What a god damn week of GREAT hockey! After an abysmal start to the road trip in Philly, the Avs flipped the switch to the tune of four straight wins to close out the trip. There were tons of positives to take away from those four wins, but this blog would never get finished if I dove into everything. Instead, we’re gonna take a little look into each game individually.
AVALANCHE VS SABRES
The first period of this game was a bit of rollercoaster as the Avs got out to a relatively comfortable 2-0 lead before giving up a goal in the last second of the period, but it was very smooth sailing after that. The Avs poured in four goals in the second period and simply controlled the game in the third period. It was a much-needed bounce back after the Flyers shit show and was one of the cleanest games this team has played all season. Outside of a 7-10 minute stretch in the first, the Avs played the game on their terms, and to be frank, bullied the Sabres for 50 minutes. This game was a coming-out party for the Nichushkin-Kadri-Burakovsky line, a line that was definitely not done making an impact on the rest of the trip.
AVALANCHE VS SENATORS
The Avs started the game not allowing a shot on goal until there was 1:40 left in the first period. It was as impressive of a defensive performance as I had seen in a long time, and yet somehow with less than a minute left the Sens managed to score a goal that tied the game at one. Much like the Sabres game, the Avs didn’t seem to let it rattle them and a strong second period followed. The second started with some now token depth scoring from Nieto and was punctuated with a goal by the seemingly rejuvenated Cale Makar on the PP. After struggling against the Flyers, Makar was stellar for the remainder of the road trip. The scoring was capped in the third with a short side rip from JT Compher with an assist from non-other than Makar. The Kadri line was an absolute force again, and while Grubauer wasn’t tested too many times he made 25 confident saves. Also worth noting that the Avs fearless leader, and all-around stallion, Jared Bednar passed Quenneville as the franchise’s (Avs/Nordiques) 4th winningest coach.
AVALANCHE VS BLUE JACKETS
“I haven’t been that excited about scoring a goal in a long time”, that was what MacK had to say after scoring a game-winner that maybe 3 forwards in this league could score. Not only is that a sentiment to how good the goal was, but really how huge that win was. The Avs had not won a game after trailing heading into the third period, and on top of that had not won a game when scoring two or fewer goals in a game. Both of those things changed after what I would say was the best win of the season. Columbus is by no means the sexiest team in the NHL as far as their style of play, but coming into this game they were red hot. They had only lost two games since early December and had a goalie that had five shutouts in his last eight games, you can’t get any hotter than that in today’s NHL. The Blue Jackets were able to get on the board with a PP goal in the second period but that was is. That’s in large part due to Grubauer playing like a brick wall all game long. I tweeted out that he had no less than 5-6 ten bell saves, and was maybe the best player on the ice. Outplaying Elvis Merzlinkins considering his recent form says a lot about the groove Grubi was in during the game. I’ll be honest being down one I didn’t have much hope heading into the third, but Kadri and his line showed up in a big way again. Zadorov stepped up with a big hit in the offensive zone that jarred the puck loose, and eventually ended up on Naz’s stick. Kadri let one rip from the dot finding the far post, and you could tell by the celebration that the team’s confidence skyrocketed. The goal was scored with a little over eight minutes remaining, and from that point on the boys were buzzzzzing. That led to the aforementioned MacKinnon goal. MacK uncorked a one-timer from the top of the circles that beat Merzlikins over his right shoulder, top-shelf. It was a confidence-inspiring game that sets the tone for how this team can finish the season.
AVALANCHE VS WILD
I’ll be honest I missed most of this game for my own game but did watch the highlights. From what I could tell from the nine-minute clip it looked like a classic second game of a back to back. The Avs got two special teams goals with a shorty from Bellemare, and a PP goal from MacKinnon. The game could have been much more in control if the PK could have controlled the Wild, but 3-2 win after one the grittiest wins of the season is nothing to turn your nose up at.
I know that the Buffalo and Ottowa games were not necessarily “big” wins but the manner in which the Avs took care of business was great to see. Good teams don’t just beat bad teams, they pick them apart systematically, and that’s just what the Avs did in those games. Altogether it was one of the best road trips of the season, and if it weren’t for the Flyers game, it could have been the best. The trip also gave Grubauer a chance to establish himself as the got to guy again. In his last three starts, he’s had great Save %s again .958, .962, and .969. Those are all-pro numbers and are much more reminiscent of what he did at the end of last year. The trip also blessed us with the Kadri line that was so dominant. If that line can continue at the pace they’re playing the Avs might have the best one-two punch in the league. I’ll tell you what these are a lot more fun to write after weeks like that, and I think it’s safe to say the snow is VERY good.
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The Snow Report 