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Unsung trio contributing in big way

January 19, 2018, 4:58 PM ET [5 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Nathan MacKinnon and linemates Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog have gotten most of the attention during the Avalanche's rise from the ashes, and deservedly so.

But the Avalanche wouldn't be taking an eight-game winning streak into Saturday's game against the New York Rangers without the contributions of Matt Nieto, Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau, who form perhaps the most unsung line in the NHL.

All three are role players whose primary responsibilities are to play solid defense and to kill penalties, yet they've also combined for 59 points (27 goals, 32 assists) and a plus-8 rating through 44 games.

They helped to kill off seven Sharks power plays Thursday in a 5-3 win -- yes, goalie Jonathan Bernier made 24 of his 45 saves while shorthanded, a ridiculous number -- and produced two goals and three assists.

The Avalanche have killed 27 of 29 penalties during the winning streak and 55 of 57 penalties in the past 17 games.

"They've done an outstanding job," coach Jared Bednar said after a 25-minute practice Friday. "Big minutes, penalty kill minutes, they get the job done. It wasn't always pretty, but then to be able to chip in with two important goals, our third goal to stretch the lead and the fifth one to put the game away.

"It's pretty impressive chipping in with some secondary scoring and still be able to check and take care of one of the top lines of the opposition every night. It's a job well done by those guys."

Here's my NHL.COM GAME STORY from Thursday.

The Avalanche (25-16-3) moved into the second wild card playoff position in the Western Conference with the win, but the tight "race" for the postseason remains fluid with so many games remaining.

"It feels good," Comeau said Friday. He set up Nieto for an insurance goal and 5-3 lead with 3:14 left in the third period when the Avalanche were under siege and nearly blew all of a 4-0 lead.

"All three of us have roles that we take a lot of pride in. Jared has a lot of trust in us in the defensive zone, and all three of us love the challenge of playing against other teams' top lines and trying to shut them down.

"Considering the ice time that we've been getting, it's important that we contribute some secondary scoring as well. The MacKinnon line has been carrying a big load of the offensive work, but we can't just rely on one line moving forward, we have to make sure that we have all four lines contributing."

Soderberg logged 20:13 Thursday, more than any other Avalanche forward. He scored a goal, played 7:50 shorthanded and 1:13 on the power play. Comeau played 18:17 -- 7:17 shorthanded -- and had two assists. Nieto played 14:29 -- 4:02 shorthanded -- and had a goal and an assist.

"I think everyone's buying into playing good defensive hockey," Comeau said. "We had some mishaps (Thursday), but it's been a big key for our turnaround and putting this winning streak together."

If the Avalanche can extend the streak to nine games, it would be their longest since the 2000-01 Stanley Cup championship season. They last won nine consecutive games from Oct. 10-28, 2000.

The Avalanche have outscored opponents 34-13 during the eight-game streak, the third-longest in franchise history. They've won seven straight at home, and are 13-3-1 in their past 17 games.

Bernier has won seven in a row, the longest of his NHL career.

The expected Avalanche lineup:

FORWARDS
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Dominic Toninato -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Nail Yakupov
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Blake Comeau
Colin Wilson -- J.T. Compher -- Gabriel Bourque

DEFENSE
Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Johnson
Patrik Nemeth -- Mark Barberio
Samuel Girard -- Anton Lindholm

GOALIES
Jonathan Bernier
Andrew Hammond



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