Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Avs enter Olympics break in playoff shape

February 9, 2014, 3:53 PM ET [30 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT




I don't know if this 17-day break for the Olympics will be good or bad for the Avalanche, but this is what NHL players wanted, even if many owners did not.

Well, it will be good for Alex Tanguay, who could use the time to regain his health after missing the past five games after reinjuring his knee. The same for Cory Sarich, who sat out the past 13 games because of a back injury.

The timing couldn't be better for Max Talbot and his fiancee Cynthia Phaneuf, who is due to give birth to the couple's first child any day now. So early congratulations to them.

Keep your fingers crossed that all four Avalanche Olympians stay healthy: Matt Duchene (Canada), Gabriel Landeskog (Sweden), Paul Stastny (United States) and Semyon Varlamov (Russia).

And go USA! C'mon, had to get that in.

The Avalanche will resume practicing Feb. 20 and play Feb. 26 against Los Angeles at the Pepsi Center.

*****

The Avalanche is in excellent shape as far as the playoffs are concerned with a 37-16-5 record and 79 points in 58 games, a solid third in the Central Division, 10 points in front of fourth-place Minnesota with a game in hand.

"Seventy-nine points, it's something that we're very happy about," coach Patrick Roy said.

They should be. This team has made a remarkable turnaround from the disaster of a year ago and with 24 games to play the Avalanche still has a chance to move up in the standings. The second-place Chicago Blackhawks, who would be the Avalanche's first-round opponent if the standings remain the same, are five points ahead and have played two more games.

If the Avalanche can catch them and finish second, it would mean home-ice advantage in the opening round. The Blackhawks are defending Stanley Cup champions, but the Avalanche matches up a lot better with them than with the St. Louis Blues, who are in first with 84 points and have played one fewer game than Colorado.

(Imagine if NHL realignment hadn't taken place. The Avalanche would lead the Northwest Division by 10 points and be in line for no worse than the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.)

The Avalanche has played consistent hockey at home and on the road, posting a 19-7-3 record at home and 18-9-2 on the road. Colorado went 10-1-0 in October, 9-5-0 in November, 5-5-4 in December, 10-3-1 in January and 3-2-0 so far in February. The Avalanche has had two six-game winning streaks and two four-game winning streaks. It lost as many as three games in regulation once and two games in regulation twice.

As well as the Avalanche has played, Roy and his players have been saying from the start that they're pleased with what they've accomplished but aren't satisfied. That's a good thing. They've remained "humble," to use Roy's word, which also means they're hungry to be even better.

*****

It was good to see Duchene finally break out of his goal-scoring slump Saturday with two goals -- Nos. 100 and 101 in his career -- in the Avalanche's 5-2 win against the New York Islanders. Rookie Nathan MacKinnon -- hard to believe he is 18 -- scored his team-leading 22nd goal and defenseman Tyson Barrie, who was considered trade bait not very long ago, chipped in with three assists, giving him two goals and seven assists in the past eight games, with five goals and nine assists in the past 16 games.

Seven players have 10 or more goals: MacKinnon (22), Ryan O'Reilly (21), Duchene (19), Landeskog (18), Stastny (17), Jamie McGinn (14) and PA Parenteau (10). Five players range between 41 points and Duchene's team-leading 50. The Avalanche hasn't had as many as five 20-goal-scorers since 2006-07 when Joe Sakic (36 goals) and Milan Hejduk (35) were on the team.

Landeskog will have a nine-game point-scoring streak (four goals, eight assists) when the season resumes against Los Angeles. MacKinnon, the Calder Trophy favorite, will take an eight-game streak (five goals, six assists) into the game against the Kings. O'Reilly, a player the Avalanche absolutely needs to re-sign, has seven goals and six assists in the past 13 games.

Defenseman Erik Johnson's play has slipped in recent weeks; he has a minus-11 plus/minus rating in the past 10 games and hasn't scored a goal in 17 games. The break should be good for him, as disappointed as he's been for not making the U.S. Olympic team. Jan Hejda hasn't been as effective lately, either. He was a minus-7 in the seven games before the break and has gone nine games without a goal.

Still, this patchwork defense has been better than expected. The Avalanche gives up too many shots and quality scoring chances, and has made a habit of blowing third-period leads even when it escapes with a win. But that's not all on the defense because the forwards too often sit back with leads, don't attack the way they should and fail to give the defense much support.

This is where the goaltending comes in, and it's been pretty darned good. Varlamov has a 28-11-5 record with one shutout, a 2.48 goals-against average and .924 save percentage while facing an average of 31 shots per game. He's allowed two goals or fewer in 29 of 48 games.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere stumbled after a fast start but was in net for both Avalanche wins in the just-completed four-game road trip. He stopped 76 of 80 shots in wins against the New Jersey Devils and Islanders after turning back 19 of 20 shots in a Jan. 21 relief appearance against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has a 9-4-0 record with two shutouts, a 2.44 goals-against average and .918 save percentage.

Special teams have been inconsistent. The Avalanche power play is 14th in the NHL with 33 goals on 174 chances (19 percent). Only Boston (167) has had fewer power plays. The penalty killers are 16th, having allowed 34 goals while being shorthanded 185 times (81.6 percent). The Avalanche has scored two shorthanded goals and allowed one.

FYI: The NHL trading deadline is March 5. A trading freeze is on during the Olympic break.
Join the Discussion: » 30 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Rick Sadowski