Colorado Avalanche: 3 Storylines in the Big Apple

The Colorado Avalanche should have a good bounceback game against the New York Rangers. Here are three storylines to watch.

The Colorado Avalanche start their second road trip of the season with a visit to the Big Apple where they’ll be taking on the New York Rangers in Madison Square Garden.

Madison Square Garden is possible the most iconic arena left in the NHL. Opening in 1968, the Garden is the oldest arena in the league. Situated right in the heart of the City, MSG is as New York as it gets.

Historically, the Avalanche have played well against the Rangers, having gone 20-13-0-1 (ties). Last season the Avs took both games. The Avalanche, who are 3-1-1, are coming off an overtime loss to the Calgary Flames. The Rangers, who are 1-4-0, are coming of a 2-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

How to Enjoy the Game

Game time: October 16, 5:00 pm MT
TV Networks: Altitude TV, WEPN (Rangers feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (FM 92.5)

New York Scoring Woes

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The New York Rangers are having scoring woes. Their leading points producer is Jesper Fast, who has 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in five games. That’s compared to Mikko Rantanen, who has eight points (1 goal, 7 assists), double the amount of points in the same amount of games.

No Ranger player has scored more than two goals this season, though they have four players who have done so. Conversely, Colorado’s leading goal scorer is Nathan MacKinnon with six. they also have three players with three goals.

According to Nicholas Zararis of Blue Line Station, the Rangers are transitioning into, well, a transition-based game. Zararis think the players have a lot of speed, but they’re struggling with converting their scoring chances.

Varlamov’s Continued Dominance

One person who’s hoping to help with the Rangers’ scoring woes — as in , help them keep struggling — is goalie Semyon Varlamov. He’s already been tapped to be in net for the game at MSG. Here’s what coach Jared Bednar said of the decision:

"“He’s played really well. Last year at least he played real well at MSG. I think it is a good spot for him to go and then we’ll go back to [Philipp] Grubauer.”"

Bednar feels that Varlamov will have enough rest after the Avs’ practice and with their off-day yesterday. Semyon will need it — he faced 41 shots in the game against Calgary and turned away all but three.

What’s more, Varlamov has been dominant in all four of his games. So far he’s recorded a dominating 1.75 goals against average and .946 save percentage. This is exactly what I was hoping would happen — Varly feels competition breathing down his neck, so he’s elevated his game.

A dialed-in Varly is nothing but good for the Avalanche.

Looks like Grubauer will get his chance against the Devils on Thursday, Hopefully is game is equally elevated.

Bounceback Game

One good thing about Colorado Avalanche hockey is that they tend to have bounceback games after fiascos. They played badly in Columbus, and they followed that with a decisive 6-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Well, they had an undisciplined game against the Calgary Flames at home. They were leading after the first 11 seconds of the game and maintained a lead until the last two minutes of the game. They made some bad plays that let Calgary tie, and the coach made some bad decisions that led to the Flames winning in overtime.

So, it’s time for the even-keel rule to go into effect. Here’s another chance to have a bounceback game. New York isn’t a great team right now. Time to capitalize on that the way they did so against the Sabres.

After tonight, the Colorado Avalanche head to New Jersey to face the Devils. They’ll play the Rangers one more time, at home on January 4.