Takeaways from Colorado's strong win over the Islanders

Stylistic contrasts almost always make for entertaining hockey viewing because the team that successfully imposes it’s will on the other usually gets the outcome it’s looking for.

Back in January, that was true when the New York Islanders shutout the Avalanche 1-0 in what was a showcase not only for the NHL’s replay system but also Semyon Varlamov’s revenge on the team he spent nearly a decade with before leaving last offseason.

Tonight, the Avs had their chance at revenge and were able to exact just enough to get the two points in a 3-1 win that never really felt in doubt once Colorado built their lead.

While these are two likely playoff teams, neither entered the evening playing their best as both were coming in on three-game losing streaks.

Since their last win, a 5-3 victory over Philadelphia, the Isles had scored just one goal in their last three games. The Isles were barely able to make it two goals in four games as it took until Brock Nelson ruined Pavel Francouz’s shutout with 2:14 remaining for them to score.

While that ended Francouz’s shutout and was more of a bummer than a legitimate impact on the outcome of the game, Colorado’s three goals before that were another story.

The Avs scored once in each period after getting out to their usual fast start.

Joonas Donskoi finally ended his goal drought when he tipped home a Cale Makar shot from the point to put the Avs up 1-0. It was much-needed depth scoring from a dominant makeshift second line featuring Donskoi, Val Nichushkin (who got an assist), and J.T. Compher.

Then the top line did its thing from there, getting goals from Andre Burakovsky and Gabe Landeskog to give the Avalanche all the offense they would need.

The special teams battle is especially important when playing low-scoring teams like the Islanders but Colorado did well to take just three penalties and the penalty kill showed up in killing all of them.

While the Avs’ power play failed to score on four attempts, Colorado’s third goal did come with an extra attacker hopping on because of a delayed penalty on New York. So that’s something, I guess.

In all, this was a pretty straight forward victory by the Avs as they broke a three-game losing streak that saw them lose once in overtime and twice in the final three minutes of regulation.

With the victory, the Avs move back to within one point of both Dallas and St. Louis and maintain one game in hand. For my doom and gloomers out there, they are still eight points ahead of dropping out of the postseason entirely but it’s now Winnipeg they lead, not Nashville.

Avs head to SoCal this weekend for the classic Anaheim-Los Angeles back-to-back. If you’re in Denver on Saturday night, be sure to drop by our watch party at Blake Street Tavern at 8:30. We always do big giveaways and such so you definitely want to be there with us!

GAME TAKEAWAYS

• Let’s get to what people wanted to talk about after this one. Martin Kaut made his NHL debut just about 19 months after being drafted in the first round and certainly didn’t disappoint. He predictably had limited ice time, playing just 7:47, but the confidence was there. For such a shy kid off the ice, he wasn’t lacking any swagger on it as he called for a backdoor pass from Sam Girard on one sequence. Girard delivered the pass and Kaut’s tip of the puck sailed just wide of the net. He didn’t record any shots on goal but missed twice and recorded two hits to boot. A solid debut and one in which he did nothing to dissuade the organization from feeding him more ice time while they continue to battle injury issues at forward.
• Kaut’s debut featured his teammates stealing his helmet before warm-ups and when he got out there without the hat on, they gave him the solo lap treatment for a solid 15 seconds before fellow countryman Francouz stepped onto the ice. A nice moment for both of them and certainly a night Kaut will never forget.
• Andre Burakovsky’s 20th goal looked like the first 19 – a great shot, perfectly placed. He simply doesn’t score ugly goals. When Burakovsky was acquired, the conversation focused on solid underlying numbers that said if given a larger role, he could become a legitimate top-six producer. The Avalanche have not been disappointed so far as his shot generation took the needed leap to give way to his natural talent. His shooting percentage is still a touch high but this was still an example of buying into the analytics and the eyes and finding a player who simply needed more opportunity. He got it and has rewarded the organization’s faith in him. The organization will likely respond with a multi-year contract offer this summer that seeks to keep Burakovsky here for a number of years to come.
• On Burakovsky’s other wing was Gabe Landeskog, who struggled once again with some of the issues we are not used to seeing from him. And then the third period started and Landeskog tipped in his 16th goal of the season before finishing with seven shot attempts total. I think he’s slowly working his way back to where he needs to be but there are still some issues he’s fighting through.
• Between them was Nathan MacKinnon, who continues to just be outrageous. Two more assists and nine more shot attempts mean he just keeps humming along doing his thing. The one bugaboo in his game is turnovers near the blueline in the offensive zone. He did it against Tampa Bay and it led to the game-winning goal in overtime and he did it again tonight that led to the Islanders getting a short-handed scoring chance and ending the power play with a Burakovsky penalty as he tried to get back defensively. He just needs to tone down the cuteness and keep that one simple but when he’s producing like he is, it’s hard to get on him too much for things. He is now tied for second in the NHL in scoring.
• I loved the defense in this one tonight. Sam Girard was exceptional driving play and creating offense with his legs. He was so active and his seven shot attempts is very encouraging for a player who has been far too passive at times. Next on the list is getting that shot through as just one made it on net tonight. His overall process continues to improve and he really looks like he’s starting to blossom.
• Cale Makar had two assists and he just does spectacular stuff time and time again. Watch for a Film Room on how he created Colorado’s third goal almost entirely on his own. What a special talent.
• Nichushkin was an absolute monster in this game, even getting double-shifted at times in the third period because he was just on fire. A great night for him. Can the Avs add another of him at the deadline?
• Francouz, for his part, was excellent tonight. He had some real shaky moments against the Lightning two nights ago but he cleaned it up and was very good tonight. He had one moment where he struggled covering the puck coming off the boards behind him and after giving up a goal against Tampa Bay with that exact problem, it wasn’t encouraging to see that sequence. But overall, a very good game for him.
• Joe Sakic met with media before the game and mentioned goaltender as one position the organization would look to upgrade with some depth. I don’t think that necessarily means the NHL job but certainly the AHL team could use a little boost as Hunter Miska is currently with the Avs and Adam Werner might be playing through some things right now. Other notes from Sakic’s pregame presser include the team’s lack of interest in moving top prospects while also maintaining they’re here for the long haul. He admitted they would consider moving their first round selection but would prefer “hockey deals” first and foremost. He also said that the rental market is something they will look into but not necessarily target over everything else. Basically, what we assumed going in but with added confirmation he will seek to add a goaltender. And Bowen Byram isn’t going anywhere. Neither is Alex Newhook.