“You could see our team take a breath and then start to play with a little confidence again.” Avs win Game 2 over Seattle Kraken

Colorado had one more chance before they take off on the road for two games in Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena. Whether they entered down 2-0 or tied 1-1 in the series was a destiny of their own creation.

At morning skate, Jared Bednar said, “We’re going to be better tonight.” Darren Helm was a full participant and returned to the lineup for Game 2. Alexandar Georgiev earned the start in net.

First Period

Colorado kicked off a deflating period – similar to the first period in Game 1. In the opening minutes, Seattle dominated the game. They hounded the Avs in their own end and broke the puck out of their zone so quickly, the Avs couldn’t establish pressure.

Seattle cleared the puck and Colorado was not quick enough on the race back. A two-on-one unfolded and on the fifth shot of the game, Eeli Tolvanen made a pass to the slot for Justin Schultz to sneak through Georgiev’s five-hole. Seattle was up early.

The Avs didn’t look like themselves. They were engaged and moving their feet, but like much of Game 1, they didn’t look cohesive – like a group that hadn’t played much hockey together.

Near the midway point, Josh Manson added a little extra on a hit against Jared McCann and went to the box for roughing. Colorado went on the penalty kill.

Following another great kill, similar to last game, the Avs again derived some momentum. From it, they drew a penalty. Earlier in the period, Artturi Lehkonen got Jamie Oleksiak pretty good behind the net and Oleksiak took some liberties later on – perhaps in retaliation – and went to the box for interference.

The Kraken cleared the puck and Yanni Gourde forced the issue on Cale Makar in the Avs end. Gourde beat Makar in a foot race and subsequent puck battle and managed to bat the puck ahead to Brandon Tanev. Brandon Tanev collected it at the top of the left circle and wristed it bar down at 13:27.

Shortly after, Colorado earned another powerplay opportunity. They created three shots on net, two of which came off the draw, but they were unable to convert.

It’s hard to imagine a worse period. The Avs didn’t generate a single high-danger opportunity.

Second Period

The Avs came out better, but they still seemed like they had a mountain to climb. Unlike the last four periods, they didn’t allow a goal against in the first five minutes.

At 6:42, Nathan MacKinnon won the faceoff and Bo Byram claimed the possession. He passed to Cale Makar up high and Makar let it rip – Artturi Lehkonen was perfectly placed to redirect the shot in. Just like that, this game turned on its head.

Less than a minute later, Devon Toews sent the outlet pass for Evan Rodrigues to carry in to Val Nichushkin. With space, Nichushskin skated in on Philipp Grubauer and backhanded it in over his left pad to tie it.

With five minutes to go, Nathan MacKinnon went to the box for high-sticking. The kill remained perfect, but it demanded a lot of the PK unit. Bodies were being sacrificed to make the blocks, and just one shot made it on net.

As the period came to a close, a skirmish in front of the Avs net sent Brandon Tanev and Cale Makar to the box for roughing. Colorado carried their momentum into the final seconds and created some chances. 

The Avs walked out of the second frame with the shots advantage. It was still a tie game, but it finally felt like playoff hockey from both sides.

Third Period

Both teams exchanged chances back and forth. It was a high-speed pace, and each team looked dangerous.

Philipp Grubauer and Alexandar Georgiev were tested, and each came up with timely saves. It evolved into a true goaltender matchup as well with Colorado looking more like themselves again.

With seven minutes remaining, Colorado finally broke through – their first lead in the series. After extended shifts in Seattle’s end which really tested Grubauer (three consecutive shots), Nathan MacKinnon won the faceoff, and Evan Rodrigues sacrificed his body to Jamie Oleksiak to create more time and space. Devon Toews cleaned up a loose rebound from Lehkonen’s shot to make it 3-2.

From there, the Avs dispatched the Seattle Kraken to keep the lead and win Game 2 in front of the crowd.

The last 35 minutes of the game were the best of the series so far. The Avs controlled possession more purposefully with better shot selections which made them dangerous. They rose to the occasion physically and out-hit Seattle 50-40. By the end, shots were 41-29 in favor of Colorado, and the Avs tied the series up 1-1.

Observations

Gripping the sticks too tightly: This Avs group is in a new position. Many are discovering what it takes, mentally, to compete for a second Stanley Cup. The playoffs are a whole other beast, and they endured so much just to get to the finish line of the regular season.

The push to win the Central Division was valiant, but how much did it take out of this team? After Game 1, it seemed like the team was pretty spent. They didn’t look much like themselves and appeared disconnected.

“I thought that after going through Game 1, that we would be sharp and really on it in the first and it’s not a lack of care or a lack of try. We were tight, we played tight,” Jared Bednar said of the first period. “No one wanted the puck, no one wanted to skate with the puck. We saw parts of that in game one. To me, that was the worst period we’ve played in the series so far.”

“Feeling tight – that was a message: that we had to build our swagger back shift by shift and we have to get more assertive and more engaged competitively,” he added.

“They’ve held the competitive advantage for the first four periods of the series. I’ve felt like we had another level that we needed to get to that they were already at. And then in the second period, you could see we started to free ourselves up a little bit. Now got guys wanting the puck and heading to areas to get the puck and fighting through checks – more assertive, more engaged. We really started to see what our team can do once we scored the first goal.”

Evan Rodrigues reiterated the importance of playing a little more loosely.

“I don’t think the beginning of our first period was very good. I don’t know if it was frustration. I think everyone was just kind of holding their stick a little bit tight,” Rodrigues said. “Game 1 didn’t go the way we wanted to. I think we expected to have a big jump in the first period, and when we weren’t getting the results, I think you hold your stick a little tight. We kind of regrouped in the first [intermission] and told everyone to relax, play our game. When we did that, that’s when we started to have success.”

Jared Bednar credited Devon Toews’ composure in working through some errors in his individual game.

“It was huge, and I think you could say that for every player on our team,” he said of Toews’ improvement and contributions tonight. “It’s not the intention of our guys to go out and want it to be easy, but it was like we were shocked and we weren’t in the right place mentally until the second period.”

In returning to their process, the results began to come and they looked more connected.

“It’s a fine line from one guy working at a time to five guys working together. Some of the skill and some of the plays that we made, we got more physical, we worked harder as a group together, and it led to some success.”

Bednar said, “You could see our team take a breath and then start to play with a little confidence again.”

Bo Byram corroborated this.

“That’s what we’re capable of,” he said. “When we’re playing like that, I don’t know many teams that can beat us.”

The bench was vocal, affirming players’ hard work after their shifts with positive reinforcement – especially in response to the physicality.

“No one’s putting more pressure on these guys than they are on themselves. They want to win and they put a lot of hard work into winning,” Bednar said.

And perhaps the unsung hero in it all is the man in net holding it down through 60 minutes: with 27 saves (nine of which came from inside home plate), Alexandar Georgiev is that guy.

“He was exceptional the whole night,” said Bednar. “It could have been a lot worse after the first if it wasn’t for him. When you’re playing from behind and you’re on a push, they’re still gonna have something to say about it, and they did. We needed some big saves at key times and then their goalie made some too even in the third period. I thought we had some really good opportunities and Grubauer played well.”