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Colorado Avalanche: Who Needs to Keep Momentum Going

By Nadia Archuleta

DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 30: Nathan MacKinnon #29 of Colorado Avalanche celebrates with Samuel Girard #49, Gabriel Landeskog #92 and Joonas Donskoi #72 after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period in Game One of the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena on May 30, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 30: Nathan MacKinnon #29 of Colorado Avalanche celebrates with Samuel Girard #49, Gabriel Landeskog #92 and Joonas Donskoi #72 after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period in Game One of the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Ball Arena on May 30, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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The Colorado Avalanche squeezed out their second win in a tight game against Tampa. Find out who needs to help them keep the momentum going.

The Colorado Avalanche won their second game of the season. It took them until Game 5 to get that second win, but who’s counting? (The NHL, of course, but never mind.)

Colorado took their second win in dramatic fashion. In classic Avs style, they gave up the lead three times. They did not play the tightest of overtimes, but they got their way to overtime. There, our superstud defenseman, Cale Makar, surprisingly was the one to give the Avalanche the win. (I say surprisingly only in that high-powered forwards such as Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon shot and failed before his winning goal.)

Now, the Avalanche enter a little back-an-forth in their schedule. They host two of the next three in Ball Arena with a quick jaunt to St. Louis between those games. I guess minimizing flying because of COVID is no longer a thing.

In any case, their opponents are tough– Vegas, St. Louis, and Minnesota. Two are Central Division rivals and one is, you know, Vegas. So, with their record at a startling 2-3-0, Colorado wants to capitalize on the remaining games they have in October. Below are some of the people who are needed to keep the momentum going.

Nathan MacKinnon

Colorado’s superstar hasn’t had the start to the season any of us, least of all him I’m sure, envisioned. He missed the first two games because he tested positive for COVID. And, while his five points in three games is certainly nothing to sneeze at, only one of those points is a goal.

Never mind that. The Colorado Avalanche are MacKinnon’s team. The Avs go as MacKinnon goes. If they’re going to maintain any momentum, he’s going to need to be a driving force.

Middle Six

The Avalanche cannot win sustainably off of the first line’s and Cale Makar’s coattails. And you’re not going to get much from a fourth line comprised of whatever AHLers they can rustle up. So, it’s up to the middle six to make at least some of the magic happen.

That middle six can be a bit of a motley crew. However, some of the important names on those two lines include Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, J.T. Compher, and Tyson Jost. Colorado needs each of those players to fulfill his role of they want the momentum to keep on going.

Jared Bednar

The Colorado Avalanche’s head coach is going to need to prove his mettle. Yes, I can already hear the screams of, “He took a team from an historically bad record to the playoffs in just one season!” Yes, Avs Nation, that was true… three seasons ago. The NHL is absolutely a league of “What have you done for me lately?”

And what Bednar has done lately is take a team built to win the Stanley Cup as far as the second round where two seasons in a row they suffered an inglorious exit. If his job’s not on the line, you’re looking at front offices that aren’t actually committed to winning the Stanley Cup with MacKinnon in an Avs sweater.

Anyone who insists Bednar shouldn’t be on the hot seat is as delusional as I was in my Coach Roy heyday.

Luckily for the Colorado Avalanche, they’re not the only Cup-contending team to suffer a slow start. However, it would be ideal if they would be one of the first to go on a run and take their rightful place at the top of the standings. The above personnel are the ones to make it happen for the Avs.

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