Avs-Jets Game 3 Studs & Duds

The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Winnipeg Jets 6-2 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Below are the Studs and Duds for the Avs.

Studs

Alexandar Georgiev

The first goal against is terrible and shouldn’t happen, but the difference between the Georgiev we saw in the regular season/Game 1 and tonight is that that goal didn’t snowball (ha) into multiple goals. He stemmed the tide, even though he gave up the second goal a few minutes later.

The biggest save of the game was him stopping Tyler Toffoli on a clean breakaway late in the second period when the score was 2-1 and the Avs were still one play away from tying the game. That save kept the Avs down just one goal going into the third period and, well, as we saw, the Jets were not prepared to hold that lead.

Georgiev displayed the kind of short-term memory required of successful postseason goaltenders and has now stacked two quality starts together. He teetered on the brink of disaster and brought his game back to the level the Avs need.

I absolutely do not care how bad the goals given up might be if there are only two of them every game. He did his job once again. He is making me look prettttttty dumb and that rules.

Casey Mittelstadt

I’ve been talking on the pod through the first two games that I thought he was outplaying his production and he deserved a little better on the box score and a three-assist night in Game 3 certainly helped course correct some.

What I really loved about Mittelstadt’s game is it’s not all flash and dash. There’s an effectiveness in the dirty areas of the game that you just do not expect from a guy with his reputation and skillset. He’s an ace along the wall and his hockey IQ allows him to make quick decisions once he fishes the puck out of the wall.

Eric mentioned on the pod that Mittelstadt stayed late after morning skate and worked on board work with skills coach Toby Petersen and that’s the kind of commitment to the details that can make the difference in a playoff game. We saw that part of his game shine tonight so it’s easy to see where that work directly translated to success.

The playmaking was aces tonight and Mittelstadt’s best play of the night was the between-the-legs drive to the net that didn’t result in a goal but showed that he was absolutely locked in from the jump.

Jared Bednar

I rarely put coaching stuff in here because players decide the games but the coaching chess match of a best-of-seven series always fascinates me. I was keeping a close eye tonight on the usage between the two coaches because Rick Bowness got his pick in Winnipeg and it did not go particularly well for him and I wanted to see if Bednar would make any drastic changes to the usage.

I really loved what I saw as Bednar was great about getting Mittelstadt’s line out against Mark Scheifele’s line and the Jets got chewed up so badly by it that Bowness changed it up in the third period and started waiting for Mittelstadt to get off the ice and immediately going with Scheifele.

The Jets got caught getting cute with it when Scheifele was tired and he turned it over at the Avalanche blue line and Colorado counterattacked with, you guessed it, Casey Mittelstadt leading the way. His pass to Artturi Lehkonen made it 4-2 and gave the Avs breathing room.

Bednar eventually countered this from Bowness by putting the Ross Colton line on the ice and things didn’t really improve much for Scheifele. Considering Scheifele and Kyle Connor, the team’s leading scorer and top goal-scorer, respectively, are two-thirds of that line, it is imperative that they find ways to generate offense.

Scheifele getting swallowed whole by Mittelstadt while the Avs continue being content with Nathan MacKinnon and Adam Lowry going head-to-head most of the game is a serious problem for the Jets. Winnipeg badly needs Scheifele and Connor to shake loose and have big games if they are to stem the Avalanche’s momentum in this series.

It was great work from Bednar and I am excited to watch this chess match continue on Sunday as Bowness now has to try to find new ways to spark his top line. Also, Bowness isn’t aggressively using Nikolaj Ehlers, a player whose speed is an excellent match against Colorado and would seem to be a guy they would be leaning on, but he played just 12:57. That feels like doing the Avs a favor and I’m sure Jared Bednar does not mind.

The power play

The Avs got five straight power-play chances in the third period and cashed on two of them to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead. Ross Colton’s goal that made it 5-2 was scored literally as a penalty was expiring so it counts as an even-strength goal, but it counts as a third power-play goal in my heart and I like to believe that counts for something.

There are always a lot of loud conversations about a team’s power play but in the postseason it just has to find ways to produce or a team will lose. It’s that simple. Scoring in the postseason is too difficult to do exclusively at even strength so taking the chances the other team provides you is key.

Colorado watched as Winnipeg self-destructed in the third period, got out of the way, and capitalized on the penalty parade to take a 2-1 series lead. It wasn’t some incredible adjustment by the coaching staff, the players just went and found a way to get the job done. Hockey can be so simple sometimes.

Duds

Cale Makar’s netfront defense

This is getting tough to watch at times as Makar keeps getting worked in front of Georgiev. It didn’t turn into any goals against but it is no accident the Jets created a team-high eight high-danger chances against Makar, three more than the next closest Avalanche defenseman.

That’s a major area of concern and something I am worried will get exploited more and more as this series carries on.

Mikko Rantanen through two periods

Holy smokes was it a frustrating experience with Rantanen through 40 minutes. He was falling down seemingly every shift, getting pushed around along the wall and losing possession of the puck anytime a Winnipeg Jet dared to get near him.

More than anything, it was just confusing. How does a player so big and strong get bullied so badly by a Jets team that isn’t particularly imposing? Rantanen is arguably better than any Jets skater (I will accept arguments about Josh Morrissey and nobody else) and somehow he’s getting erased by Mason Appleton and Nino Niederreiter? Give me a break.

All that went out the window in the third period, however, as Rantanen fought through contact and made an excellent sauce pass out to the blueline that eventually turned into the game-tying goal from MacKinnon. In classic Rantanen fashion, he played poorly for long stretches of the game, flipped the switch into “watch this” mode and registered two more assists to give him five for the series.

It can be a taxing experience going through Rantanen’s ups and downs but the ups consistently make up for the downs.

The second period

Colorado walked into the middle frame with a 1-0 lead and played a solid first period. The Jets really took control in the second period, however, and despite the Avs having a small lead in shot attempts, the Jets smoked them in the quality of chances.

Winnipeg built an 11-6 scoring-chance advantage and a whopping 8-1 advantage in high-danger chances at 5v5. For reference, Colorado allowed the Jets just seven 5v5 high-danger chances in all of Game 1, so for the Jets to produce eight in a single period is a defense ceding significant ground.

You notice how the conversation after the game isn’t about how bad the defense is? That’s because Georgiev stood tall and played well despite that first goal against. For my money, it was the first period of the series I thought the Jets truly found something against the Avalanche.

I’m old enough to remember watching a 2-0 series lead against Vegas a couple years ago dissipate into an endless barrage of shot attempts and one-sided possession and a painful series loss, so color me concerned that the second period represents a turning of the tide of the series at 5v5 that will be papered over by Winnipeg’s complete meltdown in the third period.

Anyway, not a great second period.

Avs Unsung Hero

Sam Girard

Girard’s first game back since being concussed by Ross Colton late in the regular season, he was nothing short of awesome. The Jets tightened the neutral zone screws on Colorado’s transition game and forechecked with more aggression than either of the first two games. That put additional strain on Colorado’s defenders to decisively move pucks from defense to offense and this was a Girard masterclass.

He was engaged in the game from the get-go and was a key component in multiple goals. If you want to look at his 5v5 stats from tonight, you can see that Girard stands out among the entire squad.

Girard made an excellent breakout pass as he took a hit to make the play up to Lehkonen to help create Zach Parise’s goal to make it 1-0. There has been plenty of hot air about the defense from the 2022 team being better because Girard was hurt and not part of that run, but looking at the impact he made tonight versus the defense from the first two games, you can see a significant positive impact from #49.