Connor Hellebuyck has an 18-9-4 record against the Colorado Avalanche in his career, but it appears likely that he won’t get a chance to add to that somewhat-impressive record on Wednesday. With Hellebuyck set to make his New Jersey Devils debut on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars, having him play on back-to-back nights isn’t likely. It is possible, but unlikely.
With that, the Devils’ second goaltender is Jake Allen. Allen is a very seasoned veteran who has a 12-8-3 record against Colorado in his career. Allen was in goal for New Jersey when the two teams met a week ago. New Jersey won the game 4-3, as Allen had a .912 save percentage.
What exactly did that game tell us? Well, it does go without saying that the Avalanche are a solid offensive team. Their defensive game is where they lack this season. Defensive breakdowns have become an unfortunate trend for Colorado this year. That’s something that needs to change. It’s not time to worry, but eventually, if it doesn’t change, it will be panic time.
According to NHL.com, Allen’s save charts indicate that he has made 39 high-danger saves. However, his save percentage on shots right in front of him is just .841. If Nathan MacKinnon gets a couple of high-danger opportunities, such as bull-rushing Allen, he better take those shots. Avalanche fans do not want to see opportunities get passed up like the Avalanche have been known to do this season.
In that last meeting, Timo Meier led the Devils with eight shots. Having proper defensive developments should be able to keep Meier’s shot total down. But there doesn’t seem to be much evidence that the Avalanche can do that at this point. It still might take some extra games to figure it out on that side of the ice. It’s no secret that, on paper, the Avalanche have a tremendous crop of talent. Some of that talent just has not been unlocked this season. The team is capable of so much more.
Getting to face an old rival goaltender in Hellebuyck would have been sort of fun for Colorado. He would have been making his second start in a Devils sweater. Depending on how he does on Tuesday against the Stars, Colorado may hope that he would be in goal tomorrow. I highly doubt that is the plan, though. It just doesn’t make a ton of sense.
Whether it is Allen or Hellebuyck, the Avalanche probably don’t care. Their objective is the same. They have to come out swinging and move on from the putrid 6-2 loss to the Nashville Predators on Sunday. They are pros that should not dwell on the past. The Avalanche have to find their legs and energy for the Devils game so that they don’t dig themselves into a deeper hole than they have to.
In the NHL, it is one game at a time. It is a very long season, and whether they win or lose Wednesday probably won’t matter a whole lot, but getting on a hot start this week would be nice.
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