Colorado's response against the Sharks was exactly what they needed

I wrote two days ago that we were going to learn a lot about the Colorado Avalanche tonight. That the loss two days ago was so bad, so inexcusably lazy and self-inflicted, that the Avalanche would show their true colors in how they responded tonight.

The team clearly agreed something had to be discussed as they held a meeting to go over why a group as talented as this one couldn’t seem to get themselves out of bad habits that were costing them valuable points in the standings.

Where was the consistency? Where was the offensive juggernaut that could light up scoreboards at any given moment? Where was the team that forced teams to play their A-game last year just to keep up?

Plenty of areas of Colorado’s overall game has been either fine or better. The number one that matters the most, however, is scoring goals. In this, the Avalanche has been notably lackluster. Nowhere near the worst, but certainly not the powerhouse we expected after they added a consistent 20-goal scorer like Brandon Saad to their forward corps.

The lackluster San Jose Sharks proved to be the perfect spotlight for Colorado’s woes and the antidote to what was ailing them.

An embarrassing 6-2 loss two days ago, an impressive and thorough 4-0 shutout tonight.

It was a slow burn as Colorado stifled San Jose’s offense throughout, allowing just 26 shots on goal (compared to Colorado’s 38) and just 48 shot attempts at all (compared to Colorado’s 76).

Both quality and quantity were on Colorado’s side and as the Avalanche nearly doubled San Jose in scoring chances (32-17) and nearly tripled the Sharks in high-danger chances (14-5) at all strengths.

The Avs were powered by their top line as Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog each registered four-point games and Nathan MacKinnon added an assist before leaving in the third period following a headshot by Joachim Blichfield.

Colorado got right back on their horse and did all the little things well tonight. There are still plenty of areas of improvement but this was as encouraging a response to a bad loss as you can possibly get.

Blowouts are fun but in the NHL they are typically anomalies, fun nights of synergy where one team has it rolling and the other is living a nightmare. The Avs would have been plenty happy with one of those, of course, but a win like this hits a team differently.

From the coaching staff’s perspective, it shows the proof is in the hard work. The team that gave up on taking the game seriously two nights ago got waxed and embarrassed. The team that put its nose to the grindstone to the point of Brandon Saad getting back and going all-out on the backcheck with seven seconds remaining in a 4-0 game walked out of the arena with a comfortable win and a renewed sense of swagger.

Now, the Avalanche head back to Denver where they prepare for a nine-game homestand and 15 of their next 17 games at Ball Arena.

I certainly won’t go as far to say what ailed them has been cured, but you can’t help but feel a hell of a lot better about this team’s chances to be great than you did 48 hours ago.

TAKEAWAYS

• Lots of talk about how much the Avs miss Cale Makar and, of course, rightfully so. A year ago, however, no Makar and no Erik Johnson was a recipe for a complete disaster. A total collapse defensively. A legit “driving through the mountains during a blizzard with no visibility” kind of experience. It was survival. Tonight, they played Ryan Graves, Dan Renouf, Jacob MacDonald, and Conor Timmins as two-thirds of the defense. And you know what? They did just fine. A big part of that is the growth of Sam Girard this year, who has clearly taken a big step forward offensively again this year. He had 27 points in 82 games just two years ago and is now up to 15 in 18 this year. Some of that is obviously opportunity on the top PP unit with no Makar but plenty of it is just him being a better offensive player than in the past.
• The other reason they got by is that Devon Toews is absolutely living up to his billing. I’ve used this space previously to talk about what a seamless transition he made to Colorado and how rare it is for a newcomer to instantly fit and look like he’s been in a place for ages but he continues to be an absolute rock for the Avalanche. It’s not always sexy and it isn’t always about points and tonight was a fantastic example of that from Toews. He made a great pinch during the extended possession that led to Colorado’s first goal and did it again that helped lead to the faceoff immediately preceding Colorado’s second goal. No points in the box score but they don’t score without those contributions.
• Two nights ago was a trainwreck for Ryan Graves (and a host of other players but Graves really got a lot of negative attention). Didn’t score tonight but he was so, so much better. It wasn’t perfect but let’s be real and admit that it rarely is even for the best of the best. This was the kind of game we saw a lot last year from Graves, which maybe someday we’ll stop using as the ultimate barometer for everything. I am encouraged by more of the games Graves has played lately and think he’s starting to find a groove despite a constantly-evolving role with the wave of injuries on the back end. Also of note was that Conor Timmins played a much better game, too. We’re still waiting to see some on the offensive end from him but I loved his compete level tonight and thought he was much more effective all around.
• Okay, let’s talk about The Hit. This was plenty an important game but depending on what happens with Nathan MacKinnon over the next few days, it could be remembered for only Sharks rookie forward Joachim Blichfield, playing his fourth career game in the NHL, making pretty obvious head contact with MacKinnon, who went down from the hit. Logan O’Connor tried to get at Blichfield but several Sharks players pulled O’Connor off Blichfield as MacKinnon labored on the ice as the trainer hopped on to attend to him. Replays showed it certainly could have been worse as it looked like more of a glancing blow to MacKinnon’s head than anything else but it also served as the principle point of contact, a main factor when the league considers potential suspension. Blichfield was assessed a major penalty for checking to the head and removed from the game. MacKinnon did not return but Jared Bednar and Gabe Landeskog both expressed optimism in their postgame interviews but neither was inclined to say much else about it. Every year we see hits like this and every year I say the same thing: If you’re serious about removing these hits from the game, a little heavy-handedness is required on the punishment front. This particular hit is probably a one or two-game suspension. I’d do five to set the standard that this league does not allow players to be hit in the head. That simple. In the name of protecting your players, you know, the lifeblood of your entire league, I think it’s okay to be a little heavy on punishing headshots. Intent is irrelevant here but at least in my opinion I didn’t think he tried to hit him in the head, though I do think he wanted to give him a piece as he headed to the bench. Reasonable people can disagree and I’m sure plenty will with me on this one. No, I do not think MacKinnon put himself in a vulnerable position. There was plenty of contact to be made that didn’t involve MacKinnon’s head. Blichfield should try that next time.