Artturi Lehkonen and the slump busters cure the Avs' powerplay

The Avs make up three of the top-20 points producers in the league, and yet,  Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen, and Nathan MacKinnon were held to just one goal apiece on this road trip until tonight.

Though things haven’t been as smooth coming out of the All-Star break, Colorado collected their first win of the road trip in their 6-3 victory over Washington after four losses started to haunt them.

Getting back into the win column was huge, and there’s a few key differences that helped lift the Avs back to victory.

Some of the weak parts of their game persisted, but there was a concerted effort to weed them out too.

Details, Details, Details

After a strong start, some detail issues crept back into their game. Washington looked stronger in the back half of the first and walked away ahead in the shots and possession battle. Colorado was lucky to escape the first period tied.

The play on the first goal-against started out harmlessly enough. Washington dumped the puck into Colorado’s end and Devon Toews chased it down behind the net. Tom Wilson nudged the puck around the boards and Jonathan Drouin thought he’d pick it up on the other side. Instead the Caps got the puck out high and Martin Fehervary sent a slapshot toward the net.

Alexandar Georgiev made the initial block, but with no net-front coverage, the allowed rebound was picked up by Beck Malenstyn into the empty net with Georgiev pulled out to the far-post. Toews was in the slot, but Wilson and Malenstyn snuck inside him.

The Avs didn’t view the sequence as enough of a threat. They weren’t aggressive in their battles and the rebound was costly.

Colorado’s top line didn’t treat the Caps’ fourth line with enough respect in their d-zone coverage.

Forty-four seconds later, Washington dumped the puck in from distance. Colorado should have had first dibs, but Anthony Mantha got to it first along the boards and attempted a pass to the slot. Josh Manson broke it up and spun 90 degrees to throw the puck to the far-wall, but it went right into Connor McMichael’s skate.

Mantha picked up that loose puck and sent the puck to McMichael. The pair was in on Sam Girard all alone. Girard dove to make the block, but McMichael drove to the corner and threw it toward the net.

Unfortunately, Artturi Lehkonen hurried back to defend the net and his skate directed the puck in from an unpredictable angle.

A little more attention to details on both of these could have kept the puck out of the back of the net. I appreciated Manson’s zest for life, but he should leave the spinning to Girard.

Confidence is Key

Even with my criticisms of the first period, you know the messaging is on target when the Avs can make it translate less than five minutes into the contest. Poor starts have been part of the problem for Colorado on this road trip. Even though their first period wasn’t perfect, it was enough to keep things level.

The way in which the Avs commanded the opening minutes was exactly the kind of self-assurance they needed to embody for the rest of the game, and they found their way back to it in the second period.

Just after a d-zone faceoff loss early in the first, Colorado didn’t sweat it. John Carlson gained possession and whipped it around the boards from the point. Already anticipating the rush, Lehkonen angled the puck out to Miles Wood racing to the offensive blueline.

Wood entered the zone and waited for Ross Colton to get ahead of him in the slot. Colton got the pass on his backhand and wristed the puck over Charlie Lindgren’s glove.

Colton has been kept off the scoresheet through four games and hasn’t scored in nine. With powerplay opportunities and top-six minutes, you needed to see him breakthrough. The relief on his face after the early-goal was palatable.

What I appreciated about the sequence was the confidence shown by everyone on the ice. Despite the faceoff loss, everybody clocked the opportunity to transition and the burst of speed from Colton and Wood to make it happen was a refreshing display of belief that the Avs need to have in themselves.

You have to imagine at some point around center ice, Colton knew he was going to beat Lindgren and he played with the confidence to make it happen.

Wood’s slight deception on entry caused Carlson to falter. Would his pass have found Colton anyways? Probably, but that’s the level of detail that gives the Avs an advantage no matter how small.

The confidence teased on the first goal was infectious. One thing that has hampered the Avs is a lack of diversity in their scoring. MacKinnon has done a lot of heavy lifting.

Without Logan O’Connor, Colorado’s depth took another hit tonight. The lines have already been a little jumbled on this road trip.

Weaker teams could have gotten hung up on the lack of consistency. Heck, it’s negatively affected the Avs down the middle of the lineup for a bit now.

But Colorado’s fourth line found a way to create meaningful possession.

Kurtis MacDermid entered the lineup in O’Connor’s place, and together, Andrew Cogliano, MacDermid, and Ryan Johansen worked to cycle the puck low-to-high twice over with the help of Makar and Toews.

Besting Washington’s third line and fourth pair, Johansen got the puck to Toews at the point and he wristed it through traffic. Toews’ shot might not have been the most potent, but that’s why hockey is a team sport.

Makar posted up in the slot to obscure Lindgren’s line of sight, and MacDermid acted as the perfect screen right at the crease and even lifted his leg to ensure the puck went through.

The fourth line didn’t post terrific analytics tonight, but their contributions on the second goal helped give the team just enough support to win even with limited usage.

Colorado regrouped in intermission and put together a strong second period.

On the third goal, Colton led the rush and stumbled on his initial look but recovered nicely and found perhaps an even better seam. Bowen Byram retrieved the puck near the right-wall and handled the puck around Aliaksei Protas.

Byram dropped the puck to Colton and Colton passed to Artturi Lehkonen at the far-post. Lehkonen tapped it backdoor to earn his first goal since his return.

It was another great play from Colton which again relied upon confidence and speed. Even in the face of his initial stumble, there was a sense of knowing that a goal was coming.

Byram’s role on the play deserves a nod too. He protected the puck and deftly maneuvered it. It was also one of his best games since his return from injury. He had two assists and his pairing with Jack Johnson recorded the fewest shots-against at even strength (11) of any defensive pairing.

The Powerplay is Cured!

I’ve often described special teams as a magnified look at the current state of the team – particularly because of the prominence of top players on PP1 with the man-advantage. When guys aren’t going there, they’re usually not going elsewhere. That top unit is made up of players who’ve played together for years. When the passes aren’t connecting and they’re taking o-zone penalties, it’s a sign of dysfunction.

Colorado’s powerplay was scoreless through 14-straight opportunities, and they finally converted.

Drouin and Lehkonen battled along the boards to regain the puck and won it back. MacKinnon found Lehkonen at the netfront and Lehkonen made an impressive play to thread the puck between his legs on his backhand to Rantanen at the right-circle.

There’s something cosmically restorative about watching Mikko Rantanen snap the puck into the back of the net from his home office on the powerplay again.

Only time will tell if the powerplay is cured, but it felt really, really good.

Rantanen scored Colorado’s 48th power-play goal of the season. The only team with more is Tampa Bay (51).

On the third powerplay opportunity, after their goal in the second period, the Avs had seven attempts and five shots on net. It was a stark contrast to three shots on net in six attempts from the Carolina game, and a legitimate sign of improvement.

Artturi Lehkonen

Lehkonen deserved his own category as a key to the game. Two goals, two assists, and tied for a team-high five shots on net – Lehkonen’s turnaround from the Florida game was a necessity. As a player who thrives with a possession game, he hadn’t quite found his happy place since his return – oftentimes on the third line with a mix of players.

O’Connor’s absence gave Colton, Lehkonen, and Wood a chance together and second line minutes. Colton’s confidence was sprung from the support Lehkonen provided. They accounted for just one shot-against at five-on-five and Lehkonen accounted for the fewest shots-against of anyone at even strength.

That’s the level of defensive responsibility we’ve come to expect, but his four-point night matches what he’s capable of when the talent opposite him is compatible. His strong play earned him shifts on the top line with MacKinnon and Rantanen.

It’s great to see Lehkonen look like Lehkonen again.