I know there were some who were pretty unhappy about Colorado’s loss to the Buffalo Sabres two days ago, but as I wrote after that game, I really felt encouraged by a lot of what we saw.

Obviously, the final score didn’t go the Avalanche’s way in that one, but the way they played the game left me feeling a lot better about the direction the team was headed with a few key players back in the lineup.

In tonight’s 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators, we saw more of what they did against Buffalo but added enough element of finishing their chances that they were able to scrape out a pretty comfortable win all things considered.

The reality is that this version of the Avalanche isn’t going to bury very many teams, especially ones who are fringe playoff teams such as the Preds. The quintessential “keys to the game” until Nathan MacKinnon returns from injury can be the same every game: win the special teams battle, get good goaltending, be opportunistic, play sound defense.

Tonight? Check every one of those boxes.

The first period was a fast-moving one where Nashville played its best hockey of the night, outshooting Colorado 10-8 and easily outpacing the Avs in quality of chances. When Alexandar Georgiev stood tall and kept the Preds off the scoresheet, the team in front of him picked up their game at the start of the second and never looked back.

Colorado checked that key to the game early in the second period when they got a power play opportunity and Nashville’s PK got a little out of sorts. You know a PK is on the run when they just…neglect to defend Mikko Rantanen, who has registered a 20-goal season before Christmas. Rantanen walked in and sniped one past Juuse Saros to give the Avs a 1-0 lead.

The Avs pushed hard after that goal but struggled to convert. It appeared the second frame would end with Colorado nursing a one-goal lead but alas, Valeri Nichushkin hit the scene.

Nichushkin, who had missed an empty-net backdoor one-timer in the first period that would have given the Avs a 1-0 lead, stepped into a Nashville clearing attempt and moved the puck to Evan Rodrigues.

Rodrigues gathered the puck, entered the offensive zone with speed, and sucked the defender in like he was going to shoot before ultimately pulling the puck to his body and centering the puck to Alex Newhook, who was streaking in alone. Newhook gathered it and sniped it high corner past Saros.

It was Newhook’s seventh goal of the season and 12th point in the last 21 games. In case anyone is wondering, that would be a 46-point pace across an entire season. Not transcendent, but a far cry from the “He’s Tyson Jost 2.0” aspersions the critics will cast his direction during his struggles.

Newhook’s goal gave the Avs a 2-0 lead with just 16 seconds remaining in the second period, completely changing the dynamic of the third period.

The Avs would need that cushion because, of course, Matt Duchene scored just minutes into the third period to cut Colorado’s lead in half. If it feels like Duchene is always scoring against the Avs, it’s because he is! This was his 11th regular season game against Colorado and tonight’s goal was his 10th against his former club. Somehow, he has just one assist in that time but he’s pretty reliable for a goal versus the Avs.

Even though Nashville got that goal just three minutes into the third period, the Avs never really allowed the Predators to find their footing and make the big push. In fact, Colorado outshot the Preds 10-8 in the third period.

This brings me to something I want to touch on a little bit. When we talk about defense in hockey, we naturally focus most of that energy on, well, the defensemen. Since Colorado’s defense has remained largely unchanged the last few weeks, however, seeing their uptick in the quality of their play in front of their goaltender lands at the feet of the forwards.

Absolutely, Colorado’s defensemen are the focal point, but there are only two of them on the ice at any given time. In 5v5, they need help! With Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen back in the lineup, the Avs have taken a noticeable leap in their ability to suppress shots.

They say the best defense is a good offense, but when you look at the impact Nichushkin and Lehkonen (and Rodrigues to a smaller extent) have made since their returns, it jumps out and grabs you. Their work on the forecheck, along the wall in the neutral zone, and then both defending and breaking out all raises the floor of the Avalanche has a hard team to play against.

Then you realize Gabe Landeskog has played zero seconds this season and remember J.T. Compher is currently Colorado’s 1C, it’s not hard to see where the Avs slowly work their way back into being an elite defensive team. Josh Manson and Bowen Byram returning from injury would obviously be a great help, but watching this group round into form without them is extremely encouraging.

I’d be remiss if I failed to mention the quality of competition, of course, as the slate of the Rangers, Flyers, Sabres and Predators isn’t exactly a murderer’s row of teams but those are the caliber of teams that make up the bulk of the NHL.

Will these Avs be good enough to advance deep into the postseason? Of course not. But this version of the Avs is likely only sticking around for another month or two, and then the big guns return from IR and we’ll see what this group can really be.

Watching Colorado put a slow stranglehold on the end of the game was a reminder of just how much distance remains between the playoff pretenders (Nashville, that means you) and where this Avs team can be in the not-too-distant future.

TAKEAWAYS

• Cale Makar’s empty-net goal may not have seemed like much, but it was another great example of where Makar’s confidence and attack mentality drove him to make a play where other defensemen might play it more conservatively. Off a faceoff scramble that led to a loose puck in the center of the ice, Makar didn’t hesitate to read the situation and attack that puck and go for the kill. He nailed it and iced the game. Part of Makar’s excellence is making the sublime look routine and this struck me as one of those times.
• Evan Rodrigues is such a good fit with the Avs, I sometimes forget he’s only played a handful of games in a Colorado sweater. Between Rodrigues and Lehkonen, the Avs have done a wonderful job of finding two players who were role players on other teams (Rodrigues was the 4RW in Game 1 of Pittsburgh’s playoff series against the Rangers last year) and watching them blossom into something more. Lehkonen was already having a career year when the Avs acquired him at last year’s trade deadline, but he was on a 41-point pace. That’s a big jump from the 20-something point player he had been, but he’s currently tracking for a 66-point season. The 11 points in 20 games by Rodrigues is right in line with the 43-point season he had last year. It’s amazing how role players on two bottom-feeders can be such large contributors on a team with designs on winning another Stanley Cup. It’s a credit to Colorado’s scouting and coaching, but also just interesting how “best player” and “best player for your team” can sometimes diverge.
• Want to give Georgiev some love here, too. I was tough on him during that messy road trip and he hasn’t been very good so far this month with an .891 save percentage in his nine December starts before tonight. He stopped 25 of 26 shots tonight and the Duchene goal was a perfect shot. Georgiev made a number of big-time saves, especially in the first period before the Avs began imposing their will. This was a return to the kind of form we’ve seen from him against teams other than the Rangers. The Avs will need more of that moving forward.
• Keep an eye on Ben Meyers. He’s starting to make real noise.