Colorado Avalanche Hope to Continue Win Streak v Red Wings
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The Detroit Red Wings have made their lone trip out to Colorado for tonight’s game at Pepsi Center. The Colorado Avalanche already played against the Red Wings in Joe Louis Arena, taking the game to a shootout, which the Avalanche won.
The Red Wings are pretty solid in their playoff spot, third in the Metropolitan Division with 67 points. The Avalanche, of course, are hunting a Wild Card Spot. They are currently four points behind the Calgary Flames and only six points behind the Winnipeg Jets.
Storyline
Cardiac Kids are Back
NHL.com ran a cute story about the Flames becoming the new Cardiac Kids because they’ve had some come-from behind wins lately. They came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Edmonton Oilers (of all teams). That’s pretty good. However, that’s not heart attack hockey.
This is heart attack hockey:
Tyson Barrie scored to tie the game with just 20 seconds left in the game. The Avalanche went on to win in the shootout against the Dallas Stars. The Avs had a similar game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning.
This system worked for them a lot last year, and it seems like they’re in that groove. They don’t get down when they’re down, and that’s helping them win hockey games.
Keys to the Game
Don’t Give Us a Power Play
The Colorado Avalanche have been working on the power play. It’s still not coming together, though. They’ve gone 0 for 20 in their last several games on the power play.
Avalanche center Ryan O’Reilly thinks the players need to simplify their game and shoot the puck more. Sounds like sage advice. The Avs didn’t manage it in Dallas. Hopefully they’ll get it going against the Red Wings.
Play From Puck Drop to Final Horn
The Avalanche had their spectacular game against the Nashville Predators in the Pepsi Center when they played the entire 60 minutes. It may have been the only time all season they’d done that. They’d played 40 to 45 several times, and 20 lots of times, but never the full 60.
Well, the Avs were back to taking time off in the game against the Dallas Stars. They took at least a period off, maybe a full 30 minutes. They need to get over that. Being the Cardiac Kids is all well and good, but it’s not a sustainable model for winning. Playing your best for 60 minutes is.
Next: Avalanche Players Get Importance of February Games
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Not
Two previews ago I called out Max Talbot as “not hot,” and he got the first, and game-winning, goal against the Predators. I called out Tyson Barrie as “not hot” last preview, and he got the epic game-tying goal.
So, this time I’m going to call out center Nathan MacKinnon as not hot. He had two assists against the Predators, but that’s been it since January 17, when he had a goal and an assist. He’s been logging four, five, six shots a game, so hopefully this little “call out” will be his good luck charm.
Hot
Gabriel Landeskog has had three points in the last three games and also had that silly shootout goal. He’s been working hard and being a leader to the team even when the goals don’t always go in.
Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov has been sharp when he needed to be. He got beaten for a couple goals in the Dallas game, but those were both tough. One was a perfect shot, and the other was after a takeaway from defenseman Nate Guenin. He was also a large part of the reason the shootout had to go to 11 rounds since he made eight saves in the 11 attempts.
The Colorado Avalanche vs Detroit Red Wings game starts at 7:00 pm MST and will be broadcast on Altitude Sports.
Just a reminder, the next time the Colorado Avalanche host the Detroit Red Wings, it will be for the Stadium Series Game at Coors Field.