Colorado Avalanche Must Play Third Period to Beat Knights
The Colorado Avalanche are looking to go into the Christmas break on a high note with a win against the Knights.
The Colorado Avalanche are facing the Golden Knights in Vegas tonight. Colorado is in a good playoff position — second in the Western Conference — thanks to a strong start. However, they haven’t kept up with that strong play, going 6-3-1 in the last 10.
They’re 1-3-0 in the last four games. They dropped the last two games at home.
Meanwhile, the Vegas Golden Knights are second in the Pacific Division. They haven’t been any sharper in the last 10 than Colorado, going 6-2-2. However, they’re coming off a 3-1 win over the San Jose Sharks.
Speaking of the Sharks, they’re dead last in the conference. Maybe Erik Karlsson is just as poisonous to a team as a faction of Avs Nation likes to say Matt Duchene is.
Anyway, that’s neither here nor there to tonight’s game. Let’s look at some keys to the game, starting with the most important one.
Play a Full 60 Minutes
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I used to lament about this all the time a few years ago, and it looks like I have to start again. I get that no team can play the full 82-game schedule at full intensity like it’s the playoffs.
However, the two games the Colorado Avalanche dropped at home were both blown-third period leads. The Avalanche were up 3-1 over Chicago halfway through the third before allowing four unanswered goals to lose 5-3. They were up 1-0 over Carolina only to lose 3-1 in a three-minute span.
In a way, the Chicago game was more embarrassing because the Avs had owned the Blackhawks through three games and two-and-a-half period. Yet they lost because only the Hawks showed up to play the last half of the third.
Even alternate captain Erik Johnson was frustrated with the way the team played over those handful of minutes. So, they simply have to tighten up their play in the third.
Tyson Jost Goal
In case you haven’t caught on, I’m going to keep up this section until we see OUR player get a goal the way everyone was rooting for Valeri Nichushkin.
Jost did get two assists in the Chicago game, the secondary on Ryan Graves’ goal and the primary on Matt Calvert’s first goal. Now it’s his turn, and we’re going to be patient with him.
Cover Defensive Mistakes
Ironically, the Colorado Avalanche are the healthiest they’ve been since late October, and they’re still playing disjointed hockey. I mean, they haven’t had a practice since December 15, which doesn’t help with the team getting back on track. It’s too late to do anything about that now, though.
Nonetheless, the players must cover their defensive mistakes in their own zone. Defensive breakdowns in front of their own net — sometimes right in the slot — are what led to the team being outscored in the final 11 minutes of the last two periods.
How to Enjoy the Game
Game Time: Dec. 23, 8:00 pm MT
TV: ALT. ESPN+, SN
Radio: Altitude Radio (FM 92.5/AM 950)
After tonight, the Colorado Avalanche will be off for three days for the Christmas break.