The news broke recently, and it wasn’t good for Avalanche Nation. Star players Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar will miss extended time with their respective injuries, and although MacKinnon’s estimated time frame is longer than Makar’s, the defenseman has a tricky injury which typically takes longer than prescribed to heal.
The Calgary native is expected to miss about two weeks with a lower-body injury, possibly a groin injury, and it’s potentially an issue that came from earlier in the season or the offseason, not just an acute thing. Sometimes those injuries can take longer to heal than teams would like, and the Avalanche will need to adjust to stay afloat while Makar is out.
Luckily, the team can do so. The team prepared this offseason for situations such as this, and although an all-world player can’t be replaced, with a few tweaks to philosophy, the team can manage in the meantime – like they did in Saturday night’s 4-1 victory over a Montreal team that had gotten points in their previous ten games.
Superior Goaltending
Much like the formula against Montreal, the Avalanche will need superior goaltending to play well with Makar out of the lineup. Starting netminder Mackenzie Blackwood has been excellent for the team this season, with a 2.52 goals-against average and 11 wins, showing the fans why the Avalanche signed him to a long-term deal when he was acquired. Backup Scott Wedgewood has fallen off this season, however, having a goals-against average approaching four and a save percentage barely above 86%. Those numbers are insufficient for an NHL netminder, period, let alone one who played so well the season prior.
Blackwood can’t play every game, and there are ten games from now until December 8th. It’s not reasonable to think the Avalanche will win all ten games, barring some kind of heater, but the team will need Wedgewood to play well in his spots coming up.
Quality team defense
To help the goaltending, the team's defense needs to be quality. Keeping pucks outside the slot, limiting opponent shots, and playing well on the penalty kill can all help this team stay in contention while Makar is out.
The team needs Sam Malinski to play well. He’s a poor man’s Cale Makar, some say, and the team will need him to contribute during Makar’s absence. Malinski played all 82 games last season, accumulating 40 points during the season, with eight goals in what was thought to be a breakout season for the young player.
Much of that hasn’t translated this season, although Malinski has nine points through 20 games played, he’s yet to score a goal. The Avalanche will need that from him over these next few weeks. He said it himself in a between-periods interview against Montreal – that the team, and he, needed to play simple moving forward.
The team brought in or re-signed players on the defensive side of the puck during the offseason to help mitigate injuries. Brett Kulak was re-signed to a five-year contract, with hopes for quality second-pair minutes. He’s never been a major net filler, but with five points this season, including an assist against Montreal, he is filling his role, especially if the team decides to become more defensively focused as a team moving forward while Makar is out.
Noah Juulsen is a player the team brought in for depth purposes this offseason, but he’s now going to be counted on to provide quality third-pair minutes for the defensive unit. He’s averaging a bit more than 12 minutes per game this season, and that will likely move up. At an even plus-minus, he’s been solid in his time this season.
Above average intangibles
The team needs to be better on the penalty kill. They’re currently tenth in the league, successfully stopping the opposition 81% of the time, but a more focused approach will help. Hand in hand with successful penalty killing comes faceoff percentage, which certainly needs to improve, as it is currently just 48.5% successful this season. More faceoff wins lead to more puck possession – a recipe for successful hockey.
Losing an all-world player never puts a team in an advantageous situation. Luckily for the burgundy and blue, they have some ways to mitigate this loss, and some players to offset it as well. The team doesn’t need to be world beaters, but with the right formula, they can tread water until their stars come back and keep themselves in the race for the division and more.
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