In game three against the Sharks, the Avalanche fumbled their way around the ice as they succumbed to a wholly unwelcome return of the neutral zone trap. It was a throwback to everything I hated about hockey in the nineties. All it needed was Peter Forsberg wearing half the Kings as a backpack and I would have settled in for a long springtime nap.
San Jose put up a wall of grizzled, toothless gorillas at the opposing blue line who sucked the life out of the Avalanche offense for the majority of the game, and I’m not just talking about the shapeshifting yeti otherwise known as Brett Burns This series is becoming a study of San Jose forwards who I didn’t pay attention to in fantasy hockey drafts coming back to bite me. (Thanks bunches Evander Kane, Timo Meier, Gustav Nyquist, and Kevin Labanc!)
By the time Nate MacKinnon snapped a wicked wrister by Martin Jones the Avalanche had spent half the game trying to outrace what the Sharks threw at them. But even when they did, their lack of puck possession skills betrayed them harder than Ross betrayed Rachel on Friends (or whatever other 90’s reference I can come up with that hasn’t been beaten into the ground by a wave of millennial induced nostalgia. Will and Grace? Something, something, Courtney Love’s heroin guy? I’ve got nothing.)
With the loss the Avalanche drop their home ice advantage that they had secured a mere two days ago and risk losing control of their stake in the series. Though I feel they aren’t done after this. There is still a lot of life left in this pony.
—->
Five Thoughts
He Was on a Break!
Seeing Nathan MacKinnon doing Nathan MacKinnon things has become almost passé at times. At any one time he is the absolute best player on the ice. But I’m waiting for Mikko Rantanen to do something big against the Sharks. Tonight, aside from a couple of flashes, Mikko was essentially invisible. The entire team seemed to have grease on their stick blades but Rantanen was gone for long stretches, having been largely neutralized by San Jose. If the Avalanche are to even things up number ninety-six needs to get engaged, and he needs to do it without being put back with MacK and Landy. The Avs can’t afford to be one line deep against the Sharks much longer.
Matt Nieto‘s Big Adventure
Upon scoring his fourth goal of the playoffs on a fluky bounce off of his skate I officially declare that I have no idea what I’m talking about and recognize that the Shjon Podein/Mike Keene Super Grinder Torch of Honor has been passed to Matt Nieto. I await with baited breath the next goal that he scores off of his ass so that I can see another shot of him on the bench laughing like he just won a Carolina Panthers beer koozie in a nearby crane game.
Have Goalie Will Travel
It isn’t a secret that the Avalanche are in the playoffs largely because of the late season efforts of Philipp Grubauer. Despite doing their best to give the Sharks the puck tonight, Grubauer kept the Avs in the game. Since watching Semyon Varlamov breakdance his way down the depth chart after being the beneficiary of what I can only assume was extreme nepotism it’s nice to have a guy consistently stand on his head in the crease for the Avalanche again. I’d like to go a while without having to act like I’ve been paying attention to Washington’s goalie pipeline while having David Aebischer flashbacks.
The Glue
Am I to believe, simply based on his absence and the subsequent result, that Matt Calvert is the straw that breaks the back of opposing teams? After watching the likes of J.T. Compher, Carl Soderberg, Sven Andrighetto, and Rene Bourque stab at the puck tonight like a bunch of fifth graders poking a dead rat I’m starting to believe it. I spent my entire previous DNP extolling the virtues of Tyson Barrie but now I’m wondering if I should have devoted a few hundred words to Calvert instead. If Bulldog hadn’t been brutalized by Brent Burns on a hit that made my molars hurt there is a chance that he gets under the skin of San Jose and the Avs find a way to win.
So I’m Saying There’s A Chance?
The Avalanche were not as bad as I’m making it out to be. They didn’t get the bounces against San Jose and the fact that they tied the game is a testament to their teamwork and heart. I’m starting to love this Avalanche squad, and that is saying a lot since part of me has been slowly dying over the past fifteen or so years while the Avs have nestled into consistent mediocrity. The pieces are there for the Avs to shock San Jose.
They sport three fast defenseman (Barrie, Girard, and Makar) who back up an interesting mix of power forward types (MacK, Landy, Wilson, Soderberg). They can hit (Zadorov), they can lock people down (Johnson), and they are pesky (Calvert, Cole, and Nieto).
The question at this point is can they do it consistently? I’m betting in the next game they show they can. If I’m right, this will be the kind of game four that opens a lot of eyes around the league to the dawn of a new age for the Avalanche. One that us old timers have been waiting for for a long time. If I’m wrong, then it’s back to another offseason of waiting for the kids to grow up.
We’ll see.
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