Mile High Sticking
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Colorado Avalanche are Fast Up and Down The Ice

By Karen Cherrett

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 07: Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche (C) skaytes in his 500th NHL game and scores at 6:34 of the first period against the New York Rangers while being joined by Gabriel Landeskog #92 (L) and Erik Johnson #6 (R) at Madison Square Garden on January 07, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 07: Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche (C) skaytes in his 500th NHL game and scores at 6:34 of the first period against the New York Rangers while being joined by Gabriel Landeskog #92 (L) and Erik Johnson #6 (R) at Madison Square Garden on January 07, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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Mike Kelly of the NHL Network has analysed the Colorado Avalanche plays that create many more scoring chances than other teams. What will that mean for the future?

Looks like the Colorado Avalanche have finally been caught out. Mike Kelly from the NHL Network has analysed why the Colorado Avalanche is leading the NHL in goal chances off a rush and third in the NHL for goals scored off a rush.

He’s seen what we see most nights when we watch our team. Fast, clever hockey. That play where there is always someone there ready to pounce, ready to take that puck and move it, ready to drop into a slot that’s opened up near the goal face and put that puck on net.

He rightfully points out that the Avalanche are smoking the NHL in rush scoring differential with a plus 160, with their nearest rival being the Vegas Golden Knights at 116. That’s not even close.

How many times this season have we seen Nate (Nathan MacKinnon) supported by Mikko Rantanen, or more recently a raft of others rush the ice? Loads. And Matt Calvert is another one that is great at it. We have missed him on the ice in recent weeks since he’s been out due to injury.

And those rush goals, +31. That’s a lot of goals creating wins. And we’ve certainly seen that happen a lot this season, especially in those games where the Avs have taken control of the game and done what they do best.

It’s funny that the closest team in scoring chances off the rush are the Islanders with 13. Not many really and a big difference in game-winning goals.  Because having watched the boys play we know some of those rush goals have been game-winning goals; the one that’s sealed the deal many times.

“How does Colorado create these chances,” Kelly asked and the answer is damn obvious to us fans.

  • Team speed up the ice.  Well yeah. With players like MacKinnon, Calvert and Makar on our team, who doesn’t talk about speed, or see the speed for that matter. We have players who are confident in their ability to take that puck and move it to the scoring end of the ice. Tell us something we don’t know.

    • More from Mile High Sticking

     Second wave. Of course. That basic principle of never leaving a play without support. That’s great ‘teamwork’ isn’t it? Most of the time the Avalanche are great at it. There is always someone watching and reading the play, ready to move into the opening, ready to take the puck and drive it for those tip shots. It’s a familiar play to us fans. He spoke about having layers and layers and their ability to back defenders off.  They’ve gotten a lot better at this, this season. One player drawing a number of the defenders out of the play to give us more scoring opportunities. And it’s showing clearly in the stats.

  • Good F3 / Forward tracking speed Yep, that’s us having four solid lines. Four lines where we can count on that centerman to do his job and bring that puck up the ice, but not alone. And of course, the speed in which our forwards bring the puck up the ice, as I mentioned earlier is fast. That’s what puts the opposition team on their back foot a number of times. I don’t think they are expecting, nor ready for that speed.

    • For me, the one big take away here is that he’s talking about TEAM play. We all know how great MacK is, and how fast. But, without the backup of his teammates, this wouldn’t be happening. No more him needing to carry the whole team on his back.

    Each and every one of the players, especially those that we picked up in the off-season, Kadri, Bellemare, Donskoi and Burakovsky, have each taken on key roles in this team effort. They fitted into the play and are the playmakers.

    Belly and Calvert are a core part of our fourth line who have made many of those 31 rush goals this season.

    Next. Mental Impact of COVID-19 on the Players. dark

    I’m so disappointed that this secret is now out. With this analysis, more teams will know how we do what we do. I wonder if it will make a difference in how they think they can stop the Colorado Avalanche? Is more dirty play on the cards now, trying to injure the players, as the only way of stopping them, or slowing them down?

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