Avalanche Week in Review: The Good, Bad and Ugly

The Colorado Avalanche launched into 2018 with their own brand of fireworks this past week. While most people were enjoying a relaxing holiday break, the Avalanche went from a Christmas hangover to defeating playoff contenders. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly covers the goods to start off the New Year.

THE GOOD

1. The Avalanche dismantled the New York Islanders. going full throttle in the second period with an avalanche of 23 shots on net, scoring four times. Colorado’s dominant performance nearly overshadowed the post-game fireworks show as the team finished the game with 48 shots, led in blocks and hits, and had 11 players earn points in the contest. New York Islander’s Coach Doug Weight got so frustrated with the game’s progress, he started a fight with the referees in order to get tossed out, attempting to fire up his team. It didn’t work. Can anyone remember the last time a coach resorted to getting thrown out to beat the Avalanche? Me either. What a way to ring in the New Year.

2. Alternate Captain Nathan MacKinnon earned six points in the past week, 46 for the season so far and is tied for fifth place in NHL scoring, sitting in first place for all Western Conference players. Since he earned 53 points in all of last season, it’s worth noting MacKinnon is on pace to set a career high for season scoring. He notched 18 points in the month of December with eight goals and 10 assists. It’s not too late to send him a belated Christmas present or something to celebrate the New Year. Beast mode MacKinnon is worthy of recognition.

3. Captain Gabriel Landeskog deserves some kudos as well, as he finishes December tied with MacKinnon for the team lead in goals – with 16 apiece – and ranks third in total scoring with 31 points. For all of last season, Landeskog tallied 33 points. It’s nice when the team eclipses last season’s totals heading into January. Landeskog also sits atop the forwards in average ice time and shifts per game. Leading by example seems to be an effective method for chasing a Wild Card spot as the team is only three points out of the final slot with two games in hand. With 14 points in the month of December, Landeskog’s only New Year’s resolution should be to continue what he’s doing. Never mess with success.

4. It’s time to send a gift basket to the special teams coach Ray Bennett. The Avalanche continued their penalty killing streak, hitting 33 straight successful kills. The team moved up to third place among all NHL teams for penalty kill save percent. Special teams as a whole have improved as the power play produced goals on three of 10 chances this past week and moved up to 13th place in the NHL for the season. That’s a huge improvement from the start of the year. He’s earned a fun gift basket, the kind with lots of the good chocolate and maybe the nice rum. Pirates, of course, think rum goes with everything, though.

5. Rookie Alexander Kerfoot continues to vie for attention as he sits in a fifth-place tie for rookie scoring with 25 points. He’s doing all that scoring while playing less than 14 minutes a game, ranking 49th among all rookies for time on ice. It’s also worth noting he’s scored those points while only making 32 shots on goal. Maybe he should consider lobbing just a few more pucks at the net and see what happens. Or the coach could give him a little more ice time. Or both. Yeah, that kind of analysis is why writers earn the big bucks. Or not.

6. In case it got lost in the celebrations, rookie Tyson Jost played a breakout game against the Islanders. He trailed only Landeskog in forward ice time, played over four minutes on the power play, tied Landeskog and Nemeth for the team lead with six shots each and proved himself to be a menace to his opponents. The only thing missing was scoring, but it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort. Jost elevating his game with extra minutes may be the silver lining to having fellow rookie J.T. Compher out for a few games.

7. Jost isn’t the only young gun taking advantage of extra ice time. Defenseman Sam Girard has earned more time on ice in each successive game since Tyson Barrie was hurt and now ranks sixth among all rookies in ice time. He led all defensemen in power-play minutes against the Islanders and played nearly 20 minutes of the contest. He earned two assists in the matchup and finished with three assists for the week.

8. For those wondering what the future of the team may look like, look no further than the final minute of the overtime matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Three rookies played in the final lineup which led to J.T. Compher scoring the game-winning goal – with Sam Girard (who earned an assist) and Alexander Kerfoot. Carl Soderberg was the lone vet on the line though Semyon Varlamov was in net. Three rookies in the last minute and a half of an overtime game against one of this year’s powerhouse teams – the Maple Leafs. Coach Bednar showed he’s braver than the average bear running out that line combination and the rookies proved worthy of the faith. Soderberg may need a little something extra to finish off the 12 days of Christmas, especially if he continues to play with the rookies in special situations. He must have nerves of steel.

