Colorado's second line has finally arrived

“That’s what I want to do.”

It was nothing short of a disastrous start for Brandon Saad in Colorado, scoring just one goal in his first six games and repeatedly being on the ice when the opposing team found the back of the net.

Following a two-goal performance in Colorado’s 7-3 beatdown of the San Jose Sharks, Saad was upbeat that it was just the beginning for him.

“Coming to a new team, systems are a little different, you’re trying to gel with different players, you don’t have much of a training camp,” Saaid said. “It took a little bit to get into but I think I’m feeling more and more comfortable every day.”The Avs came into the game just 3-3 on the season, a mild disappointment thanks to the Stanley Cup-or-bust hype surrounding this team. Saad’s lackluster performance next to the also-struggling Nazem Kadri was a major reason why and he knew it.

“Anytime you’re not playing your best, especially when the team’s not winning, we know we can contribute and we know we’re good hockey players,” Saad said. “It’s definitely frustrating. You put pressure on yourself as a professional to help the team win. I think we had a good response tonight but we’ve got to keep that rolling.”

Saad getting off the snide might have been a big relief to him but the happiness his teammates felt for him speaks to the emotional vibes these guys are on together.

“It was great to see the way they started the game right away, played really good and got rewarded,” Mikko Rantanen said of Saad and Kadri. “It’s fun to see that they work hard and that’s what happens. It’s good to see.”

“Hard work” was also a main focus of Jared Bednar, who could only muster minor complaints after watching his team lay a thorough beating on the Sharks.

“All four lines were ready to skate, tenacious on pucks,” Bednar said illustrating the difference between tonight and previous performances. “I thought we were stronger on pucks in the offensive zone, moving our feet whenever we were touching [the puck], just a little bit more in sync. I thought the D did a nice job staying part of our offense.”

The defense isn’t just staying part of the offense this year in Colorado, however; they’re driving it.

Cale Makar added three more points while Devon Toews and Sam Girard scored a goal apiece and Erik Johnson’s second game of the season saw him snag an assist in the first period. All told, the blueline racked up six points on 13 shots on goal as each player recorded at least one shot.

The only real blemishes from the defense were a few too many high-quality chances against (albeit in a game that was in blowout territory for nearly half of its run time) and Ryan Graves getting ejected with just seconds remaining in a feisty finish.

The highlight of the night might have been Colorado’s last goal, which finally showcased the high-level potential of the Avs’ second line when Kadri feathered a pass to Andre Burakovsky, who sucked the defense and goaltender in before dishing to Saad for an easy one-timer and his second goal of the game.

So what that it was the seventh goal and would not be the difference in winning and losing tonight? It was much-needed chemistry from a line that had thus far looked like a bunch of middle school kids at their first school dance – awkward and uncomfortable.

It might just be the kickstart that group needed to get going and it comes long before the Avs have to start seriously worrying about their trade deadline options.

TAKEAWAYS

• Sam Girard looks fantastic. There will always be detractors of his because of his size and the refusal to believe that a player of Girard’s stature could ever be an effective defender in his own zone but that’s all just white noise. Girard’s two-way game has always been intriguing because of his reputation as a point-producing defender in juniors. So far in his NHL career, Girard has been a more polished defender than dynamic offensive player. Until now. While he had just one goal tonight, he had multiple passes that could have become goals. He’s creating with his legs and zipping passes through the home plate area with enough regularity that opposing teams are going to have to start game-planning against him.
• And when a team plans a way to slow Girard, his pals will be there to pick up the slack. The offensive upside between Girard, Makar, Toews, and Byram is arguably the highest any Avalanche defense has ever had as a unit. They look incredible together.
• Nathan MacKinnon continues to lead the Avs in scoring but I think Rantanen is putting together the kind of performance that leads me to believe he’s currently their best player. Rantanen is straight-up dominating games and now leads the NHL in goals after scoring in his sixth consecutive contest.
• Byram led the Avs in ice time, and underrated coaching move by Bednar to get him extra ice in a decided game. Byram looked like a rookie at times tonight and some of that is surely the extra exposure he got but the experience will only serve to help Byram as he looks to solidify a job on this Avalanche defense. He only has two games left until the Avs must decide whether to keep him for the year and burn the first year of his ELC or demote him and push the start of his contract to next season. I can’t honestly imagine the Avs looking at Byram and thinking he’s going anywhere. He’s just been too good, even in a game like tonight where he wasn’t at his best.
• Makar is quietly dominating on defense in his last four games. Shhhh. Don’t tell anyone.
• Tyson Jost appreciation takeaway.
• The two-game series against teams means all of the shenanigans at the end of the game are building towards Thursday night. Do the teams engage in Round 2 of “smell my glove” or do they let bygones be bygones and recognize they see each other seven more times after tonight? This is one of the wrinkles of this year’s schedule and I’m very interested to see the impacts across the season.
• Is Andre Burakovsky actually a star? He looks fantastic.