Thursday night featured a matchup of two of the hottest teams in the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche have been on a roll and the Los Angeles Kings came to town looking to make it nine wins in their last 10 games.
The Avalanche have had dominant wins over the Detroit Red Wings and Ottawa Senators, teams aspiring to make the playoffs. They added another dominating win to their record, easily handling the Kings en route to a 4-0 win. Here are the most important takeaways.
A Metaphorical Avalanche of Offense
It feels like a trend of late, but the Avalanche have shown the ability to pour on the offense in short stretches. In roughly 10 minutes in the second period, the game went from being a 0-0 tie to seeing the Avalanche put up a trio of goals.
Martin Necas has been a wonderful addition, the key piece of the blockbuster Mikko Rantanen trade. More impressively, he shows a versatile skillset when it comes to putting the puck in the back of the net. On the first goal, he used quick hands to take the puck from behind the net to into the net. Just a few minutes later, he rocketed a one-timer on the power play.
The Avalanche are so deep that even when the top of the lineup isn’t really clicking, they’re getting contributions. This is as deep and dangerous a team as there is in the NHL, regardless of their place in the standings, and they are a threat to score several goals in no time.
This Is a Strong Team Top to Bottom
We will hear about the offense on a regular basis, and rightfully so. There is so much talent here that they should be able to compete with virtually anyone just based on their offensive ability. The new additions have made them even better offensively, but the change to the team’s overall game has been apparent.
The additions of Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle have made the Avalanche deeper down the middle, while also making them better defensively. Yes, the Avalanche scored four goals on the night, but the team defense completely shut down the Kings.
The Avalanche look like they have all the tools necessary to make a deep run. The goaltending is there. The offensive firepower is there. And now, the total team defense is there. That is the recipe for winning a championship.
Special Teams Are Gaining Steam
There was a stretch when the power play couldn’t buy a goal. Even with Cale Makar chasing history and more hardware, it just couldn’t find a way to get the job done. It felt like one of the great anomalies in the league.
Of late, however, the power play has come to life. They have quietly climbed into the eighth spot in the league at 25.7%, just a few percentage points behind vaunted units like the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs.
The power play collected another pair of goals on the night, and the feeling right now is that it can score at will. They have become dangerous from any area while on the man advantage, and they have the guys who can bury it in an instant.
Momentum Is More Important Than Home Ice
Despite the win and the momentum, the Avalanche are now five points back of the Dallas Stars for second place in the Central Division. The Stars just keep winning, and it is looking more and more like they will garner home ice in the first round of the playoffs.
But that doesn’t have to be the most important thing. If the Avalanche can go into the playoffs with energy and momentum, they can absolutely be the team that beats the Stars in their own arena. The goal for the remainder of the season is to continue playing their best and peak heading into the postseason.
