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Colorado Avalanche: 4 Keys to Beating the Flames in Round 1

By Nadia Archuleta

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 13: The Colorado Avalanche face off against the Calgary Flames at the Pepsi Center on October 13, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 13: The Colorado Avalanche face off against the Calgary Flames at the Pepsi Center on October 13, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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CALGARY, AB – JANUARY 09: Colorado Avalanche Left Wing Gabriel Landeskog (92) and Calgary Flames Left Wing Michael Frolik (67) jostle one another in front of a referee during the third period of an NHL game where the Calgary Flames hosted the Colorado Avalanche on January 9, 2019, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Regular-Season Record

Let’s get this one out of the way early because the Colorado Avalanche didn’t have a good record against the Flames in the regular season. In fact, they went 0-2-1, with the single point coming in their only home game.

The goal differential wasn’t huge, though — 14-10 in favor of Calgary. That also represents a fair amount of scoring — 24 goals in three games. Like I said, this should be a fun series.

The overtime loss was a result of two of the Avs’ areas of weakness — failing to play a full 60 and failing to control the puck in overtime. Colorado went up 2-0 in the first period then lost enough steam to let Calgary come back. The Avs lost a board battle for the puck, and Johnny “Rat-like Activity Detected” Gaudreau took off on the game-winning breakaway.

The November loss was an even worse example of taking the foot off the gas. Colorado went up with a commanding 4-1 lead by the end of the second. However, Calgary came back with five goals in the fifth period. It was an absolute free-for-all.

The January loss in Calgary was the opposite affair, but also an exposure of an area of weakness for Colorado. Colorado went down two goals early, and though they battled back to tie, they took a second-period penalty that was the ultimate difference-maker in the game when the Flames scored on the power play.

Lesson learned: The playoffs take the intensity up a notch. Colorado can’t afford to take a single shift off, much less entire periods, because the Flames have enough fire power to blow open the game.

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