MINvsCOL Archives - The Rink https://www.the-rink.com/tag/minvscol/ Chicago Blackhawks and NHL Salary Cap Information Wed, 10 Apr 2024 05:30:23 +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 MINvsCOL Archives - The Rink https://www.the-rink.com/tag/minvscol/ 32 32 136660061 Both MacKinnon and Makar have milestone nights against Wild https://www.the-rink.com/both-mackinnon-and-makar-have-milestone-nights-against-wild/ https://www.the-rink.com/both-mackinnon-and-makar-have-milestone-nights-against-wild/#respond Wed, 10 Apr 2024 05:30:23 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=29262 The Colorado Avalanche had four games left in the regular season tonight, and they need every single one of them. Having lost the last two games in a row with... Read more »

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]]> The Colorado Avalanche had four games left in the regular season tonight, and they need every single one of them. Having lost the last two games in a row with the last one against the Dallas Stars a 7–4 loss. Dallas would win while the Avalanche played the Minnesota Wild tonight, as well as the Winnipeg Jets. So tonight became a must-win and Nathan MacKinnon must have gotten the message. He and Cale Makar both had a milestone night as the Avalanche wanted to guarantee that the Wild would not see the playoffs this season. Here are the takeaways from the 5–2 victory over the Wild.

Takeaways

— MacKinnon went into tonight with 133 points so far this season, six points shy of Peter Stastny’s record of 139. The Canadian had four games to tie or break the record… tonight MacKinnon made sure that he will probably pass it. He racked up four points with a hat trick and an assist. It was his seventh career hat trick, trailing only Stastny (16), Joe Sakic (15), and Michel Goulet (13). The second goal of the night was MacKinnon’s 50th goal, which is the first time that he reached the mark in his career.

— Cale Makar continues to be more than just a great defenseman. Makar has exceeded his points from the 2021-22 year (86). The young defenseman now has 87 points in 74 games played for the Avalanche this season. With the goal scored in the second period, Makar is the first blue liner for the Avalanche to have two 20-goal seasons.

— Alexandar Georgiev continues to puzzle me with some of his decisions. The first goal by the Wild, Georgiev, was pushing the puck into traffic rather than covering it for a stoppage. I have never played goalie (it is the only position I haven’t), but he had it right on his stick and could have fallen on it. These types of decisions are the ones that worry me this late in the season.

Conclusion

I understand the Wild are not much of a playoff team, but the performance from Colorado tonight is what we expect. Players had their heads up for the passes and they were rushing out of the zone for the breakout. This made it a lot easier for Colorado to exit their own zone and get through the neutral zone. If they can perform like this against Winnipeg on Saturday, they should have no issues. The Avalanche could take a four point lead over the Jets and trail the Stars by only three points.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/both-mackinnon-and-makar-have-milestone-nights-against-wild/feed/ 0 29262 Drouin assures win for Avalanche https://www.the-rink.com/drouin-assures-win-for-avalanche/ https://www.the-rink.com/drouin-assures-win-for-avalanche/#respond Fri, 05 Apr 2024 04:01:15 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=29217 After an embarrassing loss by the Colorado Avalanche to the Columbus Blue Jackets two nights ago, they needed a pick me up win. What began as a pushover start for... Read more »

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]]> After an embarrassing loss by the Colorado Avalanche to the Columbus Blue Jackets two nights ago, they needed a pick me up win. What began as a pushover start for the Avalanche against the Minnesota Wild quickly became a grind. Colorado, who needs points to gain the first place position in the division, desperately needed the victory tonight. Jonathan Drouin secured the victory, but the Wild were determined not to go quietly into the night. Here are my takeaways from the 5–2 victory over the Wild.

Takeaways

— Jonathan Drouin has become one player that the Avalanche can depend on. With his two goals tonight, both assisted by his pal Nathan MacKinnon, were key in the game. In both goals, Drouin went down low and got dirty in the crease. With the second goal, Drouin positioned himself for a perfect tip in from a MacKinnon slap shot. Drouin can do the dirty dangles or the dirty work down low, he will be worth an extension next season.

— Justus Annunen played well, winning his seventh of the season. The first goal by the Wild that came in the first period and from behind the net caught him off guard. Beyond that, his mobility and vision were excellent. Annunen was seeing high danger situations that he had not seen in games like against Chicago, where he had two consecutive shutouts. This was the best I had seen him move post-to-post since before his injury with the Eagles earlier in the season that kept him out for six weeks. Annunen’s .957 save percentage kept the Avalanche in the game.

— The line of Drouin, MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen has become a thing in Colorado. The trio has been together for 44 games during the season. It was a line that I had talked about even before training camp started. They have scored 29 goals together in 574 scoring chances while on the ice. So on average they have created over 13 scoring chances per game by themselves. And of all the scoring chances, 110 of them were high danger chances. This line is dangerous.

