Burning Down the Flames

And neither man nor beast had words. There was a thunderclap and lightning tore the peaks above as the gates swung open revealing the second round, as was spoken of by the elders. It was, the travelers whispered, “on”.

—->

Five Thoughts

1. Calgary was outrun, out gunned, and out in one when the lights went out at the Saddledome tonight. Having been no more threatening than a sack of bunnies Calgary has a lot of questions to answer. Namely, how were they the best team in the western conference this year? 

Who was this opponent? They didn’t play cohesively, were thin skinned, and went ice cold at the wrong times. Mike Smith played admirably but was overwhelmed and the Calgary top line was invisible for long stretches. The Gaudreau line may or may not have been at the games, I’m not sure. 

Kudos to the Avs for shutting down the best in the West, but also for being clearly the better team.  The only way this series could have been more fun was if Theo Fleury was shot out of a cannon.

2. For the longest time the philosophy in hockey was to spread the talent on a team among the top two lines. The thinking was that it would put more pressure on the opposing team’s depth. But what if the talent is so dominating that the best strategy is to go with a super line and let it roll?

MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Landeskog were a force of nature in this series. As the season flagged and the Avalanche floundered it made sense for Jared Bednar to drop Mikko Rantanen down a line, especially when Landeskog went off with an injury (Bednar dropped Rantanen down again at times this series as well- think two Colin Wilson goals). But early on, with the grinders clicking reuniting the best line in hockey turned out to be the choice of the series. It is difficult to imagine another defense stopping the Avalanche top line over seven games. 

3. MacK Smash!

Name me another superstar who can do what Nathan MacKinnon is doing right now. I’ll wait. Calgary targeted MacK in Game Five and he responded by beating them up, both on the scoreboard and about their collective heads and necks. His elbow to the throat of Garnet Hathaway towards the end of Game Five was sublime. 

4. The answer to my question is: Mikko Rantanen. 

When MacK and Landeskog weren’t brutalizing Calgary, Mikko proved to be the enormous, skillful engine that could. In showing absolutely zero remorse for sabotaging my fantasy season by missing the last eight games of the regular season, Rants looked like I imagine I do when I decide to step in and dominate my fifth grade class in four square.   

https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/1milns/bill_murray_spiking_a_little_kid_trying_to_play/

5. So...what next?

If the smoldering playoff bracket I’m looking at is correct the Avalanche can probably expect to meet Vegas in a matchup that will most certainly involve mob references by me, in writing, in a series of blogs that could lead to my untimely disappearance at the hands of, let’s say, Max Pacioretty’s bookie.  

It will also be a chance for Paul Stastny to pay back the team that drafted and molded him so long ago. You owe us, Paulie. 

As we bid adieu to Calgary let’s take a moment to appreciate all of the Alberta locals who say Cal-GARY. If there was a slower way to say that name I’m sure it would have been found by now.

Will There Ever Be a Rainbow?

So what I’m thinking is that of all species that can swim, humans are the best swimmers. I know what you’re thinking. “But what about the platypus?” Stay with with me here. Platypuses at least have bills.  Humans do not.   

We weren’t made for swimming with our floppy limbs and lack of blowholes. Dolphins: swimmers. Other fish, also swimmers. People? Not really. However, we can swim at least four different ways. We can freestyle, breast stroke, backstroke, and butterfly. We can also swim sideways, which is useful when reaching for a drink. Take that, manta rays. 

We’re the best at swimming. 

Deal with it, Nature. 

—->

By the time Sam Bennett was ejected for looking like a midwestern plumber, the Avalanche had made the statement of the series: We’re better than Calgary and we’re not going anywhere. 

With dominating waves of offense, the Avalanche overwhelmed an overmatched and undisciplined Calgary squad in Denver. At the end of the first period the Avalanche were on the board with 22 shots, three of which landed on the scoreboard, and they never looked back. 

Forget this series. Three games in and I’ve seen enough. Calgary is being dominated. Barring a David Rittich replacement goalie miracle this series is over. Mike Smith is deflated and done. 

Five Thoughts

1. Hot Dog...The Hockey

Since the reuniting of the MacKinnon line, the Avalanche have done a complete 180 from game one. They are driving the play, passing sharper, and outworking Calgary on every shift. Every man, all four lines. The Calgary defense doesn’t have a chance when they have to devote so many resources to fighting the scourge of the Avalanche’s top line. 

