They’ll need their best effort and perhaps a bounce here and there. Colorado made a statement at the United Center today. Tomorrow, we’ll see if the Hawks can answer back. All we have on this one. Comment below.

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Bad news: as improved as 5-4-1 might be, it’s still not playoff worthy by itself, much less for a team buried in the basement of the Central Division. The good news, Colorado had gone 3-6-1 over their last ten contests, including a 2-1 loss to the Hawks at home 8 days ago.

The Blackhawks lines and pairings:

Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Dominik Kahun
Artem Anisimov – Dylan Strome – Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat – David Kampf – Dylan Sikura
Andreas Martinsen – Marcus Kruger – John Hayden

Duncan Keith – Erik Gustafsson
Gustav Forsling – Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom – Connor Murphy

Marcus Kruger (concussion protocol) drew back in for Chicago, replacing Jacob Nilsson. #TheRinkLegend Collin Delia took the net for Chicago, facing off against Semyon Varlamov for Colorado.

FIRST PERIOD

The scoring opened early, with Alex DeBrincat beating Varlamov at 1:46  from the left faceoff circle, off a sweet, spinning cross-ice Patrick Kane feed. 1-0 Chicago.

Kane then scored himself at 9:38 from the opposite faceoff dot, assisted by Artem Anisimov and Dylan Strome, after a neutral zone turnover by Colorado turned into a 3-on-2 break for the Hawks. 2-0 Chicago.

The action was fast and furious throughout the period with many quality chances for both teams. The Avs finally got to Delia at 17:04 of the first, when Mikko Rantanen capitalized on a power play made possible by a Gustav Forsling tripping penalty. Delia was completely screened by Gabriel Landeskog and had no chance on a close in shot: 2-1 Chicago.

That was how the period would end, with shots favoring the Avs 16-15.

SECOND PERIOD

As compared to the first period, he checking was tighter for both teams to start the second, with a couple of decent chances enjoyed by both teams early on.  Crossing through the neutral zone was much tougher for both teams.

With 1:39 left in the frame, after a delayed penalty call on the Hawks, Nathan McKinnon beat a screened Delia to tie the game. 2-2.

Chicago had the advantage through much of the period, but Colorado applied significant pressure late, forcing Delia to make several quality stops. And at 18:57, not long after the McKinnon goal, Forsling took another tripping call. Chicago killed the first minute or so of the penalty to end the period. Shots ended 9-9 in the second.

THIRD PERIOD

The Hawks killed off the remainder of the penalty. The ensuing action again featured tighter checking, with a couple of important highlights. The Avs were able to kill off a late 5-on-3, thanks in part to a smart play by Landeskog. However, in what was a very chippy game, Landeskog high-sticked Connor Murphy at 18:48, drew blood and set the Hawks up for a man-advantage in overtime—arguably the best open-ice scoring situation aside form a 5-on-3.

OVERTIME

It wouldn’t be long before Kane once again took a starring role, scooping up a rebound in the slot and quickly flipping past a besieged Varlamov for the win, giving the Hawks their 5th win in their last 6 contests and a nice lift to close out 2018.

THE GOOD

Yet again, Delia, who’s not just making the case for an NHL job, but perhaps an NHL starting job.

Kane. Brilliant. And at the top of his game.

The defense overall. The first period was a track meet and were it not for Delia, the score could have been lop-sided the other way, instead of 2-1 Chicago. But Chicago was able to tighten it up over the latter two periods, as they have been able to do much better of late, especially after pairing Murphy and Carl Dahlstrom.

THE BAD

Not much. The Hawks are playing a better brand of hockey of late. The lines are balanced and team defense is dramatically improved.

THE UGLY

There was, and likely still is, some bad blood between these teams, on display much of the night. Something to watch in future meetings.

All I have on this one. Comment below.

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The Blackhawks lines and pairings:

Brandon Saad–Jonathan Toews–Dominik Kahun
Dylan Strome–Artem Anisimov–Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat–David Kampf–Dylan Sikura
John Hayden–Luke Johnson–Brendan Perlini
Duncan Keith–Erik Gustafsson
Gustav Forsling–Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom–Connor Murphy

Not surprising in a back-to-back, new backup netminder (and #rinklegend) Colin Delia got his first NHL start this year for Chicago versus Philipp Grubauer for the Avs.

