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Sundays At the Rink: Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway
Jesse’s Observations
Avs lose first Game 1 since 2020
I’m sitting in my Seattle hotel room writing this about two-ish hours ahead of puck drop for Game 3 of the first-round series between the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken, so we’ll see what happens tonight during the first Stanley Cup Playoff game at Climate Pledge Arena.
No matter the result tonight, this series has already given us plenty to talk about.
I talked about it n the week leading up to Game 1 of this series, the first home game of the playoffs for the Avs is one of the best sporting events of the year in Denver. There’s an electricity that surrounds that game that I believe is unmatched in terms of individual games, of any sport in the city. I’m grateful we’ve gotten it six years in a row now.
That said, the series opener this year was not what we’ve come to expect from the Avalanche. The building was rocking, fans were in the mood to celebrate, and the team laid an egg.
It looked to me like the Avs weren’t ready for Seattle to bring the level of intensity that they did. I felt like Colorado was expecting the Kraken to have a “just happy to be here” mentality, and weren’t prepared for a team that was ready to battle.
It was a sobering moment. A moment that said, you can’t just show up and expect to win. This isn’t last year’s team that was just outright better than everyone else.
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Things got worse before they got better as the first period of Game 2 was among the worst periods of hockey I’ve seen the Avs play in more than two years probably. During that first intermission, I mentioned to Meghan Angley that I was worried that the Avs were maybe just mentally drained from a season that was relentless in the adversity it doled out to the defending champs. Maybe they just didn’t have anything left in the tank.
The final 40 minutes of that game were impressive from the Avs. Not because it was perfect, but because the level was cranked up so much relative to what we had been seeing, and because they had to battle. They had to battle through an ugly game to scratch out a win.
Many people, including myself, thought this series really wouldn’t be close given how green much of this Seattle roster still is. I now think this could be a long, nasty series between two teams that I don’t think will like each other very much by the end of it.
Landeskog making his presence felt
Keep an eye on this storyline, folks. Not because Gabe Landeskog is coming back after he announced last week that he was shutting himself down for the remainder of the season, but mostly because there may be something interesting happening behind the scenes here.
Landeskog told us during that press conference that he was going to be as involved with the team as they wanted him to be. Well, through two games it sounds like they want him heavily involved.
He’s been present at practices and games, as well as continuing to have a voice in the locker room at intermission. In fact, he was among those who stood up and spoke after the disastrous first period in Game 2.
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Bednar said that having someone like Landeskog available in those moments is huge for the team. He can provide insight and feedback on what he’s seeing from the press box, while also maybe being able to not be as emotional when he’s talking through it since he’s not in the heat of battle.
Then this morning in Seattle, Landeskog actually joined the team on the ice for morning skate. He wasn’t running through any drills, rather, he was acting like more like a coach out there than anything else.
If this team can go on any type of run here, I think this is going to be a sneaky storyline to keep an eye on. Landeskog is a massive part of the team and the organization. His presence alone might be enough to help will this team to a win or two.
Inconclusive
The first real controversy of the playoffs.
In the first overtime period of Game 3 of Edmonton vs Los Angeles, a battle in the corner between Gabe Vilardi and Mattias Ekholm resulted in a rolling puck getting hit and popping straight up in the air.
While airborne, the puck floated up and it looked like it had possibly hit Vilardi’s stick inadvertently. It then went off of Ekholm’s back and dropped to the ice. Several seconds later, Vilardi won another battle and centered the puck to Trevor Moore, who was all alone out front and he punched it home.
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The LA celebration was temporarily cut short as the officials got together to see if there was a missed stoppage of play, and a 5+ minute review ensued.
I don’t know if it hit his stick, but I do know that there wasn’t a single angle that showed conclusively one way or the other. It’s an impossible spot for the war room in Toronto to be in, all they can do is go by what was called on the ice.
Meghan’s Observations
Colorado Eagles Advance to 2nd Round
With their win over the Ontario Reign on Friday night, the Eagles earned a moment’s reprieve since a Game 3 would be unnecessary.
It was the Eagles’ series to lose, and the Reign made sure to keep it interesting. A close 3-2 OT winner in Game 1 left it down to the wire with the game winner coming from trade deadline acquisition, Gustav Rydahl.
Justus Annunen, who was a rock in last year’s Calder Cup Playoffs, earned both starts for Game 1 and Game 2.
In Game 2, the Eagles came out the gate flying. Through the first 35 minutes, all four lines were like a heat-seeking missile with a punishing forecheck. A chaotic sequence in the final minutes of the third period tilted the boxscore a bit: the Eagles were up 5-2, but a goal from a tough angle behind the goal line reasonably beat Annunen.
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Ontario nabbed another, but Colorado’s Cedric Pare secured the empty net goal for a 6-4 final.
Through the series, Pare – a successful PTO turned roster player from earlier this year – led the team in goal scoring with three goals and an assist, and Sam Malinski picked up four assists.
