The second game for Team Canada has just concluded, as they took over against Switzerland, by a score of 5-1. Nathan MacKinnon of your Colorado Avalanche contributed with a goal and two assists, while chipping in with four shots and a plus-minus of +2. He was on the ice for 16:28 over 24 total shifts on Friday.
Meanwhile, Cale Makar had a solid game, although he did not record a goal. He had four shots on goal and two assists while playing 21:55 over 30 shifts. He finished with a +2. He did unfortunately make a mistake that led to a goal for Switzerland, but in the end, it was just one play that Switzerland made that got the puck in the net.
At one point late in the first period, Team Canada and Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper decided to shake things up for a minute. Connor McDavid stayed at center, while Macklin Celebrini was put on the left wing and MacKinnon at right wing. Check out that firepower line! That’s the beauty with a talented team. You can play around a little bit to see if there is something there that can help elevate the team.
We’ve seen the Avalanche do that plenty of times. A notable switch that I remember is when Jared Bednar put Ross Colton on the top line with MacKinnon. Colton absolutely dominated when he was put on the top unit.
Things are different with a healthy Avalanche team, though. There is less of a necessity to do such a thing. While you sometimes want to shake up a line to get them going, you don’t often do that with your top line. We saw Gabriel Landeskog switching between second and third line here and there since his NHL return, and some of that had to do with getting him back into the swing of things.
The Avalanche hope to start the next chapter of the season on a high note when Olympics conclude
There have been times lately that the Colorado Avalanche have struggled. Though they are atop the NHL in points, it’s possible that they fade a little bit once again. However, playing in a tournament with all of these great players could flip a switch for the Avalanche Olympians.
Victor Olofsson, Martin Necas, and Makar have each gone six-straight games without recording a goal. Meanwhile, MacKinnon has five goals in his last 15 games, which is not bad by any means, but it is what I would call lukewarm. Ideally, he would have a couple more, in my opinion.
Landeskog, meanwhile, has just played his first two games of hockey since suffering broken ribs in early January against the Panthers. He has one goal in two games played while also registering six shots.
Makar has three assists, while MacKinnon and Landeskog each have two.
Ideally, the high competition that the Avalanche players are facing each time they take the ice in the Olympics helps them get mentally prepared to get back into regular NHL hockey. That is something that some people don’t necessarily think about… The mental aspect of the game. You have to keep your body and mind healthy for a long season, and especially after playing extra hockey games which consists of a lot of speed every single shift.