The Colorado Avalanche look to start their season strong with a win on opening night against the Western Conference rival Calgary Flames.
The Colorado Avalanche are ready to embark on their much-anticipated 2019-20 season. The hype train has come to Colorado.
And it feels weird. The Avs always do so well in the underdog role. Well, after back-to-back playoff appearances and an off-season that’s well-regarded as successful, they’re not really underdogs anymore. The world is sitting up and taking notice.
It all starts tonight. Game 1 of the season. The slate is wiped clean.
Except there might be some bad blood between the two teams. Well, bad blood on the opponents’ side. The Avalanche are hosting the Calgary Flames, whom they defeated in five games in last season’s playoffs. #SorryNotSorry
That was the two teams’ first playoff matchup since the franchise moved to Colorado. However, in the regular season, the Avalanche have a slight advantage, having gone 59-54-3-8 (ties). The Flames won all three regular season games last year, but, you know, playoffs.
So, let’s look at some trends to watch on this opening night.
Living in the Hype
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I don’t like it when the Colorado Avalanche receive so much national attention. I don’t want to say they shrink under the pressure. However, they definitely have preferred the underdog role in the past.
I don’t know what switch players and teams need to make to be comfortable in the limelight. I do hope it’s something our superstar, Nathan MacKinnon, has explored with fellow superstar, and neighbor, Sidney Crosby. The Penguins star has always had to live in that limelight, so I hope he’s given MacK a few pointers.
I feel like some of our own veteran players as well as some we acquired — specifically center Nazem Kadri — can help in that area, too. Kadri had to live in the pressure cooker of Toronto for 10 years, so he should have some tricks up his sleeve.
And our captain, Gabriel Landeskog, has looked more confident and capable than I’ve ever seen him. And that’s saying a lot.
Rolling the Lines
The Colorado Avalanche have one of the deepest rosters they’ve had in years. It’s not just that they have talent. They also have a good mix of everything — youth and veteran leadership, grit and high-end skill, offensive prowess and defensive acumen.
I personally am excited to see them roll out their four lines. In practice, their lines were thus:
Landeskog-MacKinnon-Rantanen
Jost-Kadri-Burakovsky
Nieto-Compher-Donskoi
Calvert-Bellemare-Nichushkin
There’s no guarantee those four lines will stay consistent for even one period, much less the whole game. However, they represent a good start to the season.
EJ and the Kids on D
In real life (or irl, as the kids like to say), Erik Johnson at 31 years old is barely entering his prime. In the NHL, he’s a veteran. On a youth-packed team such as the Colorado Avalanche, he’s just a couple years away from being an elder statesman.
And on tonight’s roster, he looks to be the old man cackling as he watches the kids wreck havoc. (I saw that in a Tweet — if it was yours, say so below. 😊)
Johnson will be skating with a heavy hitter tonight, Nikita Zadorov. And they’re sure to form a defensive juggernaut. The top pairing is comprised of the new style of defenseman, slick-skating puck-movers — Samuel Girard and Cale Makar.
On the third pairing we see a lot of hard work rewarded. Ryan Graves, who spent much of the summer working out with MacKinnon and Crosby, will be one-half of the pair. The other half is Conor Timmins.
I am so excited to see Timmins play in his first NHL game! He has such a rough year in which he didn’t play a single game of hockey while he recovered from concussion symptoms. Well, as our very own GM, Joe Sakic, points out, Timmins put in the hard work to make the NHL roster out of camp.
How to Enjoy the Game
Game time: Oct. 3, 7:00 pm MT
TV: ALT*, SNW (Flames’ feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (FM 92.5/AM 950)
*The Big 3 carriers have colluded to block Altitude TV from being broadcast in the Denver Metro area.
So, Avs Nation, let’s get ready to scream ourselves hoarse over tonight’s Colorado Avalanche game!