“Well they won the one game but you’ve got to win four.”

Arizona head coach Rick Tocchet was pretty blunt (in hockey terms, anyway) during his postgame presser after his team got bodied in a 3-0 Game 1 loss to the Avalanche.

He had previously ripped his team for what he deemed a “terrible” practice yesterday and it continued into today’s game, where Colorado took their time in solving the Darcy Kuemper riddle but finally did it late in the third period on the power play.

The Nazem Kadri game-winning goal opened the floodgates as J.T. Compher scored just 10 seconds later and Mikko Rantanen got his first goal of the playoffs just over a minute later to turn a game tied at zero with time winding down in regulation to the more appropriate comfortable Avalanche win.

You see, it wasn’t that the Avs were entitled to the win. Nobody ever is in sports and you always have to earn what you get. It’s more that Colorado did just that – they earned a comfortable win going away over Arizona.

The Avs outshot the Coyotes 40-14, had 69 shot attempts to 47, 33 scoring chances for versus just 17 against, and had eight high-danger scoring chances versus just three against.

I’ll refer back to Tocchet for this one.

“Darcy Kuemper kept us in,” he said. “That’s basically it. There’s nothing else to say, guys.”

It’s true. There just isn’t a ton more to say about this one. The Avs flexed their full-lineup muscles and Arizona never had any kind of real response. There were two good shifts in the second period. I’m sure those will bring them the warm and fuzzies during tomorrow’s video session.

Beyond that, the Avs controlled this game beginning to end. Philipp Grubauer got a 14-save shutout in what has to be the easiest workload of his NHL career. Nathan MacKinnon’s streak of 292 straight games, dating back to October of 2017, with a shot on goal came to an end and he still managed two assists.

This wasn’t Colorado’s best and, given his frustrated postgame comments, nobody knows that better than Tocchet himself.

“You’ve got to put your big boy pants on,” Tocchet said. “This is a Colorado team that is a powerhouse team. You’ve got to be able to have details in your game. But also, you can’t back up. You gotta go. You’ve got to make a play. You’ve got to make a pass. You’ve got to win a battle. Scary thing is, like I said, eight minutes left and we have a power play. If we could sweep that up, but we just didn’t have the fortitude to do it.”

While Arizona lacked the fortitude to get it done as the moment only got bigger with every passing minute in the third period, Colorado remained ever vigilant. They kept to the plan that was clearly working, knowing they’d eventually beat Kuemper.

They came close a couple of times between great saves by Kuemper’s shoulder(s) and his big left pad dropping just in front of a Matt Nieto rebound shot. Grubauer was never similarly tested and more or less hung out back there because he had nowhere better to be this evening.

Once the Avs broke through, it was over. Compher’s goal just 10 seconds later seemed to seal the deal as it was but Colorado’s reunited three-headed monster decided to put their stamp of approval on the third period with a gorgeous tic-tac-toe goal sparked by Gabe Landeskog taking a hit to make a play.

While Tocchet was frustrated with his team not rising to the moment, his true concern should be what happens when Colorado’s best players actually play like it.

Game 2 is Friday.

TAKEAWAYS

• Erik Johnson and Nazem Kadri kicked ass in this game. Full stop. They combined for 15 shots on goal versus just the 14 Arizona had…as a team…all game. Each was rewarded on the scoresheet and Johnson’s rejuvenated play continues to be a revelation. Maybe next year he should take all of March off before the postseason begins to get his legs back to this level of freshness. He looks five years younger.
• And what more can you say about Kadri? He’s been everything Colorado hoped for. He’s brought snarl and goal-scoring to that second unit while adding a gritty mentality that has become infectious among his teammates. While the bubble has successfully kept COVID at bay, whatever bug Kadri has caught needs to stick around because it has brought out the best in him.
• This is 100% supposition on my part but I think this team is getting addicted to winning. I couldn’t help but notice that while they were certainly excited after Kadri’s goal finally broke open the scoring, the reactions overall were relatively muted. This was a team that just two years ago dog piled at center ice with several minutes remaining in the third period because they were simply going to the playoffs. Now, they put themselves in position to win Game 1 for the first time in this era and their reaction was very…let’s call it business-like. How they respond to what should be Arizona’s best counter-punch in Game 2 will be very telling.
• That’s a mentality that should worry everyone else. Fun is for the regular season. Legacies are built on postseason results and these guys seem to have completely grasped the task at hand. They’re not longer the extremely green group just happy to be here. They have business to take care of and they know it. Going against a veteran-led Coyotes team that has some Stanley Cup championship pedigree among it could end up being a great builder of character for this Avs squad. As long as Kuemper is great but not steal-the-series great, Colorado can use all of this to build from.
• I’m typically one of the more critical media members covering this Avs squad but I’m struggling to do more than nitpick at a few minor issues right now. Sam Girard iced the puck five times today. Cale Makar looks downright human…for now. Ian Cole was playing hot potato with the puck today and had his first poor showing (at least with the puck) since bubble hockey began. Vlad Namestnikov either looks like a perfect fit or an awkwardly redundant player. Val Nichushkin is brilliant defensively but hard-capped offensively. Can J.T. Compher score in the first period? The moment is just as big, I swear! These are all nitpicks, however. Extremely minor bumps on the road because no team is a completely well-oiled machine top to bottom. But this Avs team is pretty damn close right now.
• Love this version of Nikita Zadorov. He’s making smart decisions and he’s being effective without having to blow people up. Physicality is such a large part of his success that him finding ways to positively contribute if he’s not laying the wood to oncoming puck carriers only bodes well for the Avalanche.
• It’s very fun to watch a team play this well. What a journey it has been to get here. I’m heartbroken the Pepsi Center isn’t hosting this team. I miss all of you forcing me to put my headphones on so I can think straight because the noise is just so loud. I miss Roach calling goals and DJ Triple T busting out Blink-182. This is just the beginning of something. We don’t know what yet but I’m excited to be here with you. Just wanted to extend my love to all of you before the Avs lose a game and we have to fire people and trade players.