FIRST PERIOD

Continuing a recent theme, the Hawks got the game’s first goal at 8:07. After killing off a too many men call, Dominik Kahun, who served the penalty, gathered a puck coming out of the box, generating a quick break to the net, and found a trailing Alex DeBrincat who beat Grubauer for his 16th goal of the season. 1-0 Chicago.

Both teams took two penalties a piece in the period, and the Hawks ended the frame on the man advantage. Chicago continued to struggle to enter the zone and set up their offense on the power play.  Shots were 14-8 Colorado with Delia making several strong saves—looking sharp and in control throughout the period—one in particular on a point blank chance by Gabriel Landeskog..

SECOND PERIOD

The Avs killed off the remainder of the penalty to start the second, and then applied some consistent pressure on the Hawks, resulting in a JT Compher goal at 2:58.  1-1.

Sustained offensive zone time for Colorado led to all too familiar defensive breakdowns in the Hawk zone, setting up numerous Colorado chances, including one shot that had Delia beat only to ring off the post.

It wasn’t long before NBCSN Chicago announcers Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk stated what most viewers had to be thinking: the Hawks looked like a team that played the previous night in another city. Tired and chasing the play. But Delia continued to shine and keep the hawks in the game.

Colorado ended the period on a power play, which had 7 seconds left going into intermission. Shots for the period were 11-7, totaling 25-16 for the first two periods.

THIRD PERIOD

Early on, a quick Patrick Kane shot from near the blueline leaked through Grubauer’s pads and was banged home by Artem Anisimov, giving the Hawks a 2-1 lead at 1:18.

The Avalanche hit their third post of the night at 5:36, although the Hawks had a couple of quality chances themselves, including one hit crossbar that bounced down to the goal line and nearly went over.

Colorado pulled Grubauer at the end but could not solve Delia, giving Chicago the 2-1 win, their third in a row.

THE GOOD

Delia was outstanding, giving the Hawks another goalie win (and his first NHL win) after a sterling performance by Cam Ward Thursday night in Dallas.

Hawk defensive zone coverage, while not great overall (the team gave up 36 shots), was nonetheless better than its season long standard.

THE BAD

As Head Coach Jeremy Colliton said in his postgame remarks, Chicago probably deserved to win some other games this season more than this one. Although pointed out as a positive above—relative to horrible overall play this season—the defense was not great at times.

THE UGLY

Nothing really, it was an unlikely road win against a good team. And perhaps reflective of overall improvement in a psychologically fragile Hawks team.

Comment below.

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Blackhawks prospect Collin Delia was initially scheduled to make his NHL debut in this game, along with recently signed defenseman Blake Hillman, but Delia was forced into action the previous night. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville gave Delia his second shot, though, to actually finish his first NHL game. The story of “The Great Beer League Accountant” overshadowed Delia’s great performance the night previous, because of some pesky leg cramps, overshadowed Delia’s impressive debut.

Blackhawk TV special on “The Accountant, Scott Foster” coming to a theater near you.

Blake Hillman, on the other hand, was making his NHL debut in the same city where he has been playing college hockey just days previous, and it showed.

This was your Blackhawks starting lineup:
Brandon Saad – Nick Schmaltz – Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat – Victor Ejdsell – Dylan Sikura
Patrick Sharp – David Kampf – Vinnie Hinostroza
Tomas Jurco – Artem Anisimov – Andreas Martinsen

Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Erik Gustafsson – Connor Murphy
Blake Hillman – Jordan Oesterle

The game opened with the Blackhawks showing some unexpected jump in their step, but that jump did not last long.

The teams battled back and forth, with scoring chances initially pretty equal, and the Blackhawks even eventually holding a 15-10 overall shot advantage. Goalies on both ends were forced to make some big saves to keep the game scoreless.

With just over a minute left in the first period, it was the Avalanche that struck first. As it turned out, this was the only goal they would need.

On their first power play of the night the Avalanche were able to convert, as Sven Andrighetto beat Collin Delia for a late first period Avs lead. The penalty called was on Collin Delia for tripping Gabriel Landeskog while making a save which was a pretty questionable call in the first place and, of course, the Avs would capitalize.

Andrighetto knifed right through the middle of the Blackhawks penalty kill group, from his own blue line, and surprisingly chipped a shot over Delia’s glove for a highlight reel goal. Defensemen Connor Murphy, Jordan Oesterle and forward David Kampf were grossly taken advantage of, as Andrighetto made them all look pretty silly.

