The Colorado Avalanche are right where they want to be. The team has earned a pair of 2-1 victories at home to start their first round series against the Los Angeles Kings. But as the series shifts to L.A., there are still plenty of things for the top-seeded Avalanche to improve upon.
It might surprise casual observers that the National Hockey League's best offense has been held to just four goals in two games thus far. Indeed, all things considered the Kings have to be pretty pleased with that total.
Gritty wins dragged into OT are great for the fans, and are very emblematic of classic playoff puck. But I also don't think it's a stretch to say that the Avalanche just won two games largely played on L.A.'s terms. This is exactly the kind of muck-it-up style the Kings want to see. To be completely frank, they know they aren't going to win a track meet game against Colorado.
Credit to Los Angeles for showing up and giving it their best—Especially to Anton Forsberg, who has been extremely solid between the pipes.
With L.A. expending so much of their effort in shutting down Colorado's most prolific scorers it has fallen to players deeper in the lineup to help lift the club to back-to-back one-goal wins. Don't get me wrong, I love this outcome, because the depth has delivered. In fact, I feel more than a little vindicated. Leading up to the postseason I wrote about this very possibility.
Unlikely heroes, maybe not
Getting consecutive game-winning goals off the sticks of Logan O'Connor and Nicholas Roy is tremendous. It's also a bet literally no one would have made prior to puck drop on the series. O'Connor did have a playoff breakout last season. Even so, having spent most of the year on IR, the fact that he is even available felt like a blessing. I think there is a lot to be said for the organization's faith in LOC. They remained patient with him through two hip surgeries and he is rewarding them with his huge-hearted play.
Nicholas Roy, on the other hand, is one of the newest additions to the Avalanche roster. Roy arrived via a trade with Toronto on March 5th, just one day before the deadline. It was originally assumed by most that adding Roy meant that Colorado would be out of the Nazem Kadri sweepstakes.
Amazingly, Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland went all-in on both forwards. This is how Colorado eventually ended up with such a surplus of centers that Roy would be pushed to wing on a line with Kadri, and in position to seal Game 2 with an rebound goal in OT.
So, first off, obviously, hats off for the gutsiest deadline moves imaginable from Colorado's top brass. The depth is everything you want in a Stanley Cup contender. This team is built to go the distance and also to have the versatility to beat opponents in a multitude of ways.
Also, the brain-melting cognitive dissonance of seeing a Roy score an OT goal on a Forsberg in 2026 is uniquely incredible. Add to that the fact that I would be thrilled about it. Little kid me would call present day me a pants-on-fire liar.
If the bottom-six continues to carry the club to narrow wins, I'm not going to complain. But truly, I don't see that being the winning formula on the road.
It's time for the top guys to flex some scoring muscle
If someone had told me at the outset of the playoffs that Colorado would have a 2-0 lead in the first round with a total of zero goals scored by Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Cale Makar & Valeri Nichushkin, I would have been flabbergasted. Most likely I would have followed it up with a Parker Kelly joke.
Shockingly, this is precisely where we are today. MacKinnon is fresh off his first Rocket Richard win. Necas proved supreme offensive prowess by notching his first 100-point season, and likely settling the Mikko Rantanen debate among Avalanche fans. We may never see the end of the head-to-head comparisons, but Colorado is clearly a better team now.
Makar is not just a perennial Norris Trophy candidate, but also the 2022 Conn Smythe winner. Finally, for good or ill, all Avalanche fans remember what an undeniable X factor Nichushkin can be in the playoffs. The fact that we haven't seen more output from this chunk of the top-six is a bit of a head-scratcher.
Sure, Artturi Lehkonen was assisted by MacKinnon on the team's first goal of the postseason. Likewise, captain Gabriel Landeskog was shuffled back up the lineup card on Tuesday when he was assisted by Necas and Devon Toews in putting the third period equalizer in the net.
Still, this club expects more from their top talents. There is an old bit of conventional wisdom in sports that says role players are better at home. Generally, I agree with this sentiment. But that also means that on the road, your best players need to be your best players.
We know now that despite the lead, and despite the regular season stats, this Kings team is not going to make it easy. The games have been chippy and physical in every way. But Colorado has been ready for that challenge.
So far, we've seen tight play from period to period and the kind of low scores that give Los Angeles hope. There have also been some lucky breaks for L.A. too though, at least four or five posts have been hit by the likes of MacKinnon, Makar, Necas, and Brock Nelson.
If the Avalanche can press their mounting advantage now that they have games in hand, and finally score early, they just might break the game open in L.A. On Thursday night. An early lead would force the Kings out of their comfort zone of just trying to clog up the neutral ice and hoping to lull Colorado to sleep or frustrate them into penalties.
I believe that the Avalanche smell blood up 2-0. Now is the time to kick it in gear and play the first game of true Avalanche hockey of the postseason.
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