Colorado Avalanche Face the Maple Leafs
By Ross Sellers
The Colorado Avalanche have won three games in a row, and are starting to climb back into the playoff race as they’re 6 points back from the last playoff spot in the West, currently held by the Chicago Blackhawks. The Colorado Avalanche have a game in hand though, and that game comes tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It’s a trap! Ok, not really because the Leafs only have one point less than the Colorado Avalanche. However, the Colorado Avalanche are easily the better team, and they need to show that tonight.
Game Notes
— The vulcanized rubber will hit the ice at 5:30pm MST.
— Matt Duchene comes into tonight’s game en fuego, posting 8 points in the last three games, and earning first star honors in the NHL last week.
— Gabe Landeskog will be serving the second game of his two-game suspension.
— Nathan MacKinnon has been hot all year, and it shows as he currently sits at No. 7 in overall scoring with 19 points.
— Reto Berra… yeah that’s all I’ve got because he has been in-credible all year, chew on that doubters (I was one of them). He leads the league in GAA and save percentage with a whopping 1.50 GAA, and a .953 save percentage in 8 games.
— Ok those prior ones are biased toward the Avalanche, so here’s a nugget of information on the Maple Leafs: Their three-game winning streak was ended on Sunday by the New York Rangers, before that they had a total of two wins…
— Mike Babcock certainly inherited a work-in-progress when he took the reigns over the summer, and I don’t think anyone expected the Leafs to be good this year.
The Colorado Avalanche need to storm into Toronto and make puppets of another Canadian team tonight like a marionette dancing to the every whim of its master.
How Do the Colorado Avalanche Win?
By putting goals in the back of the net…something they’ve done well on this road trip so far, with 13 goals in 3 games. They also need to make sure their opponent doesn’t score, which is something they’ve done well on this road trip as well, allowing 3 goals in 3 games. Any other questions?
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In all seriousness — besides the Montreal game — the Avalanche have been holding their opponent to a lot less shots recently, and they’ve also been possessing the puck with more efficiency. If this trend continues, and the top line sports the ferocity Avalanche fans have grown used to of late, then the Colorado Avalanche should have no trouble winning this game.
On a side note, Mikhail Grigorenko looked fantastic in Saturday night’s game, and one can only hope that his success continues because that Ryan O’Reilly trade would start to look a lot better if so. If he does keep racking up points on the top line, you have to wonder what will happen when Landy returns.
Moving on…
What to Expect
I’ve acquired a growth on my head that allows me to have some semblance of future understanding. It’s a result of a continued existence in front of a computer screen, and a lack of quality nourishment while in the throws of slamming keys because beer is fuel.
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Regardless of it’s inception, I also have the sand to throw superstition to the wind because every now and again someone has to have the gall to call things the way they see them. This Colorado Avalanche team looks fantastic on this road trip so far, and that won’t change tonight when they face the Maple Leafs.
The Colorado Avalanche will win this game. If they do lose, chalk it up to the variable nature of my premonitions, and the lack of regard I have for hockey superstition. You can even hang me out to dry because there are some who are adamant about the code of superstition associated with hockey, and I have just desecrated it.
But, I want to scream support for this team to start stringing some serious wins together, and I will not be deterred by the trivial nature of a black cat standing underneath a ladder while spilling salt.
It’s about time someone had the confidence to say that this team will win before they even hit the ice, and I will be that man because I revel in the throws of risk, and am willing to take it on in defense of support.
What do you think Avs Fans? Will the Colorado Avalanche continue to play with the same desperation tonight? Or, will my growth be exposed for what it is, a gross exaggeration of an incapability to actually tell the future (I know, shocking). As always, your comments are appreciated and wanted, so voice them!