The period ended 1-0 which left the Blackhawks room to come back but, as I mentioned earlier, “one goal” was all Colorado needed.

The Blackhawks came out in the second period with a little gas left in their tanks, testing Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov early on, but the Colorado netminder continued to keep the Blackhawks off the board.

Just past the eight minute mark of the middle frame, the Blackhawks were initially in a 4-on-4 situation thanks to a wierd “fight that was not classified a fight.” Instead of giving Connor Murphy and J.T. Compher fighting majors, even though it was clearly a glove dropping fight, referee Tim Peel gave the players matching roughing calls. Soon after, a David Kampf high sticking infraction put the Hawks down 4-on-3.

This is where the Avalanche would increase their lead to 2-0

Mikko Rantanen held the puck and drew the Blackhawks defenders, then dished to defenseman Tyson Barrie for a one-timer that beat Delia five-hole. One again, a strange penalty situation turned into Blackhawks misfortune.

Similar to the first period, when Patrick Sharp had a prime chance to give the Blackhawks the lead but was stopped by the stick of Nathan MacKinnon, Blackhawks forward Victor Ejdsell had a prime chance to cut the Avs lead to just one goal just a few minutes after the Barrie goal. Ejdsell drove hard to the net from the left wall, and Varlamov made the stop. The puck dropped behind the Avs goaltender and bounced toward the open net, but defenseman Tyson Barrie swooped in at the last second to swat the puck away.

Even though the Blackhawks were down 0-2 going into the third period, they were holding their heads above water. They held a slim 25-22 shot advantage as the teams went to the locker rooms for the second intermission.

The third period is where the visiting Blackhawks finally ran out of emotion and energy. Colorado blew the Blackhawks doors off and showed why they very much in the mix for the playoffs while the Blackhawks clearly are not.

Once again, thanks to a Blackhawks penalty (this time by Andreas Martinsen), the Avs converted on their third power play of the night. Mikko Rantanen was the goal scorer, this time, as he found a soft spot on the back door behind the Blackhawks defense. Avs superstar Nathan MacKinnon found Rantanen on the back door, who easily hit the wide open net.

At this point the Avalanche were 3-for-3 on the powerplay while the Blackhawks still did not have a single powerplay of their own.

Not that it would have mattered, anyway.

Just over two minutes after the Rantanen goal, the Avalanche stuck the dagger into the Blackhawks, working a perfect 3-on-2 and eventually beating Collin Delia for a 4-0 Colorado lead. A Hawks turnover deep in the Colorado zone by Duncan Keith turned into a quick odd-man break that left Brent Seabrook and Collin Delia hung out to dry. This time, Avalanche rookie Tyson Jost was the goal scorer.

With 6:25 remaining in regulation, Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov left the game following a collision with Blackhawks forward Tomas Jurco, and Jonathan Bernier finished the remainder of the game in net.

This goalie swap did not help the Blackhawks any, though.

With two minutes remaining in the game Collin Delia gave up his first goal that could possibly be qualified as “bad.” The game, though, was basically over already, and the goal was insignificant.

Sven Andrighetto finished what he had started in the first period, going end to end and beating Delia from the right half wall with a surprising snap shot.

The Blackhawks left Denver with a faint whimper and returned home to face the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

Pluses

• I know I will forever be classified as a Collin Delia apologist, but when a team gives up three straight powerplay goals they are not going to win many games. The Blackhawks were in no position to be handing the Avalanche prime opportunities. None of the first four goals were soft. It has to be disappointing for the kid to follow up leaving the game the night before after playing so well with a five-spot hung on him, but he played well.
• I am not a Tomas Jurco fan, but he has played pretty well the past two games. Unfortunately, this will give Stan Bowman enough rope to double down on his initial mistake and re-sign Jurco over the summer. Just watch.

Minuses

• Blake Hillman’s NHL debut was mostly non-eventful for the young defenseman. He looked, at times, a little over matched and had a terrible turnover in the Blackhawks end. Hillman has some size that the Blackhawks lack but no one has a great game in a shutout loss. He was just a guy out there on the ice.
• The fact that the Blackhawks had no powerplays is astounding. Maybe referee Tim Peel really IS that bad.
• The Blackhawks simply came off an ultra emotional game the night before and ran out of fuel.  This is the unfortunate consequence of NHL back-to-back games.

