Colorado Avalanche Need to Play Desperate

The Colorado Avalanche will play two desperate teams in the next two games, so they’ll need to play the same, especially since they’re missing their top two scorers.

It’s no longer news at this point, centers Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene — the top two scorers on the Colorado Avalanche — are both going to miss the next two games at least. However, they’ll likely miss more since they aren’t even skating this week.

Unfortunately, the schedule is not providing any relief either. Over the next two games, the Colorado Avalanche will play two teams fighting desperately for a playoff spot.

Tonight, the Avs face off against the Philadelphia Flyers, who are battling with the Red Wings for the final wild card spot in the East. And, on Saturday the Colorado Avalanche will obviously face the Minnesota Wild in what promises to be a dog fight.

There is certainly reason to be optimistic about how they can play without MacKinnon and Duchene, but the real test will be in these next two games at least.

The Colorado Avalanche played against two teams with nothing left to lose this season in the last two games. Still, they were able to win without Duchene and Landeskog against Calgary, and without MacKinnon and Duchene against Edmonton.

Nonetheless, both teams they recently faced — although playing loose — are certainly not playing for the same reason that the Flyers and Wild are playing for right now.

Luckily, the Avs are playing games for the same reason right now, and that’s for a chance at winning the cup, and making it to the ultimate competitive tournament in sports.

The Nature of Desperate Hockey

Desperate hockey is playoff hockey because teams will do anything in their power to win the game, knowing they have to win in order to continue toward a goal.

Saturday’s game will basically be a playoff game because both teams are going to be fighting tooth and nail to win in regulation. And for that matter, tonight’s game will probably fall under the same category considering the Avs opponent.

But, playing with that sort of edge requires discipline. It requires the players to be focused on all facets of the game, and to avoid making any mistakes that are irreparable.

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In other words, if the Avalanche are going to get beat in either of the next two games, they better make sure that their opponent earns the win, and that they don’t hand them the win.

The Colorado Avalanche need to be particularly sharp because of the absence of MacK and Dutchy, which means other players will need to step up and take on a greater offensive role.

Most importantly, the Colorado Avalanche need to play as a team in the next two games, and earn the wins as a group fighting against the tyranny of injury and the desperate foe.

Conclusion

There’s not much else to say eh? These are big games for the Colorado Avalanche, and the points are absolutely necessary.

These next two games are must win games for each of the teams involved, and the fight is sure to be noticeable, so the Avs need to make sure that they come out with knuckles ready for the scrap.

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The Avs drop the puck with the Flyers at 7:00 p.m MST tonight, so be ready for the battle, and have your jerseys on folks.

And, do some serious preparation for the game against the Wild on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. because rowdiness is the only option for that event.

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