Conclusion

The Avalanche will need to keep themselves out of the penalty box as they head to Edmonton tomorrow night. The Oliers have the second best power play in the league with a 27 percent success rate. Colorado had four penalties in the second period alone tonight, surprisingly allowing one goal. The Avalanche will have to keep up the aggressive offense against a faltering Edmonton defense and keep them on their heels. The Central Division playoff race is all but set, with the Avalanche only three points out of first behind the Dallas Stars.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/drouin-assures-win-for-avalanche/feed/ 0 29217 Nichushkin nets the game winner against the Wild https://www.the-rink.com/nichushkin-nets-the-game-winner-against-the-wild/ https://www.the-rink.com/nichushkin-nets-the-game-winner-against-the-wild/#respond Sat, 09 Mar 2024 06:25:27 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=28858 The expectation was for the Colorado Avalanche to win against the Minnesota Wild in this back-to-back game. It happened, but not as easily as expected. Philip Gustavson’s standout performance kept... Read more »

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]]> The expectation was for the Colorado Avalanche to win against the Minnesota Wild in this back-to-back game. It happened, but not as easily as expected. Philip Gustavson’s standout performance kept the Avalanche at bay until overtime’s end. The Wild had sticks in lanes and did their best to close out Nathan MacKinnon. But, it was Valerie Nichushkin putting a bouncing puck in the net that gave the Avalanche the win in overtime.

Takeaways

— Penalty kill unit two looked strong with adding Yakov Trenin and Valerie Nichushkin back. There were a lot of penalties during the game. The Avalanche either had opportunities or had to hold strong and defend. No power play goals tonight, but the penalty killers defended keeping the Wild scoreless too.

— Nichushkin was back. He will settle back into his full strength the more games he plays, but his presence on the second line seemed to give the team strength. He and the four other new players, picked up before the trade deadline, contributed.

— Casey Mittelstadt at second line center was noticeable. Sean Walker was strong in defense and he, too, made his presence felt. Brandon Duhaime and Trenin kept up with the Avalanche speed and showed the skills that had them added to the team.

— The Avalanche looked to start the game strong, but were outshot in the second period eleven to seven. During several games this season, they then out shot their opponents during the third period. Tonight was no different.

— Alexandar Georgiev stood strong when it was most needed. He came up strong with phenomenal saves, including a penalty shot.

Summary

The game was hard fought with the Avalanches lines shaken up and the Wild’s back up goalie, who had a three point goal against average, in net. The Avalanche’s new team members proved their worth in strengthening this already formidable team. Mark Rycroft commented during the third period that the Avalanche needed to “play sticky, greasy hockey” and they did.

The upcoming road trip will allow the lines to gel and find chemistry. Then Coach Jared Bednar with have the job of deciding which lines will work best together. Colorado Avalanche play the Calgary Flames on Tuesday in Calgary, the first of four upcoming games on the road.

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]]> https://www.the-rink.com/nichushkin-nets-the-game-winner-against-the-wild/feed/ 0 28858 Avalanche drop first preseason game to Minnesota Wild https://www.the-rink.com/avalanche-drop-first-preseason-game-to-minnesota-wild/ https://www.the-rink.com/avalanche-drop-first-preseason-game-to-minnesota-wild/#respond Sun, 24 Sep 2023 23:55:27 +0000 https://www.the-rink.com/?p=26594 With the first look at the Colorado Avalanche in preseason action, the roster was anything but set in stone. The game against the Minnesota Wild revealed the team’s strengths and... Read more »

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]]> With the first look at the Colorado Avalanche in preseason action, the roster was anything but set in stone. The game against the Minnesota Wild revealed the team’s strengths and weaknesses, but it was hard to know who would perform well under in-game pressure.

Ultimately, the Avalanche dropped the game 4–3, allowing Minnesota to score three goals in the third period.

Going into the contest, Minnesota’s Jesper Wallstedt was going to be a tough goalie to score on. As one of the top goalie prospects in the league, the Avalanche had their work cut out for them.

In the first period, Colorado was ready to step up to the challenge. All lines were locked in and focused, looking cohesive. Only 4:10 into the first period, a pass from Fredrik Olofsson to Joel Kiviranta put the Avalanche ahead on the board.

While aggressive play seemed to pay off, the Avalanche stacked up 18 penalty minutes. Leaving the team shorthanded allowed the Wild to capitalize. Sam Malinski spent the most time in the box, owning eight of the 18 minutes.

The Wild could not take advantage of the penalties by Henry Bowlby, Tomas Tatar and Saige Weinstein in the first period to even the score.

By the second period, the proactive play became a disadvantage. Malinski, Jack Johnson and Corey Schueneman committed the first three penalties of the period but were later followed by two from their opponents.

Unlike the first period, sloppy play became apparent, and a power play became the perfect scoring opportunity for Minnesota to get past Justus Annunen to tie the score at 1–1.

The rest of the period remained scoreless.

Heading into the third period, the Avalanche cleaned up the penalties, but it was not enough to keep Minnesota away from offensive momentum. After a goal from the Wild snuck past Arvid Holm, a pass from Ryan Sandelin to Bowlby tied the game back up at 2–2.

Two more Minnesota tallies put the Avalanche behind, and with nine seconds left in the last leg of the game, Riley Tufte put the final goal on the board to trim the score to 4–3.

Preseason is for learning, and the Avalanche have a lot to work with, but their time is limited. All eyes are on the coaching staff to see what adjustments will be made to produce a successful lineup.

With inevitable roster changes being made, Monday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights will demonstrate how the players’ performance affects the game’s result.

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