By Maeve Hushman, Staff Writer
The Avalanche only cooled down slightly in February going 7-2-1 in their 10 games. They snapped their home winning streak in a shootout loss to the 31st place Arizona Coyotes. So, let’s look back at this short month: the good, the bad and the ugly.
Things to fix:
The PDO has started to regress, which is why the offense has not been putting up the insane numbers they posted in January. It was bound to happen. In the shootout loss to the Coyotes, they hit the post multiple times and just couldn’t seem to capitalize on funky bounces of rebounds. They could get the lucky bounces for themselves. Part of that can be in the players’ control when it comes to making your own luck. Getting more scrappy and ugly opportunities increases the likelihood of scoring against a hot goalie. In the game against the Dallas Stars, they needed that. Dallas is a heavy defensively dominant team who struggles with offense, but they are a heavy hard-hitting team who come in to do damage. That strategy got to the Avs and the Stars, who mostly play 2-1 hockey, were able to score 4 on the Avalanche. That could indicate more than just issues finding ways to generate offense. Defense needs to be able to stand up to a team with a lot of muscle that isn’t afraid to use them. The Stars’ play shut down D, and the Avs use that in addition to the true picture of “the best defense is a good offense”. When a team like the Stars forces the Avalanche to play their game, they struggle just like they struggled against the Stars in the bubble. The Stars have never seemed to get back to the level they were playing at when they were in the Stanley Cup Finals two years ago. Still, they had the Avs number in that game and that can be dangerous.
The Avalanche have also fallen into their old ways of failing to play a full 60 minutes of hockey. They had to overcome a three-goal deficit against the Winnipeg Jets, whose season has been nothing short of a dumpster fire. They fired back by scoring six unanswered goals, but they wouldn’t have had to do that if they had started well and at the very least kept the score at something more manageable to overcome. They also failed to show up against Boston and got smacked. The same happened against Vegas, and Kuemper had to bail them out. As the puck luck starts to dry up, and in the playoffs where all teams hit harder and play tighter, they cannot afford to take any time off during a game.
Positives:
Darcy Kuemper has a .93 save percentage since December 1 and has stolen a game for the Avalanche against the Golden Knights. Even with his stellar performances and save percentages, I’ve seen Avalanche fans saying that the team will not be able to make it deep in the playoffs with Kuemper in net. Well, I hate to break it to them, but if the team can’t make a deep playoff run with a .93% goalie, then they probably can’t make it deep in the playoffs at all. All of this to say Kuemper isn’t what Avs fans need to be worrying about ahead of the trade deadline. Avs fans are haunted by how many times their goaltending has been outplayed when it mattered most, and they seem nervous about Kuemper. However, there isn’t a need to worry. Kuemper is a solid starter whose play keeps improving as the season goes on. Yes, he had a rough game in Boston, but other than that he has been a strong presence in net capable of standing on his head and stealing games. Avs fans relax, Kuemper is incredible and can hold his own against any opposition. Kuemper can take this team on a cup run and he continues to demonstrate it.
Kuemper isn’t the only Avalanche player who has been playing well. Gabriel Landeskog is red hot and Nathan MacKinnon is playing like himself again. This team is getting a little less lucky, but the talent has always outweighed the luck. The team is not letting losses or multi-goal deficits get them down. They bounce back by the next game or the next period. Resilience is needed and this team displays it in droves.
The Golden Knights, who have had the Avalanche’s number all season prior, seem to have lost their ability to solve the Avs. Maybe it was the lack of Mark Stone and Robin Lehner, but the Avalanche were able to beat the Knights and the freshly returned Jack Eichel. Even in their second game against the Knights where Kuemper stole the game, the Knights couldn’t get it done. The Avs and Knights are, on paper, the biggest cup threats in the West. The Knights also eliminated Avalanche in another second-round heart break last year. Beating them now is an important moral win for the Avalanche and a good sign for their systems. The ability to adjust and find success when a team has the existing systems figured out is an immensely positive sign. Coach Jared Bednar is more than capable of coaching his way out of a situation where the team is getting stuck.
Conclusions:
The Avalanche are the best team of the league, and they continue to demonstrate this game in and game out the month of February was no different as they continue to play dynamic and dominant hockey.