It had been over a week since I was last at an Avalanche game, since I didn’t make the multi-stop trip back East for the three-game road trip, and it was so nice to be back in the building.
Coincidentally, the last time the Colorado Avalanche were at home, it was against these very same Calgary Flames in what was a fantastic game between two heavyweight teams. The Avs would lose that one in overtime, but despite being disappointed in the result, pretty much everyone felt pretty good with the quality and pace of play.
The Avs have been so far ahead of the rest of their conference and division for so long now, that it was honestly hard to remember the last time they went into a game and you really felt like “this is a big game.”
Sure, we’ve had some contests along the way that have become big games or big wins due to the events of that night, or how the game has unfolded, but there really hasn’t been a game that truly felt like it meant something.
Tonight was that for me.
Every team in the league has been gunning to knock off the Avs for a while now, and for a two-month stretch there, almost nobody succeeded. Calgary has been writing their own feel-good story in the Pacific Division this season, and you definitely get the sense that they have been looking to have some respect put on their name.
With the recent speed bump Colorado has hit, it has allowed Calgary to close the gap the Avs have on the Western Conference to just eight points.
I say that slightly sarcastically because I mean… eight points is still a huge gap, and to be perfectly honest, I just don’t think the Avalanche are all that concerned with President’s Trophies, or where other teams are in the standings. Sure, everybody has home ice, but I just honestly don’t think it’s the priority it once was. The Avs want to be going at 100%, and clicking on all cylinders come playoff time, that’s it.
Still, though, a regulation loss to Calgary would’ve closed that gap to just six, with another head-to-head matchup coming up later this month. I know I just said that I don’t think Colorado is overly-concerned with the standings, but at the same time, you don’t want to give a team like Calgary any reason to be feeling good about having to play you.
The Avs knew this was a big one, and a chance to send a message, especially in the wake of injuries to captain Gabe Landeskog and Sam Girard.
The other reason this one felt important to me was the fact that the Avs had lost four of their last five. When you have the cushion in the standings that the Avalanche have, the points aren’t all that important on a night-to-night basis, but you wanted to see them get back in the win column, and get some of that mojo back. Teams never want a slide to continue on too long because it can start to mess with your head.
It was a packed building in downtown Denver, and the standing-room crowd of 18,081 was treated to another outstanding game between the Avs and the Flames as the hometown Avalanche shutout the Calgary Flames 3-0.
You could tell right away that both teams had their legs going, the first period saw both teams trade high-danger chances, make skilled plays, and try to impose their style on one another. Ultimately though, Colorado’s speed and skill became just a bit too much for the Calgary to handle, and old friend Nikita Zadorov got his stick in the hands of Tyson Jost as he was driving to the net and sent the Avs to the man advantage.
The power play hasn’t exactly been a point of pride for the Avalanche lately, struggling mightily during this underwhelming five-game stretch, but it came through tonight.
Just past the halfway mark of the opening frame, and after a few failed zone entries, Nathan MacKinnon absolutely wired one past Flames netminder Dan Vladar, and the Avs were off and running.
That was a huge goal, and not just because I had Nate as the first goalscorer in my Weekend Gambling Primer. I was talking with someone in the press box before the game about how it felt like the Avs needed to have a game where they come out strong, get a lead, and then lock things down. It felt like it had been a little too long since we had seen them do something like that.
They had the good start, now they have the lead, it was time for them to take control and not let Calgary back into it. Enter Darcy Kuemper.
It’s not that the skaters in front of him weren’t doing a lot of great things too, but the Avalanche goaltender stole the show after his team got out to the early lead.
Kuemper was sharp, his movements were crisp, he was tracking pucks exceptionally well, and giving very little in terms of rebounds. Despite the Avs being the better team for a lot of the second period, Calgary is one of the better shot-generation teams in the league, meaning, they put a lot of pucks on net and Kuemper had to make several key saves to preserve the one-goal lead.
You worry a little when it feels like you’re outplaying your opponent, but they’re just one shot away from tying things up. That’s part of the reason why having goaltending you can believe in is so huge come playoff time. During the postseason, you are going to play in a lot of tight, low-scoring games, and in more instances than you can count, goaltending is the difference.
“Definitely one of them,” head coach Jared Bednar said after the game when asked if that was the best game Kuemper has played this season. “Third period when they were on their push, they got some really good chances…he made some big saves for us. I liked his game a lot, he was sharp from start to finish.”
Mikko Rantanen even mentioned what a difference it makes knowing that you have someone back there who can bail you out, “It makes it nicer for me as a winger so I don’t have to block any shots” Rantanen joked, “it’s fun to play when your goalie is making those kinds of saves, you know we can sometimes get a little loose in our coverage and stuff, Kuemps has been really good with us, making big saves at key times, so it gives us confidence also”.
Nathan MacKinnon, who had a huge game of his own tonight, would add a goal in the early stages of the third period, and Mikko Rantanen would ice things with an empty-netter late, but it was Kuemper who got this team where it needed to go tonight. He was fantastic. I can’t overstate that enough, just everything you want your goalie to be in a game like this.
This was Kuemper’s 28th win of the season, setting a new career-high for him, and wouldn’t you know it…he did it with a 46-save shutout, also a career-best.
It was as big of a win as the Avs have had this season, given the opponent, their recent skid, and depleted lineup, and with just about a week to go until the trade deadline, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Jared Bednar said that the team is still learning things, but feels mostly confident in knowing what they want to address by next Monday’s deadline. It should be an interesting week for the Avalanche and their fans, but before them, they’ll need to keep things going in the right direction as they head put for a two-game California road trip in Los Angeles and San Jose.
