The Avs have been employing a wacky strategy lately, get rolled over in the 1st period then go to work. Can’t argue with the results! The Jets nabbed a couple of goals in a fast-paced opening frame last night and looked to be headed for first place in the division but they couldn’t seal the deal. Colorado needed one point, they got two and with some luck might even end up in the first wild card slot.
Projectile Lineup
Mikko is now skating before practice along with Vlad Kamenev. Could be close. Nick Henry reported to the Eagles so he’s officially a pro now. Grubi back in net after Varly shut down the Oilers.
Scratch: Agozzino, Graves, Barberio, Rantanen (UBI)
Injured: Kamenev (shoulder)
Team Stats
The Avs drew a penalty in the first minute of play and did nothing with the advantage. After some back & forth the Jets took hold of the game and went on a 16-3 shot run while building a 2-0 lead. Against the Avs this is now the most dangerous lead in hockey. After a good shift late in the 1st Colorado opened the 2nd with better energy and Tyson Barrie netted a beauty which the Jets challenged for offside and lost. Nothing doing on that PP either but we ground forward for the rest of the frame. Early in the 3rd Winnipeg began sitting back and the Avs took advantage with a 13-3 run that led to yet another fruitless power play. Several seconds after that expired Tyson Jost released a shot-pass that Carl Soderberg tipped past Hellebuyck for the tie. Now it was the Avs turn to sit back a little. Both teams had something at stake so it was more strategic grinding than turtle. A goofball too much man penalty with less than 2 minutes to go upped everyone’s heart rates but the killers did a solid job and the badly needed single point was secured. PLAYOFFS. Just for fun Colorado decided to win in OT on a great 2v1 with Mack and EJ.
Tale of the tape at 5v5 was a +49/-56 with the difference coming from the 1st period malaise. In the final 40 minutes the Avs were +33/-32. The Jets generated plenty of quality in the 1st but nothing after, the Avs generated little quality at all. Shot pace at 5v5 was a rockin’ 135 per hour.
The power play went 0-for-4 but the tying goal was scored only 7 seconds after a PP expired. The PK stopped all 3 Winnipeg chances including the crucial penalty at the end of regulation.
TOI
Top 6 forwards at 5v5 were Mack, Landy, Carl, Kerf, Compher and Wilson. In all situations it was Mack (26:41!) leading the team by a mile then Landy, Compher, Kerfoot, Soderberg and Nieto (15:06). Gabe Bourque was low man at just over 7 minutes and only played 4:21 at 5v5.
The defensive regime went Big Z, Barrie, Sam then a gap down to Cole, EJ and Nemeth. Overall it was Barrie (24), Sam (20), Cole (19+), Zadorov (19), EJ (18) and Nemeth (15).
Individual
– The biggest goal of the season ends up being a great play by Tyson Jost and Carl Soderberg’s casual tip in for the tie midway through the 3rd. That was Carl’s 23rd of the season, a career high, and he’s looking for one point to hit 50 for the year. He’s really good.
– Mack set up EJ for the Avs 3rd overtime goal of the year (1 at 3v3, 1 at 4v3 and 1 at 4v4). That gives him 98 points with one game to go and I’m pretty sure he wants 100.
– Tyson Barrie’s Mikko-esque shot for the 1st goal was the spark that ignited the Avs last night. He has 7 goals, all at even strength, in the last 10 games. That’s hot. He needs one goal for a career high of 15 which would also get him to 60 points for the first time in his career.
– The Avs are locked into a playoff spot but do have a slight chance at moving past Dallas into the top wild card slot. The Stars have games tonight vs the Hawks and tomorrow vs Minnesota and a point in either will lock Colorado into a 1st round matchup vs Calgary. If they get blanked twice and the Avs win in San Jose for only the 2nd time in the last 20 visits then the Avs will begin the playoffs at the Central Division champion’s arena. The champ has yet to be determined with Nashville, Winnipeg and St Louis all in the mix and all 3 with fairly easy opponents tomorrow. If all 3 win then Nashville will take the crown.
Most likely, tomorrow’s game will be meaningless. It certainly will be for the Sharks who have been locked into 2nd in the Pacific for a while. It’s the last NHL game of the regular season with a godawful 7:30pm local start time so the staff will know beforehand if there’s anything to play for. The objective of the evening will be to stay loose, stay healthy and help the gentlemen mentioned above reach some personal goals if possible. Quite possibly it will be the last time we see Semyon Varlamov in burgundy & white so watch for that as well.
Burgundy Narrative Metric
– “Best guys being your best guys” gets a (+) Yessir
– Quality vs Quantity gets a (-) quantity fine, quality non-existant
– Power Play Watchability gets a (-) sorry Ray, it’s just not working
– The Dreaded Turtle gets a (+) both teams turtled sort of, and that’s fun
– Starting Goalie Battle% gets a (+) one goofball goal against but another good night overall
– Referee Oppression Index gets a (+) Stayed out of the way in a big game for both parties. Thought they got the call right on both goal reviews. Solid job by Tim Peel? Wow.
Total: +90¾
Next up
Final game of the season very late on Saturday night in San Jose.
Thanks as always to the NHL and Natural Stat Trick for numbers and visuals