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Colorado Avalanche: Musings After the Game 4 Win

ByNadia Archuleta|
DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 02: Goalie Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Colorado Avalanche is congratulated by his teammates after their shut out win against the San Jose Sharks during Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on May 2, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 02: Goalie Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Colorado Avalanche is congratulated by his teammates after their shut out win against the San Jose Sharks during Game Four of the Western Conference Second Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Pepsi Center on May 2, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The Colorado Avalanche won the all-important Game 4 in a decisive fashion. Here are some thoughts after watching the game.

The Colorado Avalanche went into Game 4 at home against the San Jose Sharks saying it was the most important game of the season for them, and that’s exactly how they played. I’d say if there was a shift taken off here or there, it was minute.

The players put together as complete a game as I’ve seen from this group in a long time, maybe since the first 10 games of the season. And they were rewarded tonight with a victory and a guarantee of at least two more Avs games.

At least. The way this group is playing… well, let’s just say it looks pretty special right now.

Here are some musings from my observation of the game last night.

Important Players Stepped Up

I nailed it right on the head when I wrote three players had to take their game to the next level, and that’s exactly what happened.

I remarked that captain Gabriel Landeskog didn’t seem to be playing with the same intensity as he had against the Nashville Predators last year. Well, he wasn’t as pesky tonight as he was against them, but he played a physical game that definitely threw the Sharks off somewhat. He’s not getting rewarded with points, but make no mistake he was a leader on the ice last night.

Defenseman Erik Johnson was catching a lot of flak for his seeming defensive lapses, especially in Game 3. It got to the point that some Twitter-folk and commenters on other sites were calling for him to be a healthy scratch. Well, Johnson was a large part of the reason that San Jose failed to score — he made all the important plays a defenseman needs to make to limit opponent chances.

Oh, and he scored an empty-net goal:

That goal definitely put a nail in the Sharks’ coffin.

Philipp Grubauer stopped all 30 shots he faced. You can’t elevate your game any higher than a shutout when you’re a goalie. It was his first NHL shutout in the playoffs.

Matt Calvert will be Broken

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Forward Matt Calvert seems like he’s pretty smart. He probably could have gone to school to be a financial advisor or something. There has got to be a better way to make a living than what Calvy is doing.

Matt Calvert returned to the lineup after missing Game 3. He absorbed a massive hit from Brent Burns, which he shook off at the time. But obviously there was some soreness.

Well, Calvert returned, and he was back to making the big sacrifices to help his team win. Blocking shots, taking hits… He makes $2.85 million, which I guess is more than your average financial advisor. However, he earns every penny.

Side note: In the grand hockey tradition, the Calverts have opened up their homes to rookie Cale Makar.

Carl Soderberg is the Most Snake-Bitten Ever

This playoffs, forward Carl Soderberg is so snake-bitten he can’t score a goal on an empty net when he’s standing in the crease. No, really, he can’t:

Man, Carl needs to burn some sage or make a sacrifice to the hockey gods. Because that is some next-level bad juju.

Nathan MacKinnon is Ridiculous

Our superstar Nathan MacKinnon is so ridiculous, even the Sharks-loving crew at NBCSN are singing his praises. I mean, it’s super-annoying that NHL.com is essentially crediting Nate’s mentor, Sid Crosby, with his playoff success.

However, MacKinnon is the one skating in his own skates doing things like this:

I love that it’s a pretty ugly goal. The Avs get too cute sometimes, so I love when they get the greasy goals.

As he is wont to do, MacKinnon is entering some elite company:

C’mon, Nate. The Avs are guaranteed two more games. You can tie your GM.

Life is More Fun When the Colorado Avalanche Win

I was at the Colorado Avalanche’s tailgate party, and it was too cold for me to tweet. (Sorry I didn’t catalog the Avs’ goals.) However, as my friends and I were walking back to the lightrail stop, the drum line started up. As I did a little jig to the beat, I observed, “Life is more fun when the Avs win.”

This is a heck of a ride we’re on, Avs Nation. I know I’ve been negative at times, and I have my opinions about how the roster is managed. But when the Avalanche win, it’s such a great feeling.

The Colorado Avalanche will head to San Jose to face the Sharks for Game 5 on Saturday, and then they’ll return to Colorado on Monday for Game 6. The game time for both matches is 8:00 pm MT.

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