There are statement games and there’s whatever the Colorado Avalanche just did to the Minnesota Wild. Following a 5-1 thrashing two nights ago that featured the Avs dropping 54 shots on goal and generally embarrassing the Wild, it was fair to expect some pushback from Minnesota. This was a team that had been playing some of the best hockey in…...

After a day of back and forth in which it appeared the Avs were acquiring Jonas Johansson from the Buffalo Sabres, only to be denied by the team and then nothing happened the rest of the day, the Avalanche woke up this morning and finalized a deal with the Sabres. Johansson is headed to Colorado while the Avs are giving…...

On a night that saw the return of Cale Makar and Bowen Byram it was Mikko Rantanen once again proving he has earned a seat at the table of the elite. https://youtu.be/3XGaU5hxbvk

Allie Monroy is joined by Nathan Rudolph, Drew Creasman, Henry Chisholm, and Andre Simone as they discuss what the best roster in Denver sports history is. Would you argue it’s the 2001 Avs or the 1998 Broncos? How about the 1994 CU Buffs or are we currently living through some of the best rosters in Denver sports history with this…

In the same way that when a team gets blown out and you don’t want to make too much of how a team looks at its worst, you also have to be careful about making too much of how a team looks at its best. I covered the 2016-17 Avalanche from beginning to end. I was the only local media…...

It was a good news kind of morning at Ball Arena. The Colorado Avalanche began their day by announcing the return of fans to the arena. 4,050 fans will be allowed back to watch Avalanche and Nuggets games beginning April 2. That particular number represents approximately 22% of the max capacity of Ball Arena and the announcement resulted in the…...

The Avs had the much-awaited explosion of goals everyone has been waiting for but are also facing down a glaring problem. https://youtu.be/x4yzD8VBiss

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – C+ So Bellemare can definitely hit the empty net, he’s got that going for him. With Compher’s pending return, you have to wonder if Bellemare is an option to healthy scratch. Empty net goals aside, there’s no offense there and the staff could, theoretically, play Compher on that PK spot. Andre Burakovsky – A The second line…...

I’ve been using this space lately to give some shine to what the coaches have to say after games and I think given the…oddities…of tonight’s Avalanche game, it’s another good time to do it. When you have postgame quotes coming from Jared Bednar like: “I just didn’t like some of our habits in the first period when it comes to…...

The Avs’ second line shines as they finally break out of goal scoring and jail. This team looks capable of taking on all comers when the puck is going in. https://youtu.be/g4X5y58CDZY

I don’t want y’all to think I’m getting lazy over here or anything but the Avs just keep playing games that look like the previous ones but they’ve improved the results four straight games. From a regulation loss where they dominated to an overtime win where they dominated, then to essentially a 1-0 shutout win where they dominated, today was…...

Colorado weather is extremely unpredictable, especially this time of year. The adage “wait five minutes and it will change” rings true during most seasons but is a mainstay of spring in particular. However, there is another local adage for winter and early spring that’s just as true: “if it’s unseasonably warm today, it’s probably going to snow tonight or tomorrow.”…...

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B- The penalty called on him was a horrendous call, there’s no other way about it. It was just an incidental collision, nothing more, and nearly changed the game. Beyond that, he had a strong game overall but did blow another chance in the slot. Andre Burakovsky – A- Burky was wheeling and dealing tonight. Beyond getting…...

So, here’s the deal. The Avs just played their third straight game that looked exactly the same but with a little variety in the results. They’ve progressively gotten a little better as they went from losing in regulation to the Coyotes, then beating them in overtime, to beating the Los Angeles Kings tonight in regulation. The 2-0 win was Philipp…...

Another game where the puck just wouldn’t go in for the Avs but one would prove to be enough on the back of another excellent team-wide defensive effort. Low scoring close game wins, sounds like playoff hockey to me. https://youtu.be/d0MpsJEoWn8

The Avs dominate the Coyotes top to bottom for the second game in a row but it takes a Man Rocket to score the game winning goal. https://youtu.be/oct87xEAKes

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – C- It was interesting watching Bellemare talk to the linesmen tonight. He had a good night in the face-off circle but seemed to be constantly frustrated with the linesmen, talking to them at the end of the second and before the third period even started. I wonder if there’s a level of frustration with Bellemare, who had…...

Remember the game two days ago? The 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes despite outplaying them in every facet imaginable? Tonight’s dominant Avalanche effort was essentially a copy and paste repeat, even down to all of Arizona’s goals being deflected off Avalanche players. But when you produce games that look like this: …and that game causes an opposing coach to…...

I don’t know any other way to describe this loss. https://youtu.be/7va6tS-FkIE