Avalanche finish strong heading into Olympic break.
Artwork bt Rebecca Holt
Although boasting one of the youngest teams in the NHL, the Avs still seem to be going very strong hitting the midway point of the season. They have earned their spot as third in the western conference with 34 wins, only 19 losses and six overtime victories. And rookie sensation Matt Duchene is certainly living up to the hype, leading the league in points with 40, goals with 18, and second in the league with assists behind Buffalo’s stellar Tyler Myers. Not to mention being fourth on his team in points overall. Most teams that boast such a young average age would be excited heading into the Olympic break, but do the Avs, on a three-game winning streak right now, really need that break?
Something in this new playbook, coaching style, team, or general way of playing, seems to provide the team’s an easy way to solve almost any problem. Their longest losing streak capping at three, only half of their longest winning streak at six. They have even managed to solve previous seasons’ foes, the Red Wings, by beating them two times out of three thus far this season. Coming off of their most recent win, a 4-3 nail-biter win nine seconds into overtime, Avalanche defenseman, Kyle Cumiskey, set a record for quickest win in overtime in franchise history. On his game-winning, record-setting goal Cumiskey said in the Denver Post, “I saw an opening so I jumped in there and it worked out. I don’t know what came over me; I just took what they gave me pretty much and it worked out.” Why was the win so important? Cumiskey said, “It was a huge win for us, we’re back in first place. We showed a lot of heart I think, coming from behind from two goals here in the third. It feels really good, it’s really exciting right now.” Two points in front of the strong Vancouver Canucks, the Avalanche really look to hold their lead by defeating the surprising Phoenix Coyotes at the Pepsi Center this Friday. A three game winning streak at home can easily be transformed into four and an even bigger lead on the northwest division race.
I would certainly hate to be the guy who jinxed the whole thing, but I am certainly excited to see a clean road to the post-season paved for the Avalanche this year. I can clearly remember in previous seasons the end of the season panic to reach the playoffs. This season it is looking to be a shoe-in for the young franchise. The most recent surprise, for me, that will help in their post-season push is rookie forward Brandon Yip, who has continued to post surprising numbers. With eighteen points collectively in his twenty-three games played, the Avalanche seem to be developing quite the trio of rookie players to lead them far into the future, and with that I can have absolutely no qualms anymore. Veteran and team captain Adam Foote was reactivated only this past month on the 29th, after missing seven games with a sprained ankle, and during that span the team went 6 and 1, losing only to division rivals the Minnesota Wild. Heading into their last home game tonight against the Phoenix Coyotes the Avalanche look to extend their home streak to 3 and 0 heading cross-country to the stalwart Los Angeles Kings ice on Saturday night.
Even after the 3-0 shut-out loss to LA, Colorado will certainly still be one of the teams talked about in locker-rooms across the league. And after the break, Colorado will look to hit the ground running by, once again, shutting down the previously challenging Detroit Red Wings, Colorado’s long time rival. This would give them their third victory over the wings out of four chances this season. What’s more, it would give them exactly what they want: more momentum heading towards the playoff stretch.