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The Hawks’ lines and pairings were:
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Vinnie Hinostroza – Nick Schmaltz – Andreas Martinsen
Tomas Jurco – Artem Anisimov – Alex DeBrincat
Patrick Sharp – David Kampf – John Hayden

Duncan Keith – Jan Rutta
Erik Gustafsson – Brent Seabrook
Jordan Oesterle – Connor Murphy

Anton Forsberg reclaimed the Hawk net after JF Berube emphatically answered “Oui” to the question: “can anyone be worse than Forsberg?”

First period

The first 15 minutes-plus of the game were somewhat unremarkable. One highlight was massive Norwegian winger Andreas Martinsen in his Hawk debut, who put a thundering hit on Av defenseman Nikita Zadorov, knocking him out the game. Martinsen has size, willingness and he can skate, which may situate him well for a shot with the Hawks next season.

Brent Seabrook opened the scoring in this game at 4:15 on the power play with a bomb from the left point that beat a screened Semyon Varlamov, assisted by Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. 1-0 Chicago.

While the shots were roughly even at that point, the Avs came on strong immediately afterward and finished the period with a 17-11 advantage in shots.

Second period

The Avs tied the game up on their own power play at 17:53, after a flurry of activity in front of the Chicago net. Anton Forsberg gave up a fat rebound in the slot, which got behind all four Hawk defenders who were collapsed down low.  A fully screened Forsberg lost sight of the puck until it was deposited over his left shoulder by Alexander Kerfoot. 1-1.

Less than three minutes later, at 14:59, Av center Nathan McKinnon held the puck and drew Hawk defenders and enough attention from Forsberg before zipping a pass across the slot to a wide open Miko Rantanen at the right circle. The Hawk goalie had no chance, 2-1 Colorado.

For the next several minutes, the Hawks applied quite a bit of pressure on Varlamov, but could not solve the Colorado netminder.

At 7:20, Colorado capitalized on the power play again with Tyson Barrie putting a long shot past a partially screened Forsberg. Probably one Forsberg should have had. 3-1 Avs. And that was how the period ended.

Third period

In the final period, the Blackhawks jumped out to a huge 13-5 shot advantage, in an attempt to carve out a chunk of the Avalanche two goal lead, but were not able find a way to solve the Colorado goalie.

Instead, they gave up a long empty net goal after Joel Quenneville pulled his goalie with roughly three full minutes left in regulation. Funny note on the goal was Pat Foley comically saying, “Brent Seabrook SOMEHOW didn’t catch up to that puck.”

The Avs were not done there, though. With the Blackhawks running around with their heads up their behinds, Colorado was able to take advantage of the opportunity and added another insurance goal by Alexander Kerfoot (again), just for good measure.

Pluses

• It is finally over. This loss ended the Blackhawks playoff “hopes” putting them officially to bed for the 2017-18 season. Now we can cheer for them to comically lose out the rest of the season and try to earn a higher draft pick.
• Duncan Keith did not have the best game of his career, but he was able to keep up with the blazing speed of Nathan MacKinnon.  That is pretty good, considering that Keith is a dozen years older and having a rough season.

Minuses

• It has gotten to a point where Blackhawks games are just a collection of bad moments.  Once again, they took a 1-0 lead and then proceeded to give up five unanswered goals.
• The teams combined for 85 total shots on net, which just goes to show the “defense optional” nature of this game.

Game recap brought to by the law firm of “Statler, Waldorf, Jaeckel, and Osborn.”

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7:30 PM Central / 8:30 PM Eastern
RADIO: WGN 720
TV: NBCSCH, ALT

PROJECTED GOALIES:

Chicago:
Anton Forsberg (9-15-3 W-L | 3.04 GAA | 0.905 SV% | 0 SO)

Colorado:
Semyon Varlamov (21-14-6 W-L | 2.73 GAA | 0.918 SV% | 2 SO)

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

Chicago:
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Vinnie Hinostroza – Nick Schmaltz – Andreas Martinsen
Tomas Jurco – Artem Anisimov – Alex DeBrincat
Patrick Sharp – David Kampf – John Hayden

Duncan Keith – Jan Rutta
Erik Gustafsson – Brent Seabrook
Jordan Oesterle – Connor Murphy

Colorado:
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost – J.T. Compher – Sven Andrighetto
Matthew Nieto – Carl Soderberg – Blake Comeau
Alexander Kerfoot – Vladislav Kamenev – Gabriel Bourque

