Avalanche Pull Off Third Straight Win

Last night, the Colorado Avalanche played the Toronto Maple Leafs in a defensive stalemate. Colorado was looking to maintain their spot in the Central Division, just four points behind Minnesota. It turned into one of the best showings in quite some time for the Avalanche. Only one defensive slip up by each team would lead to goals and then the Avalanche held to take down the Maple Leafs, 2-1, in a shootout giving Colorado their third straight win.

First Period 

A rare giveaway by Nathan MacKinnon got the play started in the Toronto zone for the Maple Leafs as he tried to corral the puck. Calle Jarnkrok forced MacKinnon to turn the puck over and sped up ice. Jarnkrok passed the puck off to Mitchell Marner as they passed each other in the slot. Then, Marner took a shot from the right circle. After catching his own rebound, Marner saw Morgan Rielly open on the left point. With all the time in the world, Rielly snapped the puck past goaltender Alexandar Georgiev to give the Maple Leafs the 1-0 lead. 

The issue with this play was face the Avalanche’s defense shifted too much to the left. Rielly could have come in closer for the shot, but saw that Colorado was starting to collapse in on him. The Avalanche needed to spread out in the zone to prevent the shot. 

Colorado Strikes Back

With 5:52 left in the first period, the Avalanche were able to tie the game up at one. A penalty by Mark Giordano put Colorado on the power play and they were handling the puck very well. With about 45 seconds left in the power play, Colorado started cycling around the Toronto zone. After a shot from the left circle, MacKinnon was able to pick up his own rebound in the corner. MacKinnon passed the puck up to the point where Cale Makar was located. Makar was able to pass it off to Mikko Rantanen down on the right circle. Rantanen did a shot-pass to Valeri Nichushkin in front of the crease, but it deflected through the five-hole of goaltender Ilya Samsonov. 

There was no set defensive structure for Toronto during their kill. They couldn’t get possession and went into pure panic mode leaving Rantanen uncovered on the right side. If they kept a box or even diamond formation, Toronto may have been able to stop Colorado. 

Second Period 

Both the Avalanche and the Maple Leafs tightened up their defense in the second. It became more of an even game with each team taking away the other’s opportunities to enter the zone and attacking in the neutral zone. If the opposing team made it in their zone, both did a great job of getting in the shooting lanes and blocking shots. The Maple Leafs did solidify their penalty kill unity and started to show more structure with a floating box.  

On The Farm

• Eagles Clinch Playoff Spot Despite Loss
• Eagles Blown Out At Home By Roadrunners
• Eagles Squeak Out Win Against Barracuda
• Eagles Dominate Barracuda In 8-0 Victory
• Overtime Turnover Decides Colorado at Rockford

Third Period And Free Hockey

The defensive game continued well into the third period even with one penalty aside. The resulting power plays would not lead to much with both teams learning their lessons from the previous three kills. As the game went to overtime, the best chance for the Avalanche came just a few seconds in. Timothy Liljegren misplayed the puck trying to pass it out of the zone opening up a two-on-one for Devon Toews and J.T. Compher. It was one of the four shots on goal that Colorado would get during the overtime period. During the shootout, William Nylander, Evan Rodrigues, MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, and Marner would all get their chances. MacKinnon was the only one able to squeeze a goal in to secure the 2-1 victory for the Avalanche. 

Conclusion

The Avalanche are finding their identity again. Colorado has allowed only 37 shots on goal in nearly 150 minutes of hockey. In that 150 minutes, the Avalanche have pulled out three wins. They are playing shutdown hockey again, just like they did at the end of the last season. They are also doing it with a lot of players missing out of the lineup and no clue as to when they will come back. 

Around Full Press Hockey

NHL: Four Crucial Areas For Maple Leafs The Rest Of This Regular Season

NHL Rumors: NHL Rumors: New Jersey Devils Trade Targets

NHL: NHL All Star Game Thoughts and Possible Changes

NFL: What Eddie Robinson Told Doug Williams After He Made History 35 Years Ago

Full Press Bets: Early 2022 NFL MVP Odds: Bills’ Josh Allen Favored

PODCAST: Full Press Hockey Weekly Ep 45: Canucks, Islanders, and The Boston Bruins