The Colorado Avalanche need a big win against their Central Division rival Dallas Stars to stave off a slide.
The Colorado Avalanche are facing a Central Division rival tonight in the Dallas Stars. It’s a four-point game, then, and one the Avs need to win.
It’s not so much that they need the points or need to prevent the Stars from getting the points at this early stage of the season. Colorado is 8-2-2 on the season and leading the division with 18 points. Dallas is middle of the pack with a 5-8-1 record and 11 points.
No, the Avs don’t need points — they need to stave off a slide. After a strong start in which they won eight of their first 10 games, including some really tough road games, they’ve lost two in a row.
And they didn’t lose them pretty (if there is such a thing). They dropped a stinker to Anaheim then blew a 3-1 lead in the third to lose to Florida in overtime. We don’t want a loss of any kind tonight because three in a row, at this critical juncture (early in the season with two top players injured), could put a real damper on the season.
Here’s how Colorado can win.
Second Line
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Despite some blogger’s opinion, the second line played pretty well against the Panthers. They just failed to convert, and that’s apparently a sin.
So, they need to stop sinning and start scoring. Both Tyson Jost and JT Compher had some good chances against Florida, and Andre Burakovsky brought the sauce with a couple big hits.
I’d really like to see this line put up a point or two tonight.
Defensive Pairings
This decision has probably already been made before this post published because it’s a coaching decision. I want to see Ryan Graves back in action and with Nikita Zadorov as his partner.
I’m probably hitting my head on a wall here. Jared Bednar hung Zadorov out to dry, and his leash is ever short with the Russian. He’ll probably put Graves in for Zadorov.
That’s a mistake. Dallas gets chippy, and they can be goaded into taking stupid penalties. Let Z do Z.
Play to the Last Buzzer
The Colorado Avalanche let the foot off the gas, and that allowed the Florida Panthers to get back into the game. I mean, you just can’t be leading 3-1 midway through the third period and let the opponent score! And not once, but twice!
A team missing its two big stars has got to play consistent hockey until the very last buzzer. I was sitting with the Last-minute action right in front of me, and the Avs had the most panicked looks on their faces while they scrambled around trying to stop the Panthers.
You can’t see their faces here, but you can see them scrambling:
No. Come on, play your game, Avs. The penalty kill is one of their strengths, and facing a team with an extra attacker is essentially a penalty kill.
That’s ok. Colorado got a point from the game. They’re still top of the Central. And they can learn from their mistakes.
How to Enjoy the Game
Game time: Nov. 1, 7:00 pm MT
TV: ALT*, ESPN+ (Stars’ 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. At least some other local sports bars, such as Blake Street Tavern, are also showing the games.
This is the first regular season meeting between the two teams. Last year, Colorado won three out of their four meetings.