With just a handful of games left in the regular season, a select number of teams are gearing up for a hopefully long run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Colorado Avalanche is one of those teams. Led by Hart Trophy favorite Nathan MacKinnon and an excellent offense, this team is looking like a force heading into the postseason.
However, a glaring issue in Denver is on the back end. Despite having a Norris Trophy winner in Cale Makar, paired up with his longtime partner Devon Toews, Colorado has a couple of holes on the blue line that could be exposed in a couple of weeks.
Yes, they have veteran experience in Stanley Cup champion Erik Johnson and Ryan Lindgren – whose playing style fits with the playoffs – but what the bottom four has shown this year is that if they get caught on the ice in the wrong matchup, it can be tough sledding for the team.
On Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk explain what makes the Avs’ defense corps such an issue.
Frank Seravalli: Ryan Lindgren will help. He’s certainly a playoff-style defenseman, but they’ve got one all-world pair, and four, I would say, highly questionable defenseman after that. They’re going to have to try and shelter some of these guys. I think [Sam] Malinski has taken some strides. Keaton Middleton is a guy who’s been in and out of the lineup. Erik Johnson, they grabbed from the [Philadelphia Flyers] at the trade deadline as sort of a last gasp and bring him in. He made the joke he’d sweep the floors or whatever it was, if that’s what it took to be part of this Colorado Avalanche team. Look, that’s clearly the issue with the Avs. If they have trouble, it’s going to be [that] they don’t have depth on defense.
