COLvsDET Archives - The Rink https://www.the-rink.com/tag/colvsdet/ Chicago Blackhawks and NHL Salary Cap Information Thu, 07 Mar 2024 06:59:09 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.2 https://i0.wp.com/www.the-rink.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/cropped-FavIcon_v3.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 COLvsDET Archives - The Rink https://www.the-rink.com/tag/colvsdet/ 32 32 136660061 Makar nets hat trick in decisive victory https://www.the-rink.com/makar-nets-hat-trick-in-decisive-victory/ https://www.the-rink.com/makar-nets-hat-trick-in-decisive-victory/#respond Thu, 07 Mar 2024 06:52:28 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=28826 For the Colorado Avalanche, it was hard to add any more chaos for the day. Trading Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres and Ryan Johansen to the Philadelphia Flyers was... Read more »

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]]> For the Colorado Avalanche, it was hard to add any more chaos for the day. Trading Bowen Byram to the Buffalo Sabres and Ryan Johansen to the Philadelphia Flyers was an event in its own right, but newcomers Casey Mittelstadt (BUF) and Sean Walker (PHI) hadn’t yet made their way into the lineup.

Stepping up to the plate were Jean-Luc Foudy and Ondrej Pavel from the Colorado Eagles. To add to the pressure, it was Colorado’s first matchup against former teammate J.T. Compher on home ice since he signed with the Detroit Red Wings in free agency.

To match the pace of the day, the 7–2 decisive victory over the Red Wings was something unimaginable. Despite securing a win with such a substantial margin, there was still room to work for the home team while celebrating another historic night for the team.

Colorado outshot Detroit 54–29, but most of the success stemmed from the second period. The Avalanche scored three goals and put up a shocking 24 shots on the net, converting on three of them.

The Good

The Avalanche roster came up big in more ways than one. Cale Makar had recently broken an 11-game scoring drought against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 4. Since lighting the lamp, Makar broke open his historic night with an equalizing goal 5:15 into the contest, tying the game at one.

He subsequently scored an additional two back-to-back goals at the end of the second period, marking his first career hat trick—an impressive feat as a defenseman.

Nathan MacKinnon extended his home point streak to 31 games, tallying at least one in every matchup in Ball Arena for the 2023-24 season. MacKinnon collected four points on the night, his most notable also being an equalizing power play goal at the 17-minute mark.

Foudy made his first appearance in an Avalanche sweater after spending the first part of the season injured. Determined to make a splash, he netted his first NHL goal at 15:25 into the third period.

Mikko Rantanen tallied four assists, and Artturi Lehkonen and Jonathan Drouin also netted a goal in the decisive effort.

The Bad

The Avalanche had a serious problem with their penalty kill. Colorado is sitting 11th in the league on their penalty kill execution, but several defensive breakdowns in front of the net left too much room for Detroit to take advantage.

Both of the Red Wings’ goals took place in front of the net with little to no help from the defense. Alexandar Georgiev did as much as he could, but it proved to be a costly task.

Some of this could be because of the roster shuffle, but without the offensive force of the game, this could have proven to be catastrophic. Georgiev shut down many of Detroit’s offensive pressures, including a clutch glove save.

Takeaways

While the departure of Byram was an emotional moment for many Avalanche fans, the arrival of Mittelstadt and Walker is something to look forward to.

Makar’s impact tonight may have been the momentum the team needed to secure six unanswered goals in their decisive win, a much needed relief to the team’s offensive identity.

After securing tonight’s victory, Colorado and the Jets have tied at 83 points for second place in the Central Division, just two points behind Dallas.

The team is up against the Minnesota Wild on Friday. The Wild currently holds the sixth position in the Central Division and is nine points behind a wild card spot.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/makar-nets-hat-trick-in-decisive-victory/feed/ 0 28826 One point gained as Avalanche lose to Red Wings https://www.the-rink.com/one-point-gained-as-avalanche-lose-to-red-wings/ https://www.the-rink.com/one-point-gained-as-avalanche-lose-to-red-wings/#respond Fri, 23 Feb 2024 04:26:11 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=28633 One point is better than none for the Colorado Avalanche against the Detroit Red Wings. But it wasn’t the best game outcome at this end of the season. Why didn’t... Read more »

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]]> One point is better than none for the Colorado Avalanche against the Detroit Red Wings. But it wasn’t the best game outcome at this end of the season. Why didn’t they get two points?

— The power play – tonight the Altitude broadcaster Marc Moser mentioned not once, but twice, “the Avalanche are two of their last 28.” That shows that there is an issue with the power play. The penalty kill was strong, so it’s not a ‘special teams’ issue.

— No rebound luck – the Avalanche picked up very few rebounds. When they did, they had no luck putting the puck in the net.

— Missed Passes – Poor timing of passes resulted in missed goal-scoring chances.

Takeaways

– Justus Annunen in only his fourth game as starting goalie for the Avalanche was strong in net. The one goal that got past him flew through bodies and sticks. It was impossible to track. His biggest save of the game came with .06 seconds left in the third period. Former Avalanche J. T. Compher was trying to push the goal and Annunen denied him.

– After his last game, the coaches elevated Ryan Johansen to 2nd line center tonight. He has won 53.8 percent of his faceoffs so far this season. That contributes to game wins. His game was back to what we had seen early in the season from him, after he joined the Avalanche.

– Jack Johnson has elevated his game recently to assist the team with scoring. Tonight he gained his fourth point in three games. His game is solid defensively, which is a bonus. Mark Rycroft from Altitude TV commented that “he knows his own limits and plays to them.” That contributes to predictability, something the Avalanche have been lacking lately.

– Both Josh Manson and Samuel Girard were again noticeable. Manson and Girard played powerful roles during the penalty kill. They held the Red Wings to scoring on one of four their opportunities. Overall, both players contributed tonight. Girard is now a plus-11 in his last 20 games since returning from his break. That makes a difference. Prior to the break he was -7. And Manson is not only contributed defensively but with scoring opportunities too.

Summary

You will notice the absence of talking about the Avalanche’s top line tonight. Mikko Rantanen had a dreadful night. Cale Makar now has no points in his last six games. Whilst the top line can’t be the only ones to carry the team, as previous game writeups have noted, other teams have worked out how to shut down Nathan MacKinnon. That does impact game outcomes.

Marc Moser summed up the last half of the game when he said “The Red Wings defense has gotten more stingy as this game has gone on.” The Avalanche couldn’t find the way to break through that.

Was this loss terrible for the Avalanche? No. With the minor mistakes cleaned up, they could have come away with two points rather than one. The Avalanche now go back home to meet the Maple Leafs on Saturday.

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