The 5-1 dominating victory over the Ottawa Senators was an added boost to the Colorado Avalanche’s elevated game down the stretch. With 12 games left in the regular season, the Avs are heating up when it counts. They’re 7-1-1 in March and 8-1-1 in their last 10-game segment.
There is a good vibe in the room and throughout the team as the new guys are settling in. The Avs had a bit of a slow start but found a way to pull it together and bounce back from a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs the night before.
“We were (good) other than the first five minutes. We weathered the storm a little bit, and then we were able to find a way to get our rhythm. We were pretty solid all night. But yeah, for a back-to-back, we were really good,” Cale Makar said after the game.
Colorado’s solid goaltending is key to taking this team down a deep postseason run. Scott Wedgewood only faced 16 shots but managed to keep the team in it before it got hot to control the remaining 55 minutes of the contest.
“Couldn’t be prouder. A couple big blocks. We’re up 5-0 in the second, 4-on-4 (Ryan) Lindgren still, putting the body on the line, taking a one-timer from (Tim) Stützle to keep the game up. That’s a credit to these guys, that they’re playing hard regardless of the score right now,” Wedgewood said.
10 Observations
1 — Devon Toews went to the beach in some pain after a play in the first period but returned after a couple of minutes. He may be banged up but as he said earlier in the season, a lot of guys are playing through it. That’s the sign of a Stanley Cup contender with a competitive edge and fire running through their veins.
2 — The Avs may have had a slow start to the latter of a back-to-back but they are 6-3-1 in those games. They seem to find a way to win even when they are coming off a previous night’s loss.
“I’ve been really happy with the way we played. The game in Toronto, we didn’t get the results, but it’s nice to see the puck go in for us. We had a handful of chances in the first period, but there were good chances and we capitalized on them. That was a little bit of a difference from the Toronto game to tonight,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “Both sides of the puck, everyone contributing. It was a tight-checking game on our side. We were doing a lot of good things offensively, getting to the net, creating rebounds, lots of deflections, pretty good looks from the umbrella and in the slot. So have to be pretty happy with the effort, the competitiveness and execution here tonight.”
3 — Bednar changed up his lines putting Jonathan Drouin with Nathan MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin and that paid off. The first goal of the game was a Drouin back drop pass to MacKinnon for the score. He is adamant on keeping lines together if they’re clicking and I think this one will stick until it needs to be altered.
4 — Knowing the team can depend on both goaltenders is a huge advantage and boosts confidence on and off the ice. Wedgewood is now 10-4 in 14 games started with two shutouts and nearly missed a career-high third until the last four minutes of the game.
5 — Brock Nelson scored his first and second goals since joining the Avalanche. His veteran presence in the locker room and on the ice has made a significant difference for the team.
“The players that we added at the deadline are making a huge difference. It’s skill and experienced guys and with good size and ability in the middle of the ice,” Bednar said. “You add Nelson, you add (Charlie) Coyle. We added Jack Drury before that, and then (Ryan) Lindgren on the back end has helped. So solidifying that position, the center position, to play low in our zone, add a few defensemen here to give us some depth in case we’re missing guys. It’s been huge for us.”
