THW's Avalanche News

THW's Avalanche news for 03/20/2021

March 20, 2021

The latest Avalanche stories from The Hockey Writers.

 

03/20/2021 edition:

By Kerry Collins on Mar 19, 2021 11:25 am

The Colorado Avalanche are playing in a video game right now.

The shots are getting absurd, and the top line was dominant on Thursday to set the tone for a 5-1 statement win over the Minnesota Wild. The win pushed Colorado’s winning streak to five games, as each member of the top line scored a goal.

They have one game left on a nine-game homestand, and have gone 6-1-1 through the first eight. Thursday’s win pushed the Avalanche into second place in the West Division standings, jumping over the Wild.

Here’s three takeaways from Thursday’s victory:

Top Line Shreds Wild

The top line for the Avalanche hammered the Wild net all night, scoring four of the five Colorado goals in the victory.

Mikko Rantanen racked up two goals – including another ridiculous backhand from a nasty angle – and two assists to lead the way. Nathan MacKinnon started the scoring at 11:10 the first (on Colorado’s 19th shot on goal in the first nine minutes), and the Avalanche were rolling.

MacKinnon also had two assists in the game, including one on Gabriel Landeskog’s power-play tally late in the second that pushed the lead to 3-1. Overall, the top line combined for four goals and six assists in the victory.

Rantanen has been on a tear, scoring four goals and five assists over the last four games. MacKinnon’s goal extended his goal-scoring streak to four games, and Landeskog has at least a point in four of his last five games.

Shooting the Lights Out

Colorado has been piling up ridiculous shot numbers throughout the five-game winning streak, but Thursday night was bordering on absurd.

The Avalanche outshot Minnesota 25-6 through the first period, and amassed a staggering 44 shots on target through the first 40 minutes. The total through two periods was a franchise record. They wound up with 55 for the game, which was easily a season-high – even with the recent barrage – and was the second-most in team history.

Colorado’s record for shots in a game is 57, which came in a 5-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on March 5, 1996.

Six different players had at least five shots on goal on Thursday, including Cale Makar – who tallied six in his first game back after missing the last 10.

The Avalanche have had at least 41 shots on goal in four of their last five games – and they piled up 45 through the first two periods on Thursday. Colorado hasn’t had fewer than 30 shots on goal since recording 29 on Feb. 26 in a 3-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes.

But it’s not just the offense piling up chances. The defense has been holding teams down, too. Over the five-game winning streak, Colorado has outshot opponents by an average of 44.8-20.4.

Fourth Line Sets Tone

Logan O’Connor, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and Matt Calvert aren’t going to lead the Avalanche in goals or points or even minutes. But they might know their roles better than anybody else on the team.

Colorado coach Jared Bednar started the fourth line on Thursday for their energy, and the result was an outburst that set off what was arguably the most dominant first period of the season for the Avalanche.

Bellemare won the opening faceoff, and Calvert and O’Connor combined for four shots on goal over the next 17 seconds. Colorado outshot the Wild 25-6 through the first 20 minutes, building a 2-0 lead.

O’Connor, Bellemare and Calvert have combined for only five goals and seven points on the season, but that’s not why they’re there. The Avs energy line are all part of the penalty kill, and they’re sent out to give the big guns a breather and wear out the opposition for maybe a minute at a time.

They did all of that and more on Thursday. While the points still weren’t there, the fourth line combined for 10 shots on goal in the win. O’Connor accounted for six of them – which set a career-high.

The Avalanche close out their nine-game homestand with another game against the Wild on Saturday afternoon.

By Kerry Collins on Mar 19, 2021 10:26 am

Colorado doesn’t have the rich history of NHL players as states like Minnesota, Michigan or Massachusetts, but recent history says that might be changing.

Just 16 Colorado natives have suited up for NHL teams, but, of those, 13 have played in the NHL within the last dozen years, and seven are on NHL rosters this season.

Colorado’s best lineup might change drastically if that trend continues, but here’s the best lineup of players born in the Centennial State:

G – Ben Bishop

Arguably the best NHLer to come from Colorado, Bishop has piled up 222 wins and sports a career .921 save percentage and 2.32 goals-against average across a dozen seasons. Bishop has played for five NHL teams, and played in the Stanley Cup Final with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2015 season when the Bolts lost in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Denver native played in the 2016 All-Star Game, and has been picked for the NHL All-Star second team twice (2016 and 2019). Currently with the Dallas Stars, the 34-year-old is in his 12th season. Bishop hasn’t played in 2021, sitting on injured reserve all season. The earliest he will make his season debut is likely in mid-April.

D – Jaccob Slavin

Slavin is in the midst of his sixth NHL season, and all have been with the Carolina Hurricanes. A durable member of the Canes’ stout defensive corps (he’s played in all 82 games of a season twice), he played in his first All-Star Game in 2020.

Born in Erie, Slavin played two fine seasons at Colorado College before signing with the Hurricanes. The 26-year-old had 29 goals and 122 assists entering the 2021 season. Those numbers give him the most points of any Colorado-born defenseman. His brother, Josiah, might be the next Coloradan to play in the NHL.

D – Brandon Carlo

The Colorado Springs native has made an immediate impact with the Boston Bruins since joining them in 2017. He was paired with future Hall of Famer Zdeno Chara as a rookie – despite being nearly 20 years younger than Chara.

Coming into the 2021 season, Carlo amassed 12 goals and 39 assists in his career. Drafted in the second round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Carlo is one of just six Coloradans drafted in the second round or earlier. All five of his NHL seasons have been played with the Bruins.

C – Mike Eaves

The highest-scoring NHL player from Colorado, Eaves played seven seasons for the Minnesota North Stars and Calgary Flames from 1978-1985. He tallied 83 goals and 143 assists in his NHL career, both more than any other player from Colorado.

After starring at the University of Wisconsin, Eaves played five of his seven seasons with the North Stars, and got to the Wales Conference Final with the team in his first full season. His 18 goals in that 1979-80 campaign are the most by a Colorado native.

LW – Brendan Lemieux

The son of former Colorado Avalanche fan favorite, Claude Lemieux, Brendan is an agitator that plays a similar style to his father’s. Brendan made his debut in 2018 with the Winnipeg Jets, and is currently playing with the New York Rangers. After being drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2015, Brendan was sent to Winnipeg as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Evander Kane to Buffalo.

Born in Denver in 1996 during the Avalanche’s run to their first Stanley Cup, Brendan Lemieux scored his 20th career goal earlier this season. Despite growing up in Colorado, Brendan played internationally for Canada, winning gold at the 2018 U-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.

RW – B.J. Crombeen

Crombeen played for four teams in an NHL career that spanned eight seasons. His 34 career goals are second only to Eaves amongst Colorado natives. He scored a hat trick against the Nashville Predators on Dec. 8, 2008, which was the first hat trick by a Colorado-born player in NHL history.

A native of Denver but raised in Ontario, Crombeen last played for the Arizona Coyotes in 2014-15. He easily holds the distinction of most penalty minutes by a Colorado-born player with 850 – which is 608 PIMs more than the next closest player.

There’s a reason why Colorado doesn’t have the deep history of NHL players that some other states might have: It’s because Colorado is in the early stages of its NHL history right now. This list will likely change in a few years, and don’t be surprised if players like Troy Terry of the Anaheim Ducks or Tampa Bay’s Callan Foote pop on here in years to come.

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