How can you not be romantic about sports?

Sports have given the world so many good underdog stories of the years that it’s become impossible not to get the warm and fuzzies when you see another one.

What the Colorado Avalanche did tonight won’t go down in those same annals of motivational history but it doesn’t lessen that we nonetheless saw something special tonight in the Pepsi Center with the 3-2 overtime victory by the Avs.

With uncertainty swirling around the world of sports (and the world as a whole, really), the Avalanche and New York Rangers took the ice in the shadow of the NBA suspending its regular season after a player tested positive for the coronavirus.

The outbreak has rapidly spread across the world, impacting sporting events across the globe. It was expected that NBA and NHL games were soon to be played in front of empty arenas.

That entire landscape changed tonight as the story continued to evolve and there were times I looked out onto the ice and laughed at how trivial it seemed to feel. All this happening around the world and these two teams were playing a regular season game like nothing else mattered.

Isn’t that the real romance of sports, though? The escape they provide us all from the “real world” makes a difference. We all need a rabbit hole to crawl into when the realities of the world get too large, too much to take, too overwhelming.

These games do matter.

They mattered to the team involved, too. They are both involved in playoff chases of their own as the Avs are trying to run down the St. Louis Blues and the Rangers are just trying to make the postseason at all.

The Avalanche came in missing (deep breath) Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Matt Calvert, Colin Wilson, and Philipp Grubauer.

In numbers terms, the Avs were missing 105 goals and 139 assists (244 points) from their lineup. The 18 players who did play have combined for 129 goals and 255 assists (384 points) this year. So…they were missing a lot.

One of the players they weren’t missing, however, was Cale Makar, who returned for tonight’s game.

Three assists later and the Calder Trophy case that seemed to be on life support was suddenly renewed for Makar, who hit 50 points on the season in just his 57th game.

Locked in a battle with fellow defenseman Quinn Hughes, who has 53 points in 68 games played, Makar stated this morning he doesn’t pay attention to the race or much seem to care at all. He cares about winning.

Despite certainly not playing his sharpest game of the season, Makar was the star the Avs needed tonight. His two assists on Colorado’s first two goals were of the cheaper variety as other players made the real play to get the goals. But the game-winner?

That was pure superstar stuff. The Cale Makar Special.

While the goal is officially J.T. Compher’s on a tip, replays seem to indicate that puck was deflected in by the goaltender’s glove, not Compher’s stick. Regardless of who ends up with it, the play was made by Makar and it was a reminder that even with Nathan MacKinnon missing, the Avs have the hidden ace up their sleeve that makes them a Stanley Cup contender not only this year but the next five: The other superstar.

Following the victory, captain Gabe Landeskog (who added two more assists of his own) said this about his 21-year-old teammate:

“You’re still impressed every time. This is special what everybody in this building
gets to see on a nightly basis. It’s very special; it doesn’t happen a whole lot. I know there are some other guys in the league that are raising some attention and some guys that are doing well, but in my opinion, Cale is a special kid and a special talent that’s taken this league by storm. Some of the plays you see him make, you’re not supposed to do that as a rookie so he’s done an awesome job of stepping in and obviously he got some experience last year in the playoffs. He keeps impressing all of us and he’s got a good head on his shoulders and he keeps working hard.”

Not one to sit and let someone heap praise on him, Makar interrupted and said, “Enough, enough, enough” before cracking a wide smile and eagerly ushering the conversation to a topic other than himself.

That humility is part of the charm of Makar. Other players have no issues with talking about themselves but there are very few who are as unwilling or uncomfortable broaching the topic of their own success quite like him. In this case, he let his captain do the speaking until he just couldn’t handle it anymore.

That off-ice coolness from Makar translates directly onto the ice, as well. Despite a night of him struggling to connect on passes, making great decisions with the puck, or generally playing the kind of well-rounded game we’re accustomed to seeing from him, Makar rose to the occasion and helped his team snag two points.

Now, those two points may not mean anything. The NHL plans to spend the night deliberating over what to do next and whether or not to follow the NBA’s lead in suspending their regular season. Early indications are that’s the likely outcome here, whether that be tomorrow or Friday or soon thereafter, it seems that’s where this situation is headed for now.