9. Hey! Don’t let it go to your head but the Avalanche actually got a penalty called against an opponent who interfered with MacKinnon in a potential game-winning situation against Toronto. Yes, the officials made the right call. Yes, the call put the Avalanche on the man advantage in overtime. Yes, the Avalanche capitalized on it. It’s a Christmas miracle! Belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! (Maybe the gift baskets worked after all)

10. Defenseman Nikita Zadorov has started to find his groove. He earned two points in the past week on assists while starting to play more penalty kill time. He leads the team in hits with 89, averaging 2.7 per contest, placing him 25th in the NHL. If, as Coach Bednar has said, he has more to learn, what kind of potential ceiling does he have? It’s too early to count on his future, but one has to respect his ‘take no prisoners’ approach the past few weeks. He could be a pirate.

THE BAD

1. There’s absolutely nothing good to say about the home game against the Coyotes. Maybe the team hadn’t shaken off the spiced eggnog from Christmas. Maybe they ate too much. Whatever the reason, it was a disappointing game. The players, however, owned their poor performance and came out skating for the two subsequent matchups. Okay, maybe there is something good to be said after all.

2. Defenseman Tyson Barrie will be out for 4-6 weeks after having surgery. Considering Barrie was in second place for scoring among NHL defensemen, his loss will hurt. The silver lining? Rookie Sam Girard is getting a chance to rise to the occasion as is Nikita Zadorov. Let’s see what the young guns can do. Isn’t it ironic that Tyson Barrie at 26 years old is considered an ‘old’ gun?

3. Mikko Rantanen’s eight-game point streak came to an end against the Rangers. The good? He had an eight-game point streak.

4. The injury bug continues to bite as Sven Andrighetto is listed day to day with an injury.

THE UGLY

1. Rookie J.T. Compher will miss the next three games on the homestand due to injury and is slated to return for the January 13 game. Compher ranks 7th among rookie ice time leaders and frequently led the team in special team minutes. He ranks second among rookie face-off leaders who have handled more than 150 chances in the circle, with a 49.5% win rate. He was injured against Toronto but continued to play and scored the game-winning goal in overtime. He’s tough but the injuries are ugly. The team will miss his contributions.

2. Arizona Coyote Zac Rinaldo was suspended for 6 games for his sucker punch on Girard last week. Why is a guy with a history of ‘intent to injure’ penalties still in the league? And explain to everyone how Landeskog’s four-game suspension – which the league described as from an “unintentional hit” – is justified? The silence from the Department of Player Safety is deafening. Crickets to you, DOPS, lots and lots of crickets for your complete inability to be consistent.

PLAYER MOVEMENT

With injuries to Barrie, Andrighetto and Compher, the Avalanche recalled defenseman Andrei Mironov and forward A. J. Greer. Greer has been hampered by injuries himself but has battled back to earn 10 points in 16 appearances for San Antonio. Mironov, who is still learning the language, has been quickly adapting to the North American ice. Both have the opportunity to earn a more permanent spot on Avalanche.

WHAT TO WATCH

1. Former Avalanche Captain Milan Hejduk will have his jersey retired on Saturday, January 6th at the game against the Minnesota Wild. The legendary forward earned the Rocket Richard Trophy for top NHL goal scorer in 2002-03, won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in the 2000-01 season, ranks second in number of games played for the team (1,020), fourth in both goals (375) and points (805), and is the franchise leader for overtime goals with nine while ranking second for game-winning goals with 59 tallies. He also had 12 straight seasons where he earned 20 or more goals. The game has a 7 pm MST scheduled start but those attending are encouraged to arrive early for the ceremonies.

2. The Avalanche host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday at 7 pm MST.

3. The Avalanche will go on their bye week after the Minnesota Wild game which will hopefully give the injured time to recuperate and return with vigor to climb the standings.

4. Avalanche defensive prospects Cale Makar and Connor Timmins continue to play for Team Canada’s World Juniors team. Makar had two goals and two assists and Timmins had two assists in the round robin stage. If you want a peek at the potential future for the Avalanche defense, take a peek. Prepare your sunglasses and don’t have a lot of caffeine. These two will get you plenty excited without any other assistance. The future is bright.

Happy New Year and may the Avalanche continue the fireworks well into 2018!