Though the Colorado Avalanche didn’t beat the Detroit Red Wings in their final game at Joe Louis Arena, their lone goal provides hope for the future.
The Colorado Avalanche-Detroit Red Wings rivalry was one of the best in sports history — not just Colorado, not just hockey, but in all of sports. The Avs played a lot of tough games at the Joe Louis Arena, “The Joe,” over the years.
Well, the team’s last game in The Joe was a microcosm of how this season has gone. The team played about 40 minutes of good hockey, keeping the game close, then collapsed and let the Red Wings run all over them.
That’s a far cry from when a player like Peter Forsberg ran all over the Detroit Red Wings, scoring a “dagger” of a goal even while wearing a Wings player like a cape:
Man our Foppa was strong!
That’s even a far cry from the days when the players would at least fight back if they were being embarrassed in front of the Detroit crowd. The most famous, of course, was the Brawl of 1997 that eventually ended up in a 6-5 OT victory for the Red Wings. Still, the Avalanche made them pay with blood for that victory:
That’s not what happened at Colorado’s Swan Song at the Joe. Instead, the Avs let the Wings score four unanswered goals in the third period en route to a 5-1 embarrassment.
The lone really good moment in the Grand Finale at the Joe was the one goal the Colorado Avalanche scored. Center Nathan MacKinnon scored his 15th of the season just under four minutes into the third period to tie the game.
MacKinnon took up residence in front of the net and refused to allow Niklas Kronwall knock him away. Rookie Mikko Rantanen set up a bit of a screen, while Tyson Barrie roved around:
Eventually, Barrie got a shot on net which MacKinnon proceeded to tip in for a goal.
Unfortunately the Detroit Red Wings scored less than two minutes later, and the play got away from the Colorado Avalanche, who had won such a satisfying victory against the Wings just three days earlier.
Nathan himself said of the game:
"“I thought we outplayed them for most of the game, but that’s just how our season’s going. So it’s tough.”"
The four unanswered goals that came afterward were largely due to turnovers by Colorado Avalanche players. This is a team that’s playing without a discernible system.
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We can take some hope at least from the Colorado Avalanche’s last goal at The Joe. MacKinnon, Rantanen and Barrie are the youthful foundation of the team’s rebuild. Here is the speed and skill that Colorado wants to foster moving forward.
The three players showed what they can accomplish when they work together and within their skill sets. They’re not really going to give you bloodshed. And they might not be capable of scoring while wearing a Wing like a cape (though you might give Rantanen some time to fully develop — the kid is pretty big).
However, these young Colorado Avalanche players show tenacity, skill and an eye for the game. And that’s something the team can build on.