Colorado Avalanche Ready for Run Starting with Caps
Washington Capitals coach Barry Trotz thinks the Colorado Avalanche are “sort of getting their game in order.” Thanks for the high praise, coach Trotz — sort of.
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To be fair, Trotz acknowledges that the Avalanche are hitting their stride, especially goalie Semyon Varlamov. However, coach Trotz’s qualification of his praise seems contemporary with teams’ dismissal of the Colorado Avalanche as a “one hit wonder” from last season.
Underdog status — that’s right where this group of Avalanche players likes to be. The youngsters and veterans alike are finally playing Avalanche hockey at its best form — and that’s an animal you never want to take for granted.
Playoff Run
This stretch of road games is integral for the team’s success. March is when teams make or tumble out of the playoffs. (Remember last year’s 8-game freefall for the Maple Leafs?)
However, if you haven’t gotten yourself in too bad of a position in the first half, January and February are when you can gear up for a playoff run. The St. Louis Blues did it six years ago, going from dead last in the conference to making the playoffs in the sixth seed.
The Avalanche, who’ve gone 8-3-0 their last 11, and who won their last three, would very much like to give that a try.
And it all starts tonight.
Importance of the Road Trip
“This is a huge roadie for us.” – Tyson Barrie
The Washington Capitals game is the first of five road games for the Avs, a road trip that will keep them away for over a week. It is also the first game of a back-to-back series. After the game in Washington, D.C., the team travels to Raleight, North Carolina, for the next night’s game.
As veteran forward Daniel Briere pointed out, the Avalanche’s start put them in a tough position. He added, “We can’t afford anymore stretches of games where we don’t pick up points.”
They sure as heck can’t afford a five-game stretch without any points, or even minimal points. The Avalanche are only four points away from a playoff spot, but that spot is currently held by the reigning Stanley Cup Champion L.A. Kings.
Defenseman Tyson Barrie concurred that, “This is a huge roadie for us.” He pointed out that the Avs’ game has picked up in the last stretch, adding, “We don’t want to have any letdown on this road trip.”
Center Ryan O’Reilly thinks that the Avs are on the right track:
"“It’s an excitement and an intensity that we’ve got to have — that’s the way hockey should be played.”"
Speaking of how hockey should be played…
Start of the Game
In the home games against the Chicago Blackhawks and Ottawa Senators, the Avalanche jumped to an early lead that they were able to maintain. Conversely, they fell behind by two early in the game against the Dallas Stars.
Daniel Briere said of that start, “They were ready to go right off the bat. They surprised us a little bit.”
The Avs don’t want to start out flat. They shouldn’t allow the Capitals to surprise them out of the gate. They’ve gone 7-1-2 in their last 10, including a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings that marked the fifth straight home win for the Caps.
The Colorado Avalanche are definitely going to want to end that streak as they attempt their own. A win tonight would mark four straight for the Avs, a feat they haven’t managed all season.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Period by period and even shift by shift — that’s how the Colorado Avalanche needs to approach tonight’s game against the Washington Capitals.