The Colorado Avalanche will start their longest road trip of the season against the Winnipeg Jets. It will not be an easy game, but the Avs need to find a way to get a victory.
The Colorado Avalanche need a strong road trip. By virtue of having a game in hand over the Dallas Stars, the Avs are back in the third seed of the Central Division. But though the Central went through a hiccup, it’s back to being a highly competitive division.
In order to solidify a playoff spot, Colorado must have a strong road trip. That starts tonight against the Winnipeg Jets.
How to Enjoy the Game
Game time: January 8, 6:00 pm MT
TV Networks: ALT, TSN3 (Jets’ Feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (AM 950)
Road Chemistry
The Colorado Avalanche busted their six-game losing slump with a decisive win over the New York Rangers. During the slump, though focus was commonly cited as being a problem.
Well, as Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog noted in a post-practice presser, the Avs players have “had our fill” of time with family and friends over the holidays and are ready to get back to some Colorado hockey, that just happens to take place on the road.
What’s interesting is that the Avs are no longer a team comprised mostly of Canadians. Except for the Quebecois players, the Cnadian player that are on the team will not see the Avs swing through their home provinces. Not that road family and friends are such a big distraction, but maybe some team road time will help the players focus.
Special Teams
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The Colorado Avalanche need to use their speed and skill to draw penalties while simultaneously staing out of the penalty box.
Right now, the Avs are #5 in the NHL for power play conversion. They were #1 in the NHL for a while, but a bad patch (see above slump) wrecked havoc on those numbers, Nonetheless, they seem to be heading in the right direction. They had three power play goals against the Rangers.
Meanwhile, they’re #26 in the NHL on the penalty kill. That’s not good. They’ve got to do their best to avoid stick penalties. And slashing. And, for the love of hockey, don’t be so lazy on the line changes that you get (more) too many men penalties. If a skater peels away to rejoin the play, you don’t also get to jump over the boards and skate out.
While we’re at it, please try to avoid overtime. The Avalanche have one only one in eight tries at the overtime. That’s the most overtimes in the NHL — and the worst conversion.
The Winnipeg Jets game is the first of a back-to-back. After the Jets game, Colorado heads to Calgary to face the Flames. So, it would be good to start not only the roadie but the back-to-back on a high note — set the stage, so to speak.