If that’s the case, this was a high-octane send-off for now. The kind of last taste of intense NHL hockey that brings you back for more as soon as the league returns. This might have been our final escape into this wonderful, quirky Avalanche squad that feels destined for something special here pretty soon.

If true, hurry back, Avalanche. There’s a storybook ending waiting for you to write.

GAME TAKEAWAYS

• This was the strangest atmosphere of any sporting event I’ve ever covered. Social media being what it is these days, there was a palpable buzz in the arena as news spread about the NBA’s decision and what seems like an inevitable impact on the NHL given so many teams (including the Avs) share arenas with NBA clubs. There was almost a sadness as we got closer to the end and staring into the unknown of a future that might mean no sports for a while. An odd night that I’ll surely remember for a long time.
• There’s a feeling the regular season in the NHL is over and when the games do resume (assuming suspension happens immediately), they’ll just start in the playoffs. If that’s the case, the two points earned by the Avs tonight were for nothing as the St. Louis Blues beat the Anaheim Ducks in their continuation of a game that was halted earlier this year when Blues defenseman Jay Bouwmeester suffered a cardiac event on the bench and had to be rushed to the hospital. If the playoffs do indeed pick up from here, it’s Colorado and Dallas in the first round as the Stars and their six-game losing streak will be given a massive reprieve.
• Depending on how long any suspension of play lasts, the Avs could benefit mightily from it with their ongoing injury problems. Even just 10 days and they are likely to have all but Wilson back into the lineup. That’s how close this team is to having their full arsenal of talent on hand.
• Specifically to this game, Tyson Jost again showed the beast mode form we’ve been seeing since the trade deadline passed. I want to believe he’s finally turning a corner but we can’t know for sure. Regardless, I loved his game tonight and he drew yet another penalty, tying him with Nazem Kadri for the most on the Avs with 24. Leaguewide he is tied with Connor McDavid and Taylor Hall for penalties drawn. That is damn impressive for a guy who averages 12:46 of ice time.
• This was Martin Kaut’s ninth and final game for the Avalanche this year as the decision was already made to send him back down following the game in order to preserve the five-year ELC opportunity. Kaut certainly represented himself well, especially tonight when he immediately came to the defense of Matt Nieto after he was rocked in the corner shortly after the whistle.
• It wasn’t the only post-whistle hit from the Rangers, either, as Joonas Donskoi received a blindside shoulder to his head from Brendan Lemieux, who hit him several seconds after the play had been blown dead and then followed it up with the audacity to act like he was somehow wronged by the officials calling him for the clown act it was. If anything, it deserved more than the two minutes he received and I hope the Department of Player Safety takes a close look at it. After Ryan Lindgren got away with head-hunting Donskoi in their first matchup, it would be disappointing to see Lemieux’s cowardly nonsense receive the same hands-off treatment after knocking Donskoi from the game. Here’s to hoping Donskoi gets healthy and this is just temporary as he was slowing working his way back to the player he was before Lindgren concussed him back in January.
• The Avs had another penalty shot as Matt Nieto took his fourth career attempt in this one and was stopped. He is now 0-4 in penalty shots in his career.
• Last but certainly not least, Pavel Francouz. I joke on social media a lot about him having “Tiny Goalie Energy” but he really is something else when he’s locked in. I don’t know what it is with the voodoo he has going on but when he’s playing well, he’s also getting wildly, hilariously lucky along the way to boot. He was at it again tonight as the Rangers hit at least three posts, including one in overtime, and a few bounces in other directions could have seen New York drop a five spot, minimum, on the Avs. But that isn’t what happened and those bounces when Colorado’s, and Francouz’s, way. That isn’t to take away from Francouz’s play, either, as he was both lucky and spectacular tonight. Huge saves throughout and whatever the universe had taken from Colorado in injury, it gave back in puck luck, which was a very welcome change. The Avs, and certainly Francouz, deserved a little good after having to endure what they have lately.
• I don’t know what’s next for the NHL season but I can promise you the DNVR team is going nowhere. If there is no Friday night game, we’ll still be at the party at our new bar and look forward to seeing you all there for it. If there is, well, the party is still going on. Point is, we’re not going anywhere, with or without the NHL. We’ll be here every day for whatever ride we’re headed for.