The first one is done, and what a game it was.  The Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning opened the Stanley Cup Final tonight and Game 1 lived up to the hype. This has been billed as one of the best Cup Final matchups the NHL has seen in a long, long time. Tonight was a fantastic game from…...

This morning, Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar addressed the media for what felt like the 20th time since his team last saw game action. Bednar wasn’t his usual chatty self, there were actually several times he gave one-word or one-line answers. I asked him what he was looking for out of Sam Girard, given the way his postseason performance…...

They say that the fourth and final win you need to close out a Stanley Cup Playoff series is the hardest one to get, and the Colorado Avalanche got a good reminder of that as they were looking to put the Nashville Predators in the rearview mirror and move on to Round 2. It was a tentative crowd inside Bridgestone…...

The Colorado Avalanche normally start their morning skate practice at 10:30 AM on game days. This morning though, as the media filed into the main seating bowl at Ball Arena, the team was noticeably absent from the ice until almost 10:45.  Once media availability rolled around, head coach Jared Bednar reviled that the team was late getting on the ice…...

We talked last week on the DNVR Avalanche Podcast about the remaining schedule of games, and how there were really only 2-3 games left that we felt would be really entertaining must-see games. Tonight, the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Washington Capitals, and even though the Avalanche have the West wrapped up, and the Capitals have secured their spot in the…...

Whoo boy, this game did not get off to the same start as last night.  Thursday night in Denver featured what I believe was the first “screw it” game of the home stretch we’ve seen the Avs play in. What I mean by that is, you had two teams with almost nothing on the line, just somewhat of going through…...

This game had such an interesting feel to it starting at morning skate.  On one hand, you had the Colorado Avalanche, who were rested, and sitting comfortably atop the Central Division. Their main focus the rest of the way is fine tuning the details of their game as the postseason approaches.  On the other, the Los Angeles Kings. Playing for…...

There’s never a dull week in the NHL. Trevor Zegras continues to do dope things, the playoffs are taking shape, it looks like Bowen Byram is on the road back, and we’ve got a pair of fifty goal-scorers. Let’s get caught up from last week in the NHL. Trevor Zegras This kid is something else. What I love about the…...

After over four months away from the game due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you had to know the players were eager to get into a game situation after a few days of practice. On Thursday, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar and his staff gave all the players that opportunity, separating the 30 players between two teams and letting them go…...

When the Avs signed Valeri Nichushkin on August 19 in the dead of the summer, it was met with a lot of skepticism (myself included). Why did the Avs, as deep as they had been in years, decide to take a chance on a struggling player? Why would they block younger players already in the organization? Why was this reclamation…...

Welcome to the weekly Avs mailbag, where we answer whatever Avs questions you have on your mind. If you have any questions for the mailbag, leave them for Evan Rawal on twitter or respond in the comments.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – B Most games, Bellemare is going to be really quiet out there, and tonight was one of them, but he made a great feed to Nieto for the game-winning goal. A good night in the face-off circle and good minutes on a penalty kill that did their job tonight. Andre Burakovsky – B- That line felt a…...

Pierre Edouard Bellemare – A The man loves going back to play in Vegas, apparently. Two goals in this one, including one where he dangled through Shea Theodore, which I didn’t know he was capable of. It had been over a month since he had scored, so he was in need of a few to bounce his way. Andre Burakovsky…...

Mark Barberio – C Barbs was an adventure sometimes in his own end tonight, and seemed to sit out a few shifts towards the end of the second period, as I saw him at the end of the bench with his head down. He did finish a +2 on the night, so some luck was on his side. Pierre Edouard…...

Welcome to the weekly Avs mailbag, where we answer whatever Avs questions you have on your mind. If you have any questions for the mailbag, leave them for Evan Rawal on twitter or respond in the comments.

Pierre Edouard Bellemare – B+ Bellemare and his line looked really good now that he’s got his long lost brother Matt Calvert back. They pinned the Leafs down low several times and got the Avs momentum whenever they really needed it. The scoring has normalized for Bellemare, but the solid play overall is still there. Matt Calvert – B+ Did…...

Welcome to the weekly Avs mailbag, where we answer whatever Avs questions you have on your mind. If you have any questions for the mailbag, leave them for Evan Rawal on twitter or respond in the comments.

Pierre Edouard Bellemare – B+ The Avs were a little disjointed in the first period, but Bellemare seemed to be in on half of their scoring chances, including one off a nice feed from Nichushkin. His scoring has kind of gone back to the guy he’s always been in his career, and that’s fine. He crushed it in the face-off…...

Pierre Edouard Bellemare – B Bellemare had a good night in the face-off circle and was one of the few forwards who was well above positive in terms of possession. He was battling in front on Nichushkin’s goal. Andre Burakovsky – C+ I thought Burakovsky was far too soft on the opening Leafs goal of the game. He had the…...