The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Avalanche's holiday week

The Colorado Avalanche dropped off a few presents of their own before the Christmas break before returning to the Pepsi can to start a six-game homestand. Let’s take a food and sugar coma’d look back at the past week of Avalanche hockey.

THE GOOD

1. The Avalanche earned three points on the road and currently sit three points behind the last Wild Card spot, having played two fewer games. The upcoming homestand could go a long way to setting the course for the rest of Colorado’s season.

2. The Colorado Avalanche continued their penalty kill dominance, successfully shutting down all eight short-handed opportunities in the past week. The team has shut down their opponents 24 straight times when down a man. The Avalanche rank 7^th among all teams for successfully killing 82.8% of all penalty kill situations.

3. Colorado stepped up in a big way at a critical juncture against the Arizona Coyotes. Tied at zero midway through the second period, oft-penalized Zac Rinaldo laid a late hit alternate captain Nathan MacKinnon and bedlam swiftly erupted. Rookie defenseman Sam Girard skated over to bump Rinaldo who subsequently dropped his gloves and cold-cocked Girard, who dropped to the ice. The two Alternate Captains – Erik Johnson and Nathan MacKinnon – took exception to Rinaldo’s dirty play and responded with a physical reminder to not cheap shot their teammates.

An all-out brawl erupted with MacKinnon taking on a couple of Coyotes before linemates Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen helped even the odds while Johnson announced his return to the rink with authority taking on Rinaldo.  MacKinnon showed he’d taken a few fighting lessons since last year as he wrestled Arizona’ Josh Archibald down on the ice. After the brouhaha, the officials tossed two players for misconduct – MacKinnon and the Coyote’s Archibald, while Rinaldo received a match penalty, requiring a hearing with the Department of Player Safety before he can return to hockey.

The best takeaway for the Avalanche, the TEAM showed there’s a price to pay for messing with Colorado. They are starting to look a lot like the Three Musketeers – All for one and one for all! You can’t buy that kind of unity.

In case you missed the excitement, what with all the more reverent activities of the season, here’s the video.

4. After the scrum, the Avalanche promptly scored four goals in under four minutes. Not only did Colorado prove their presence physically, they converted their outrage to scoring. All hail the Avalanche! Make ‘em pay for their disrespect by pounding their opponents on the scoreboard. It’s a Christmas miracle! Okay, maybe that’s the eggnog talking.

5. 13 different Avalanche players earned a point against Arizona including a two-goal effort by Carl Soderberg, a two-point effort by Nieto (1 goal, 1 assist) and two assists apiece for Alexander Kerfoot and Mark Barberio. Only Mikko Rantanen earned a point from the Avalanche’s lead scoring line, with an assist on Soderberg’s second goal. It’s refreshing to see that many players contributing to the scoring. May this gift continue to give throughout the season.

6. A huge shout out to Altitude Sports analyst Mark Rycroft for his spectacular Christmas ensemble while covering the Arizona game. His festive attire hopefully garnered him another suit or two under the Christmas tree. Or at least some wonderful treats.

7. Lost in the hubbub around the Arizona matchup, the game against the Los Angeles Kings proved the Avalanche could be competitive on the road against a Western Conference leader. After playing competitively against the Eastern Conference, it’s good to know they have the chops to take on anyone in their own conference.

8. While not dominating in face-offs as yet, the Avalanche managed to win 49% of them in both matchups, a significant improvement from the 30’s they were running after the Matt Duchene trade.

9. Don’t look now but Blake Comeau stepped up his shorthanded play big time in the last two contests, leading the team in shorthanded minutes against Arizona while also lobbing the most shots with four attempts on net. He also led in forward ice time against the Kings, launched three shots on net, and landed three hits, and won 60% of his faceoffs. Somebody better have rewarded him with some awesome Christmas gifts. Looking at you, Santa.

10. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov kicked it up a notch this past week and climbed up to 25^th place in save percentage among NHL netminders. He allowed only four goals in the two games and currently owns a respectable .910 save percentage. If Varlamov is heating up, the Avalanche could rack up some points. Maybe he and Jonathan Bernier could make that their New Year’s resolution. Cross your fingers.

THE BAD

1. While the power play converted three times in short order against the Coyotes, the fact the Avalanche also surrendered two goals while on the man advantage during the same game is bad.

2. The Avalanche and Coyotes combined for 74 penalty minutes in their matchup which is a lot and is usually bad. In a weird twist of fate, the officials did a good job, with the possible exception of missing another Coyote joining the melee. While the penalty minutes were high, the Avalanche escaped with some fair rulings. These officials probably earned a gift basket, with a little rum to keep them warm. Or at least a warm blanket. It could go either way.

THE UGLY

1. The Avalanche played their ugliest overtime of the season against the Kings. They were unable to control puck possession and looked disjointed throughout the 44 seconds of play. Maybe they found the Christmas spirits before they started the overtime. Let’s hope it was a one-off, never to be seen again.

2. Tyson Barrie blocked a shot – which was good. He broke his hand – which was bad. The team will be without him for weeks – which is ugly. He landed the TGBU trifecta, although the ugly probably outweighs the good and bad. Perhaps this opens up an opportunity for Girard to play more minutes on the first power play unit, yeah, that’s the ticket. With this much poo, there should be a pony in here somewhere.

3. Watching Sam Girard hit the ice after getting punched by Rinaldo was scary. And unnecessary. For those who remember the Todd Bertuzzi hit on Steve Moore, you never want to see anything like that ever again. The best news was Girard’s return later in the game after clearing concussion protocols. But the league needs to take no prisoners with that kind of undisciplined play.

If the Department of Player Safety (DOPS) wants to prove hockey is moving into a new era, this is the perfect opportunity to set a new standard. Rinaldo missed nearly a year and a half of NHL hockey after a cheap shot to the head of another player. This wasn’t an accident; it’s his style of play. Let’s see if the DOPS puts its money where its mouth is and keel haul’s Rinaldo. Speaking of the DOPS – why is the rum gone?  Fire up the canons, ‘der be sharks in ‘dem ‘der waters.

ODD SOCKS – interesting tidbits

1. Defenseman Patrick Nemeth blocked 11 shots against the Coyotes. He led the team with six blocks against the Kings. It’s good to have him healthy.

2. With Barrie injured, Girard missing shifts going through the concussion evaluation and EJ in the box, the Avalanche played with only three defensemen for five minutes. And they didn’t allow a goal. It is a season of miracles after all.

3. Defenseman Nikita Zadorov led the team in ice time against Arizona with 26:43 minutes while also leading in shots (with five), tied for the lead in hits (with three) and blocking three shots. He placed second in special teams ice time (with 7:38), behind J.T. Compher who racked up 9:20 minutes in special teams play. Compher also led the forwards in ice time. Sure glad Buffalo won the trade. Sarcasm, a lost art.

WHAT TO WATCH

1. Stock up on your gunpowder as the Arizona Coyotes visit Pepsi Center Wednesday night at 7 pm. Zac Rinaldo won’t play. It will either be a brawl fest or a very controlled game. Place your bets accordingly.

2. The Avalanche will host two other games prior to the New Year. The Toronto Maple Leafs will visit Friday at 7 pm MST. The Avalanche will then take on the New York Islanders on New Year’s Eve with a 6 pm MST puck drop, to be followed by their first ever indoor fireworks show.

3. The World Juniors Championships started yesterday with Avalanche defensive prospects Cale (not to be confused with Kale) Makar and Conor Timmons suiting up for Team Canada. Catch it as you can on NHL network. Make sure you have your sunglasses ready to throw some shade on the teams who passed on these two young stars.

May the New Year bring fresh winds and following seas!