The 2018-19 season for Colorado Avalanche winger Matt Nieto was modest in the regular season but remarkable in the playoffs.
Colorado Avalanche role player Matthew Nieto had an ok year. It wasn’t a career year for the Long Beach native, at least not in the regular season, but it was respectable enough.
Nieto completed his third season with the Avalanche — Colorado acquired him as a waiver pickup in January 2017. So, technically, he’s spent 2 1/2 years with the team.
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Matt didn’t get to play the full season with Colorado. He suffered a “lower body injury” in mid-February. Unfortunately, it derailed what was shaping up to be a career season for the third liner. He missed a total of 15 games with the injury.
In all, Nieto played 64 games and recorded 23 points (4 goals, 19 assists). That was a far cry from his previous season goal total — 15 — but par for the course for overall points, which was 26 that year.
Nieto averaged 13:46 of ice time, which was down from the previous couple years. However, he did get to see a lot of time on the penalty kill. Defensively he played well, recording 26 blocks and 50 hits. His takeaway to giveaway ration was good — 19:11.
Matt had a couple of good stats. He didn’t take many faceoffs (17, a career high), but he had a good win percentage — 52.9%, also a career high. Maybe Colorado should tap him for faceoffs more often. His CorsiFor was also decent, 51.1%, with a Relative Corsi of +1.7.
Really, those aren’t bad statistics for a grinder. However, where he really shined was in the playoffs.
Remember, he recorded just four goals in 64 regular-season games. Well, he matched that total in the playoffs in just 12 games. He also put up three assists.
Those numbers are so noteworthy, we’re going to look at his performance in the playoffs more closely. Two of his goals came against the Calgary Flames, as did two assists. That left him with two goals and one assist against the San Jose Sharks — his former team, of course.
The first goal was already in Game 2 against Calgary. Indeed, remember how I remarked that Nieto saw a lot of time on the penalty kill? Well, his first goal of the 2019 playoffs was a short-handed tally:
What? When did Matt become a sniper? No, really, to even get to that moment Nieto had to put in a lot of work. Of course, some of it was pure luck that the Flames player lost his stick, but Nieto made the most of his chance.
Matt Nieto’s second goal of the series came in the very next game, and it was actually a two-point night for the winger.
In fact, Nieto decided he liked scoring shorties so much he decided to do it again:
I mean, when you’re on the penalty kill, you’ve got to keep yourself entertained. Well, in his post game presser, he talked about how you’ve got to take advantages “when the opportunity rises” but that your first objective is to keep the puck out of your own net.
Those two short-handed goals matched the franchise record for most in a single postseason. In fact, his two shorties marked only the second time in the entire franchise’s history such had occurred in the playoffs in back-to-back games. And it was the first time it had happened anywhere in the entire NHL since 2012.
In typical hockey player fashion he was modest about the achievement, referencing “a lot of players” on the PK who can pitch in offensively.
The next two goals were even sweeter. It’s always great to score on your former team, especially one that put you on waivers. It’s even better to do so in the playoffs.
That marker also came in Game 2, so in his former hood of San Jose. It was a fortunate bounce for the Californian, but it was one that put the Avs up 3-1.
You know what, I really like that Matt is in the dirty area there, fighting for the puck. That’s how you capitalize on those fortuitous bounces.
As with the Calgary series, Nieto scored again in the very next game. This goal came off of a nice shot by Sam Girard. Nieto redirected the shot:
Boy oh boy, Pepsi Center was loud. Matt had tied the game.
Well, I don’t know that we’re going to name Matt Nieto Mr. Clutch of the playoffs, but I don’t think we should ever discount him either. He does the little things right, which allows him to make the big plays in the end.
The 26-year-old winger is entering the final year of his two-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche. At the end of next season, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent. Will Colorado sign him again? I guess it depends on his performance and of the youngsters’ who are looking to take their places in the lineup.
But, hey, players usually put their best foot forward in contract years, so Colorado can benefit either way. And Nieto might be rewarded with a nice contract.