Just behind them, Charles Hudon racked up two goals, and Oskar Olausson had an impressive goal and an assist in his return to the lineup after missing time.
Even with the chaos near the end of Game 2, Annunen rounded the series out with a 0.909 save percentage and 60 saves.
Their sweep of the Reign was made possible with the help of special teams. The Eagles scored on three-for-three of their powerplay chances, and the penalty kill was perfect on five-of-five opportunities.
Their next opponent is still to be determined, but it is likely to be Coachella if they can win their next game over the Tucson Roadrunners. This will pit Colorado’s AHL and NHL teams against Seattle’s next week.
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Seattle and Colorado’s Game Plan
Through the noise of it all, the weight of the title defense on their shoulders, and a captain figuring out how to best show up for his team – the Avs had to steady their thoughts and return to the familiar.
Logan O’Connor said the strong play in Game 2 helped to restore the group’s confidence.
Their first two games were the product of thinking too much and allowing the pressure to mount. More specifically, Colorado needed to return to the things they did well in the back half of the season where their gritty, resilient identity shone through.
After Game 2, Evan Rodrigues emphasized the importance of getting back to their game and the things that made them successful this season.
“Once we did that, we just started to pour it on and wear them down and that’s when we started to get our chances. Just putting a lot of pressure on the group.”
Winning battles: Splitting Artturi Lehkonen and Val Nichushkin up between the first and second line distributed their forechecking presence through two lines. Losing Nichushkin in Game 3 reasonably hurt, but it also explained why Matt Nieto – a try-hard energy player in the best way – was flexed in that spot.
Beyond just winning more battles in the offensive zone on the forecheck, Colorado was better about winning battles in their own end and limiting Seattle’s zone time. In Game 2 and 3, Colorado won the possession battle at five-on-five. Artturi Lehkonen was a key part in this on both sides of the puck.
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Netfront presence: In Game 1, Colorado struggled to get inside home plate. They struggled to establish the zone in general, but a big part in this was Seattle’s game plan, especially in their own end.
The Kraken did a nice job of winning battles first and foremost to clear the puck out of their end. They also managed their lanes well: blocking shots and closing seams. As a result, the Avs struggled to get passes and shots to the net for any chance of a rebound.
Before Game 2, Peter Baugh of the Athletic asked Jared Bednar if he felt there was more to be done in terms of screens and forcing rebounds in front of Philipp Grubauer, “You’re getting smart,” Bednar joked in response.
He explained that it was definitely a part of the takeaways from Game 1. Colorado generated most of their entries off the rush, so the quality of the possession was hurried and they didn’t set up quickly enough.
“It didn’t seem like we saw the next play quick enough.”
As a funny note ahead of Game 3’s morning skate, Seattle incorporated a traffic/screen drill in added preparation of Colorado’s understanding that they will need to be more dangerous between the hash marks.
Toronto vs. Tampa
This Tampa Bay/Maple Leafs series has not disappointed. Toronto leads the series 2-1, and it has been a heavy exchange of blows back and forth. Tampa Bay struck first with a 7-3 beat down of the Leafs, and Toronto came right back and dropped seven goals of their own in their 7-2 win in Game 2.
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For Game 3, both emerged from the rubble of Games 1 and 2 with a clearer idea of what the other was.
In the series so far, Toronto’s high-octane offense has been on full display. Among points leaders throughout all playoff teams, Mitch Marner, Auston Matthews, Ryan O’Reilly, and Morgan Rielly have emerged in the top ten (with a potent powerplay in part to thank.)
For Tampa, veteran Corey Perry has been no scrub in putting up two goals and three assists. Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli have provided goal support as well. Their depth has helped the Lightning to play a well-rounded game with their share of puck touches.
Both teams have been difficult for either goaltender to contain – even elite netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy.
In Game 3, tensions really boiled over.
In a race for the puck, Morgan Rielly collided with Brayden Point near the boards. Rielly appeared to give Point a shove from behind, and he lost an edge and fell to his knees on his way into the corner. Rielly kept his stick across Point’s back to hem him in, and Point’s head hit hard.
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Because of the proximity to the boards and how hard Point went in, Tampa Bay was immediately angry, and fights ensued.
Born from the chaos, Steven Stamkos took issue with Auston Matthews while the officials were delegating penalties.
Thankfully, Brayden Point seemed to be okay and returned to the game after exiting the ice in visible pain.
It was a close game, and Toronto ended up taking the series lead in overtime with the game-winner from Morgan Rielly.
Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe did not like the extracurriculars of the third period, particularly how the penalties were assessed with respect to Matthews’ matching since the fight was instigated by Stamkos.
“It’s a classic example of a veteran championship team like Tampa Bay manipulating the officials and taking advantage of a situation.”
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When asked about Keefe’s comments Cooper said, “Manipulating the referees? I’m not sure what that means.”
Reasonably, Jon Cooper of Tampa Bay also discussed his thoughts on with Rielly’s collision with Point in the postgame as well.
The bulletin board material between these two groups is only just beginning.
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