Nikita Zadorov – Tyson Barrie
Patrik Nemeth – Erik Johnson
Duncan Siemens – Samuel Girard

STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:

Power Play:
Chicago 15.9% (28th)
Colorado 20.7% (13th)

Penalty Kill:
Chicago 80.0% (18th)
Colorado 84.3% (1st)

Corsi FOR % (5-on-5):
Chicago 52.75% (4th)
Colorado 47.40% (27th)

Faceoffs:
Chicago 49.7% (18th)
Colorado 43.8% (31st)

SUMMARY:

As the final weeks of this insufferable season trudge on, the Blackhawks face the Colorado Avalanche tonight at the United Center. The only Hawks players coming into this contest hot, is Alex Debrincat. He is coming off his third hat trick of the year (a Blackhawks record). Most of the rest of this team is a mess. The defense has been porous and the goalies have followed suit. They could play spoilers but, if the Blackhawks have shown us anything, they have proven that they only thing we can truly expect is that they will physically show up. Everything else is out the window.

Norwegian forward Andreas Martinsen will make his Blackhawks debut after being recalled this morning on an Emergency (injury) basis replacing Matthew Highmore, who was injured against the Blues.  Martinsen will be the first Norwegian player to ever suit up for the Blackhawks.  History, folks!

The Avs hold a slim lead on one of playoff wild card spots but Dallas and St. Louis are hot on their tail, just two and three points behind, respectively. With ten games remaining, the playoff race in Denver could come down to the game vs the Blackhawks in a couple of weeks.

Join our discussion below.

Follow me on Twitter @PuckinHostile

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In the continuous shuffling of PTSD riddled goalies, Joel Quenneville decided that Jean-Francois Berube was the sacrificial goalie of the evening. The lineup will be pretty static for the remainder of the season, with limited call-ups available and Jan Rutta fighting injury.

These were the Blackhawks starting lines:
Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat – Nick Schmaltz – Vinnie Hinostroza
Tomas Jurco – Artem Anisimov – Anthony Duclair
Patrick Sharp – David Kampf – Matthew Highmore

Duncan Keith – Connor Murphy
Erik Gustafsson – Brent Seabrook
Carl Dahlstrom – Jordan Oesterle

Surprisingly enough, the Blackhawks had their first scoring chance under a minute into the game, at the hands of Connor Murphy (surprise). Unfortunately for the home team, Semyon Varlamov was able to narrowly keep the deflected puck from sneaking under him and into the net.

A few more Blackhawks solid scoring chances in the first five minutes of the period eventually resulted in the opening goal of the night. Newly extended defenseman Erik Gustafsson picked up a puck on the half wall and attempted to hit an open Patrick Kane on the back door. The puck went off the skate of Avalanche defenseman Patrick Nemeth and past a surprised Varlamov.

Power plays for each team yielded no additional goals, so the teams headed into the first intermission with the Erik Gustafsson goal as the only one on the board. The Blackhawks led the Avalanche in shots on net, 12-9, as well.

Overall, it was a period mostly spend in the Colorado zone, which was a significant improvement over the weekend.

The Blackhawks pressure continued in the second period right where it left off in the first. Hawks forward Brandon Saad had an excellent chance just seconds into the period but, again, Varlamov was able to narrowly hold the lead at only one goal.

Nick Schmaltz had a wonderful dangling toe drag move for a 1-on-1 chance with the Colorado goaltender, five minutes into the middle period, but shot the puck right into the goalie’s chest.

After the flurry of Blackhawks chances early in the second period, the tide then began to turn for the Avalanche, as they peppered the Blackhawks goalie with shots for most of the latter half of the middle period. Colorado tied the game on the power play, with under four minutes to play in the second period. Tyson Barrie controlled the puck on the cycle and was able to feed Nathan MacKinnon wide open across the Hawks zone. MacKinnon hesitated for a second but was still able the beat JF Berube pretty easily.

The Hawks seemed to have grabbed the lead back with just over a minute remaining in the period, but controversy struck. Patrick Kane made a spin-o-rama pass to the crease and the puck ended up in the net, but it was ruled as kicked into the net by Brandon Saad. The game remained tied heading into the second intermission as a result, with Colorado holding a lopsided 18-7 shot advantage.

