Avalanche winning streak extends to nine games with season sweep of Blackhawks

In a month that has seen the Avalanche climb the record books with a 17-game home winning streak, they also moved into a tie for second place for the most wins in a month with their 14th win in January. It is a record for most wins in January, however, which is nice.

When the Avs host the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, they’ll have a chance to tie the monthly record alongside Boston (March 2014) and Pittsburgh (March 2013).

Ultimately, it just means the Avs haven’t lost in regulation the entire month after tonight’s 6-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. That’s pretty good.

Less good is entering the third period against a bottom-tier team in the league with a 2-0 lead and giving up four goals. Better is scoring four of your own, but for a team with a reputation as an elite defensive squad, getting outshot 23-8 in the third period isn’t ideal.

All of this led to Colorado’s ninth consecutive win and they move to 9-2 on the year without Nathan MacKinnon in the lineup.

Without MacKinnon, the onus was on the big guns to step up in his absence.

Nazem Kadri? 1 goal, 2 assists
Gabe Landeskog? 2 goals, 1 assist
Mikko Rantanen? 2 assists
Cale Makar? 1 goal, 1 assist

That box score got a lot fatter with two empty-net goals, but given how the eight-goal third period played out, they were absolutely necessary. In fact, Kadri’s empty-net goal ended up counting as the game-winning goal.

To get across the finish line, you need some depth to help out and getting a Gordie Howe hat trick from J.T. Compher certainly counts.

Compher’s entire line, along with Tyson Jost and Logan O’Connor, played lights out at times tonight and brought energy to a game that occasionally lacked it.

It was an important showing from a trio that had collectively not contributed nearly as much as they had earlier in the year when the Avs injury issues were running rampant.

There’s something to be said for guys who have their regular roles but when are asked to step up in the wake of injuries, respond to the moment. All three guys came hard tonight and the Avs needed it.

While outdone a little bit, the makeshift fourth line with Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Mikhail Maltsev, and Dylan Sikura also had plenty of intriguing moments throughout the night. Aube-Kubel, especially, was out there making a difference until he was called for a penalty that was both a weak call and Aube-Kubel putting himself in a position he didn’t need to be.

Other than that misstep, Colorado’s depth really had a solid night and answered the bell.

While things got weird in the third period, the Avs once again found their way through chaos and got the pot of the gold at the end of the rainbow.

When you enter a game, the objective is to get the two points in the standings. Colorado accomplished that goal and all the talk about how they got there is mostly just white noise.

While the Avs haven’t really dominated an opponent in a while, they’re still winning, winning, winning. They’ve won 31 of 42 games on the season.

There was absolutely a disappointing process in this one but they survived. I’m not sure what else to say about a dominant month of hockey such as this. What might be the most impressive part of them winning this often while clearly not playing their best hockey.

Their success in November and December was driven by an elite offense while the goaltending struggled and now January has seen the offense calm down a bit while the goaltending found its legs.

It’s a team that is currently defined by success. That’s not a bad reputation.

TAKEAWAYS

• Rantanen moved to center to take MacKinnon’s spot but watching this game you could really tell that Kadri’s line was Colorado’s true “top” line. He’s playing on a completely different level than the rest of his career. It’s pretty incredible to think this is the same person who struggled so badly in the second half of last year that you wondered if the Avs might be tempted to move him in the offseason. Good thing the Avs didn’t because while Kadri might be the same person, he’s a very different player.
• Part of the lineup shuffle saw Alex Newhook move up and get some run in the top six. It wasn’t perfect by any means but he finished with one goal (and had another disallowed earlier in the game) on his 21st birthday. What really stood out to me, however, wasn’t the work with the puck or on offense, but his dedication to his own zone. He finished with three hits, which is a good sign of how he responded in a game that saw its physicality ramp up quite a bit as it wore on. He also took on 1:13 of PK time on a night where the Avalanche PK was perfect on the night, killing all three chances. That group has gotten better and the inclusion of both Kadri and Newhook is playing a role in its recent success. Newhook’s all-around development has been very impressive and him finding immediate production when slotted higher in the lineup is an encouraging sign for next year when he is very likely to play a role in Colorado’s top six. Having him as 3C right now and getting better at the pace he is is a huge feather in Colorado’s cap.
• The Avs still have time to figure out what’s going on with Bowen Byram but if he’s a no-go for this season, they need another guy to handle big minutes for them. There were a myriad of problems with each of the Johnsons and on a night-to-night basis I’m not sure the team can trust them to contribute in more than complementary roles at this point in their careers.
• I really loved how both Aube-Kubel and Maltsev played tonight. So many quality little things are happening in their games. It’s too bad they didn’t drive more offense or create a little more danger with the puck because there were so many little details in their games that stood out to me as positive contributions.
• Really cool to see Compher have that kind of success with family and friends in attendance in his hometown.