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Colorado Avalanche Can Build on Success in Ottawa

By Nadia Archuleta |
OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 16: Colorado Avalanche Left Wing Matt Nieto (83) turns to follow the play during first period National Hockey League action between the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators on January 16, 2019, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 16: Colorado Avalanche Left Wing Matt Nieto (83) turns to follow the play during first period National Hockey League action between the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators on January 16, 2019, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Colorado Avalanche face the Senators in Ottawa. They’d should build on their success against the Sabres to get above .500 on the roadie.

The Colorado Avalanche are right smack in the middle of their road trip. Today’s game marks the third of a five-game roadie. It’s also their only game in Canada — Ottawa, to be specific.

So far, Colorado is 1-1 on the road trip, beating Buffalo but dropping a game in Philly. On the one hand, they should have a good chance against an Ottawa team that’s third from the bottom in the Eastern Conference. However, the Avs are 1-3 in Ottawa in their last four tries.

Colorado, meanwhile, has dropped to third in the Central Division. They’re just one point below Dallas, with two games in hand.

One game after tonight. So, it would be good for the Avalanche to get another win tonight.

Special Teams

The Colorado Avalanche’s woes on the special teams this season are well-documented. They’re in the bottom third of the NHL, which is absurd for a team that’s challenging for home ice.

The Avs know they need to address this issue. Yesterday in practice they focused on special teams. The coaching staff stated they were glad not too many penalties got called in the game against Buffalo so the team could focus on their depth.

But the Avs should dominate on the man-advantage with all the fire power they have. And there’s no reason they can’t be fair to middling on the penalty kill.

20-Minute Periods

Burgundy Radio had a funny tweet:

I mean, it’s funny until you understand the truth behind it — Colorado often lets up on the gas in the last minute of the period. It even happened in their 6-3 victory over Buffalo when Sam Reinhart scored with literally one second left in the period.

Kevin Hayes scored for the Flyers with just four seconds left in the period. They’ve simply got to play all the way up to the buzzer.

Cale Makar

Rookie defenseman Cale Makar doesn’t have to change a thing — he’s perfect. However, he earned an assist on Valeri Nichushkin’s goal in Buffalo. And now he’s set the single-season franchise record  for points by a rookie defenseman with 38.

https://twitter.com/Avalanche/status/1224870032754102272

Makar, in typical humble fashion, said of the honor:

“I mean for me, I am very honored and just humbled to even be in consideration for that, but it is all teammate related. It’s just a testament to I think how well we work together and how much we come in every day being able to compete and make each other better.”

Cale, you’re playing a pretty big role in your own destiny — and in the team’s.

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How to Enjoy the Game

Game Time: Feb. 6, 5:30 pm MT
TV: ALT, TSN5, RDS2 (Senators’ feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (FM 92.5/AM 950)

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