Remember when Bob Hartley would reunite Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg for five or six shifts and everyone would lose their minds? The Avs have been doing that for basically two years.  

It’s like the Chinese Downhill: 

action packed and packin’ action!

2. Cale Makar is better than Bobby Orr. 

The list of greatest defensemen ever is:

1.Cale Makar

2.Cale Makar’s future son

.

.

.

264. Bobby Orr

End of list. 

3. No, but seriously. 

What do you do if you are Cale Makar’s parents? 

Your kid is right off a crushing defeat in the national title game and then he steps on the ice in Colorado and scores on his first shot in the playoffs against your hometown team. 

What do you do? Take him out for ice cream and then ground him? Make him clean out the garage and then buy him a trampoline?

Asking for a friend. 

4. Mikey will not!

Is this the last time we see Mike Smith?  Like, ever? I can’t understand why he was left in after the fourth goal. The game had devolved to beer league levels by that point. 

In my life I have been dissuaded from many wrong notions and myths such as the full moon causes male pattern baldness and women don’t poop. Over the last two games I have been dissuaded from my belief that Mike Smith was actually a great goalie who just happened to be six-foot-four. No dice, amigos. 

5. Who is Matt Nieto?

Not really, I know who he is, but really? I had asked in a previous Dog and Pony Show who this year’s Mike Keene or Shjon Podein would for the Avalanche. Well, ask and I shall get...a guy who, before this series, hadn’t scored since December 6th in Florida? Matt Nieto scoring a goal is like Matt Calvert scoring a goal with Gabriel Bourque’s stick! Amirite?! Oh, fourth liner jokes are just the best. 

—->

Next up: Calgary puts up a fight and things get nasty but they are unable to win custody of Cale Makar, the greatest defenseman ever. 

Shazam!

Squad. Goals. 

MacKinnon, Compher, Nieto, Kerfoot, Landy, Mikko, Calvert, Girard, Johnson...

Everyone chipped in. 

This was the early season, threatening Avalanche that we love. This is what happens when the Avalanche don’t stop at the end of the first period. This one was artful and dramatic and dominating and perfect. 

And now we’re even. 

Belissimo!

Five Thoughts:

1. Don’t let MacKinnon get it on his forehand. Ever. 

Some signature shots just have more of a signature than others. 

Ovechkin has his slapper off the left post. 

Cicarelli had the tip at the top of the crease. 

MacInnis had the boomstick from the point. 

MacKinnon has the wrister off the sprint. 

Works every time. 

2. Is it already time to start the “Mike Smith is just really big” campaign yet?

He threw down the shutout last time but that mostly had to do with the Avalanche failure to crowd the net after the first period. This time, the Avs threw the kitchen sink. As a result, Smith got caught leaning, diving, and sprawling at the wrong times. I’m not sure how he got to the NHL by diving at glove-side shots, but Smith will not be in net much longer if he keeps falling out of the crease. Maybe he should try to be less tall. 

3. Alex Kerfoot could not get robbed any more if he wore a sign that said “Payday Loans”.  The Avs needed a skilled plugger to show up in this series, and Kerfoot is paying off in spades. This team is night and day better when Rantanen can be moved around and an effective Kerfoot enables Bednar to play the matchups to his advantage while giving the defense one more problem. 

4. It’s the Get Along Gang!

Do you see what happens when everybody works together and tries hard?! Matt Nieto scored, Compher took out the trash, and MacK put the cherry on top. Easy peasy. It’s like the Avs had more than one line!

During long spans of time the Avalanche dominated at a level that I have not seen in a very long time. Nobody was touching them, and when they did the offense had the puck on a string. As a fan it was like finding a pair of wonderful old pads and then giving a Red Wing a forearm shiver. 

5. Andddd...just like that it could all fall apart. Sam Girard is the stick that is stirring much of the transition game for the Avs. Should he be out any length of time with the shoulder injury sustained late in the game, this party could come crashing down before the second keg shows up. If Girard is out, can Tyson Barrie make things work? The last time the Avalanche threatened in the playoffs they were able to deploy two offensive defensemen: Barrie and Nick Holden against the Wild under the Roy regime. 

Next up: The Avs play Calgary again on Tuesday during which I plan to teach my daughter the merits of a solid throat punch.