The third period was generally even in shots, chances, and even late period power plays. The Blackhawks penalty kill unit, in particular, looked really impressive at a critical point of the game. Neither team was able to break the tie, so the game went to overtime

In overtime, the Blackhawks took all of nine seconds for Jonathan Toews to win the opening faceoff to Duncan Keith; who hit Patrick Kane with a pass; who then sent a lead pass back to Jonathan Toews. The Captain easily redirected the puck past Semyon Varlamov to end the game and give the Blackhawks something to celebrate about.

Pluses

• Erik Gustafsson had a fire under his butt all night, and had a couple more solid chances to add to the score.

• It will be overlooked, but JF Berube had a great night. Fans are quick to pile on either goalie for having average-to-below-average games, but this should also be considered a goalie win. Saving 33 of 34 shots is above and beyond the call of duty.

Minuses

• • Duncan Keith had a better game but was still struggling. He is clearly taking this season hard, and it frustrated. Once Jan Rutta is healthy, give the poor guy a night off.

• The goal replay/reversal is just getting more embarrassing with each day. If there is an angle that the NHL is seeing, which shows definitively that Brandon Saad kicked the puck towards the net and it did not hit the heel of the stick, we all deserve to see it. Otherwise, this was yet another in the long line of incorrect calls. I keep bringing it up, but if you are going to cry that the league needs more goals scored and you are going to pull 50/50 goals off the board, I have no sympathy. But, hey, bigger nets and smaller goalie gear will make a difference.  Even MJ is disgusted:

The post Chicago Blackhawks vs Colorado Avalanche Recap appeared first on The Rink.

7:30PM Central

RADIO: WGN 720

PROJECTED GOALIES:

Chicago:
J-F Berube (1-1-0, 3.84 GAA, .884 Save%)

Colorado:
Semyon Varlamov (18-13-4, 2.84 GAA, .913 Save%)

PROJECTED LINES/PAIRINGS:

Chicago:

Saad-Toews-Kane
DeBrincat-Schmaltz-Hinostroza
Highmore-Anisimov-Jurco
Sharp-Kampf-Duclair

Keith-Murphy
Gustafsson-Seabrook
Dahlstrom-Oesterle

Colorado:

Landeskog-Mackinnon-Rantanen
Jost-Kerfoot-Wilson
Comeau-Soderberg-Nieto
Compher-Toninato-Bourque

Barrie-Zadorov
Girard-Nemeth
Siemens-Lindholm

STATISTICAL COMPARISONS:

Power Play:
Chicago 15.8% (28^th)
Colorado 20.2% (18^th)

Penalty Kill:
Chicago 82.3% (T-10^th)
Colorado 83.1% (3^rd)

Corsi FOR % (5-on-5):
Chicago 53.47% (3^rd)
Colorado 47.57% (26^th)

Faceoffs:
Chicago 49.5% (18^th)
Colorado 43.9% (31^st)

SUMMARY:

The quest for the better odds in the NHL draft lottery continue at the United Center tonight for the Blackhawks. They are currently the 8^th worst team in the NHL, and with the way they are playing as of late, I’d say there is still a chance they find themselves in the bottom five before it’s all said and done.

Their opponent tonight is the resurgent Colorado Avalanche, who have come out of nowhere the second half this season, and find themselves only one point out of the final wild card spot, with one game in hand. The Avs are 3-1 in their last four games, and always seem to give the Blackhawks fits because of their great speed.

Tonight’s game also marks the first of three matchups in the month of March between the Hawks and the Avs, so these teams will be seeing a lot of one another over the next few weeks.

As far as the lines, I would like to see Jan Rutta play a lot more these last few weeks. It looks like he will be scratched again tonight, and that’s a shame. He was maybe the Hawks best defenseman early this season, and should be given the chance to redeem himself after some injuries. I also hope to see John Hayden back in Chicago sooner rather than later. There should be plenty of room for him, because of Patrick Sharp and Tomas Jurco, neither of whom seem to fit in the Blackhawks future plans.

In other news, the Blackhawks announced a two-year extension for Erik Gustafsson, and a one-year extension for the brother of highly regarded Dylan Sikura, Tyler Sikura. First off, I believe this pretty much solidifies Dylan Sikura’s arrival in Chicago once his college season ends. As far as Gustafsson, I don’t think there is much to read into. He could be a fifth or sixth defenseman on a good team, and his deal is relatively team friendly.

We’ll recap tonight or tomorrow AM. Join the conversation below!

Follow: @CoachMajewski

The post Chicago Blackhawks vs Colorado Avalanche Preview & Game Thread appeared first on The Rink.