Studs

Alexandar Georgiev

I say this every time so I might as well continue my tradition: If a goaltender gets a shutout, he’s a stud. Scoring goals in the NHL is very hard to do. Stopping a team full of NHL players from scoring on you for an entire game is also very hard to do. This was no 16-save shutout snoozer, however, as Georgiev made 31 saves, including 10 early in the first period as Vegas was pushing hard and controlling play after the game’s opening goal.

Georgiev stood tall and kept Vegas off the scoresheet as the Avalanche skaters in front of him found their legs and tilted the ice in the other direction. There were some big-time stops, but more than anything there were first saves that didn’t necessitate second and third saves. His puck-tracking was fantastic as he gobbled up shots and didn’t give up rebounds for Vegas to pounce on. Another ace performance.

Mikko Rantanen

Scored two goals and dominated when he was on the ice. Sometimes, you can just tell it’s a Mikko Night. Tonight was a Mikko Night. The best player on the ice by a wide, wide margin.

Colorado’s defense

I loved how the Avs defense actually played tonight. They limited Vegas to just 22 scoring chances and 9 high-danger scoring chances, which are both good numbers are any 60-minute game.

Specifically, though, the trio of Devon Toews/Josh Manson/Bowen Byram was so good. Toews with his disruptive stick, Manson with his physicality, and Byram with his two-way play? I loved it. Even Sam Girard and Jack Johnson had awesome moments in this game. I just love how the group played, right?

Extra focus on Manson. He can be a little miscast in the more up-tempo games the Avs find themselves in at times but in a game against a Vegas team that wants to bang bodies along the wall and inflict a little punishment, Manson acclimates him so very well to that environment. 1 SOG, 4 hits, 3 blocks. That’s Manson, baby.

Colorado’s fourth line

They didn’t score, but the trio of Malgin/Meyers/Nieto actually was pretty good. They finished positive across the board in shot metrics. They used their combination of skill and speed to pressure Vegas and it was pretty effective. I don’t have a ton to say here, but watching the Avs roll an effective four lines over the boards sure is different than what we’ve seen for most of this year.

Duds

Colorado’s 4v3 power play

It took a lot of shots and was actually pretty dangerous, but it didn’t score and my options for duds in this game just weren’t very plentiful.

This unit honestly looked fine, though still a little too reliant on one-timers to bring it home. My real complaint here is that the movement without the puck isn’t very good and there was not a concerted effort to take the goaltender’s eyes away. They fired away at will and Devon Toews smoked one off the post, so it wasn’t as if they didn’t create opportunities.

Unsung Hero

The little things

I think there were lots of candidates for this tonight but I think I want to focus on the “little things” in this section. These aren’t highlight-reel plays or even always something with a lot of meaning, but rather the little plays that help build hockey games. Some of it is just stuff that I find amusing. Let’s get into it.

This Bowen Byram shift where he does a little of the stuff that makes him so special

This poke check from Sam Girard

Jack Johnson with a great defensive play, a ghastly neutral zone turnover, and a stick lift to make it all better again

Jack Johnson denying this zone entry by stepping up just enough on a puck carrier, causing the Vegas attack to go offside

This Josh Manson shift where he shows why he’s a totally different player than he was in Anaheim

This touch-pass from Mikko Rantanen appears to be an accident until you see the replay and realize he’s actually a genius in that mad scientist kind of way

This blind pass from Evan Rodrigues that actually ended up being perfect

The missed tripping penalty that Vegas was very upset about not being called that was followed very shortly by Colorado’s second goal.

I especially loved Theodore immediately beelining to the official. If he’d kept that same energy during the play, he’d have known Rantanen was on the backdoor instead of all that puck-watching he did as J.T. Compher made the slick feed through the home plate area. Whoops.