Do or die, now or never, lose and go home. Whichever cliche you wanted to use, they applied to this game. The Colorado Avalanche went into Climate Pledge Arena on the brink of elimination, looking desperately to find a way to win Game 6 and send things back home for a decisive Game 7. This series has felt like a…
Studs Nathan MacKinnon I know, people will immediately point to him yelling at the refs after what looked like an apparent missed tripping call. Him being a little behind the play because of that, led to a late line change, which led to a man being open in the slot and a goal against. He’s gotta be better there, I…
The drama that surrounds a Game 4, in any round, of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is among the most exciting and intense moments of every series. No matter what, Game 4 always starts with one team trying to take a commanding lead in the Best-of-7, while the other is trying desperately to get the series back to even. That was…
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. https://twitter.com/DNVR_Avalanche/status/1649908992297295873?s=20 No matter the…...
It’s always fun to be a part of history, and that was exactly what we had on Saturday night in Seattle. With the series tied 1-1, Game 3 of Round 1 between the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken marked the first-ever home playoff game for the Kraken, and one of these teams was going to walk out with a lead.…
Jesse’s Observations Gabe Landeskog A couple weeks ago, I wrote in this piece that I would likely be providing updates on Gabriel Landeskog every week until we had a resolution, one way or the other. After months of uncertainty, secrecy, confusing explanations, and an inconsistent on-ice rehab routine, the Colorado Avalanche officially announced that Gabe Landeskog would not return for…
A season for the Colorado Avalanche that somehow seems like it started just last week, while also feeling like it has been going since the Summer of ’69 is finally drawing to a close. The Avs welcomed in the Winnipeg Jets for the final home game of the regular season, and despite its outcome having huge implications on the Central…
Jesse’s Observations Mikko Makes history 20 years to the day. April 6th. 2003 Milan Hejduk scored his 50th goal of the season against the St. Louis Blues to become just the second player in Colorado Avalanche history to reach the half-century mark. Fast forward to April 6th. 2023 and it was Mikko Rantanen scoring his 50th (and then his 51st…...
Five games to go in a season that has been as up and down as I can remember in recent seasons for the Colorado Avalanche. With a playoff spot secured, the Avs came into tonight’s game looking to keep pace at the top of the Central Division after both the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild both won their games earlier…
Jesse’s Observations An Avs-heavy week for me with plenty of notable updates and talking points coming out of the organization this week. Should also mention that next week’s ATR may look a little different as I’ll be off the grid, but things should be back to normal after that. Now let’s get into it. Gabe Landeskog update… kind of Ok,…
It was a beautiful spring-like day in Denver, and we had some afternoon hockey to go with it! The Colorado Avalanche came into today’s matchup with the Arizona Coyotes looking to bounce back after a lackluster performance two nights ago against the LA Kings. It’s been such an interesting season for the Avs, in terms of their results. At times…
Jesse’s Observations Avalanche stand pat on Deadline Day Whew. What a week. This was one of the more chaotic NHL trade deadlines that I can remember in recent years. Big names on the move, teams unexpectedly deciding to sell, and more deals in the days and weeks leading up to the deadline than ever before. We’ll get into all of…...
Colorado Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar all but admitted earlier in the week that the reason he started call-up goaltender Justus Annunen against the New Jersey Devils, and not Alexandar Georgiev, was because this weekend’s game just meant more. A back-to-back against the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken. Both teams that are in playoff contention with the Avs. Today the…
Jesse’s Observations Gabe Landeskog After literal months of hearing next to nothing regarding the status of Colorado Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog, we were finally told to expect to see him on the ice for the first time since before Christmas. Selfinshly, I was just happy to finally have something to say to the countless number of folks who have asked…
Studs Nathan MacKinnon MacKinnon is just on another level right now. He is taking over games at will and is racking up the points left and right. The other thing MacKinnon is doing lately is setting the tone and acting as the emotional heart beat of this Avalanche group. That’s normally a role we see filled by Captain Gabe Landeskog,…
One of the most interesting parts about covering a team that is in the middle of a title defense season is the number of otherwise normal nights that suddenly have an extra level of significance. Nights like the Colorado Avalanche playing their first game back in Tampa Bay since winning the Stanley Cup there in June. Or going back to…
After what felt like an eternity of a week with no games on the schedule, the Colorado Avalanche entered the final stage of what has been the weirdest chunk of scheduling I’ve seen in quite some time. The third set of back-to-back games in last 10 days from the Avalanche, all with multiple days off in between. Something Andrew Cogliano…
Jesse’s Observations Health helps Last week, I asked Colorado Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar about the culture in his team’s locker room, and he spoke about how the strength of leadership and maturity have helped to keep the season on the rails (I’m paraphrasing). https://twitter.com/jessemontano_/status/1625322631082962944?s=20 He also mentioned in his answer the fact that the Avalanche have objectively had some…
Finally back at it. Before we get into this matinee matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers, I want to give a huge shoutout to my DNVR Avalanche colleagues. I took these last several days off to go spend some time with a long-time friend, and Meghan, AJ, and Rudo pinch hit for me and knocked it out of…
Jesse’s Observations Trade season is officially upon us, and while the Avs are chugging along on the East coast, things are starting to heat up around the league. The first few trade pieces have fallen, and new injuries are causing concern for some of the league’s most sought-after trade assets still available. Let’s unpack it all from a busy week…