The Colorado Avalanche can find their footing in the home game against the New York Rangers.
The Colorado Avalanche are a team. For the most part, they’re a team composed of NHL players. However, with all the injuries they’ve suffered, that’s sometimes in doubt.
Well, tonight they’re be facing off against a team, for the most part an NHL team. The New York Rangers are in town. They’re at 78 points and three games out of a playoff spot with a game in hand. You never know what might happen there.
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The Avalanche are at 90 points and two points out of first in the Western Conference with a game in hand. Boy, you hope to see them make that cut.
Well, I don’t know anything about what the lineup might look like tonight. I’ve no idea about who might be healthy enough to play, who might get benched, who might be in net.
So, with that lack of information in hand, let’s look out how the Avalanche can gut out a win.
Play Solid Defense
The Colorado Avalanche’s defense was one their Achilles heel. They’ve done so much to address that fact, and their defense is often their strong point.
That hasn’t been the case lately. In the last three games, they’ve given up so many turnovers. And I can’t count how many breakaways they’ve let other teams have.
It’s so weird because they only have one injured defenseman. Granted it’s prize rookie Cale Makar. However, they still have a solid core. They need to apply that core because the New York Rangers have the best goal differential of any non–playoff team.
Shoot the Puck
When the Colorado Avalanche are a perfectly healthy team, they rely on their talent to win the game. They try to make a lot of cute plays that don’t result in a shot — much less a goal — because it’s not the perfect setup.
Time to get over that. In the game against the LA Kings, they were outshot 35-22. Yeah, no, that’s not going to work for an offense-minded team like the Avalanche.
Rely on Some Secondary Scoring
Right now, the Colorado Avalanche need to rely on secondary scoring because they don’t have much else. Especially if both Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen are out.
Ok, for secondary scorers, defenseman Samuel Girard leads the pack for points with 34. For goals, we have Joonas Donskoi with 16. So, let’s see them and some of the other players join in the fun.
Follow the Captain
Captain Gabriel Landeskog is not a secondary scorer. He’s one of the elite players on the team. He even earned Second Star honors for his play last week.
Boy, in these times of trouble do we need a leader. And Landeskog is the perfect man to lead the charge. He’s in the zone and quickly moving up the ranks of both goals and points leaders.
And he’s the captain, so it’s always best to follow his lead.
How to Enjoy the Game
Game Time: Mar. 11, 8:00 pm MT
TV: ALT, ESPN+, MSG+ (Rangers’ Feed)
Radio: Altitude Radio (FM 92.5/AM 950)