Seven goals including multi-goal performances from Rantanen, Lehkonen, and Newhook lead the Avs to their biggest win of the season. Finally a spark of life inside an organization that has been on the struggle bus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JduGQnRgESg
Colorado’s 7-0 obliteration of the Ottawa Senators reminded both Avalanche players and fans alike that hockey can, in fact, still be fun. It was a party at Ball Arena, the exact kind of shindig everyone needed after the incredibly disappointing and disheartening loss to the Chicago Blackhawks two nights ago. Because we’re on the other extreme side of a pendulum…
After the disappointment of the loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on the road, Colorado had more than just points to worry about. The despondency shown in that game revealed a defeated Avalanche team that Jared Bednar described as “down.” Tonight they were in search of a victory just as much as they were in search of themselves. The Ottawa Senators…
Colorado’s embarrassing, ugly, nearly apathetic 3-2 loss to the Patrick Kane-less Chicago Blackhawks leaves only bitterness in its wake. There are almost no positives to pull from this game except for them leaving the game without an additional injury. So, cheers to that, I suppose. Studs The only player worth considering in this category was Evan Rodrigues. He played hard,…
After the disappointment of Tuesday’s failed comeback effort, Colorado looked to right the course on the road against a stunted Chicago team. The Blackhawks hadn’t played since Sunday and would have fresh legs under them. Even though they won two of their last games, Chicago has been on a crash course to finesse the draft lottery with a 10-25-4 record…
What do you even say about Colorado’s 5-4 loss to Florida tonight? They started the game well, fell apart with a couple of very lazy shifts, and found themselves down 4-1 entering the third period. The Avs mounted a respectable comeback but another self-inflicted wound at the end cost them in regulation. Let’s get into the difference makers from this…
First Period Early in the first, Florida’s Sam Reinhart had a weird collision with Evan Rodrigues near the bench. Rodrigues stayed down, hurt, but eventually labored back to the bench and played through the rest of the game. The action drew a penalty and Colorado went on the powerplay, but they were unable to convert. At even strength, both teams…
Jesse’s Observations: JT Compher has been Clutch It’s a contract year for JT, and to this point, he is setting himself up for a nice little payday next summer. Compher has always been the Swiss Army knife of Colorado’s forward core. Able to moonlight in the top six is a center who can play on the wing if necessary (though…
Nathan MacKinnon finally looks like he’s 100% and at this rate, Cale Makar may actually play 100% of a game. The Avs are able to break their skid with some star power and finally a good bounce or two. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfztY4FnrTs
Finally, a win to talk about! Turns out in a game where the Avalanche plays really well and come from behind on the scoreboard, there are a lot more good things to say than bad. Let’s get to it. Studs Alexandar Georgiev This is my third edition writing this piece and each game has included Georgiev. Well, tonight that isn’t…
Ok, we’re not going to do any of the fluff to start this piece off. The Colorado Avalanche were coming into their game against the Edmonton Oilers losers of five straight, and maybe the worst loss of this current skid came just two nights ago when the Avs blew a 2-0 lead to the struggling Vancouver Canucks. Colorado needed to…
The Avalanche seem to have finally hit their boiling point in an implosion loss to the Vancouver Canucks. It’s plain for everyone to see that it needs to be better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzXslKWQLuo
/waves Back to try this again. I took in a lot of the feedback and have decided I’ll try to add in an “Unsung Hero” type of thing for guys who typically get overlooked but so that a depth guy (or more!) gets some love along the way. Those who hated the format and just want their grades back are…
Hi, friends! As you know, Evan Rawal recently made the departure from DNVR over to a full-time gig covering the Avalanche at Colorado Hockey Now. He’s been our resident Avalanche grades writer for the last few years, so with him leaving we decided we wanted to try some different things out. After years of grading every player, we’ve come to…
First Period The Avs have not scored first in their last six games (3-2-1), and each of those wins did not come in regulation. Nathan MacKinnon sought to change that. Twenty-five seconds in, the Avs chased the puck back in their own end after the opening faceoff. Artturi Lehkonen sacrificed his body at the blueline to complete a pass up…
Bo Byram/Injuries – I know, I know, everybody is sick of hearing about injuries. Especially since it feels like we really haven’t gotten many updates over the last number of weeks. This week, however, it feels like there has been some actual progress made by some of the guys who are on the shelf, and Jared Bednar expanded on Byram’s…
Happy New Year! Here we are, New Year’s Eve, starting down the calendar officially flipping over to 2023. Seriously almost unbelievable. It was a week for the Colorado Avalanche that saw them end up on the wrong side of multiple disappointing outcomes in very winnable games. They needed a bounce back. They needed, at bare minimum, a mental boost and…
Residents of the Denver Metro area woke up this morning to find a thick layer of wet, heavy snow blanketing their cars, streets, sidewalks, and pretty much everything else. It was a winter storm that was definitely expected, but maybe a little under-promised. As all pro-winter folk avoid mentioning when trying to defend this frigid season, the storm made the…