Copyright Yardbarker
Buckle in. If there’s one opponent that seems to provide entertaining hockey against the Edmonton Oilers over the years, it’s the Colorado Avalanche. In many ways, it’s the perfect Hockey Night in Canada late game, the stuff that Tim Hortons hockey cards and adolescent memories are made of. While the Oilers’ wheels seem to be stuck in some early November snow, the Avalanche have been the league’s best team through 14 games. Tippy-top of the NHL standings with just one regulation loss (8-1-5), Colorado seems hungry to re-assume hockey dynasty status, after being anointed following their Stanley Cup victory in 2022. Since then, they’ve won just one playoff round. But alas, this is a Saturday night in November, and the playoff future is a million miles from here. Danger danger The Avalanche are just downright dangerous offensively. Averaging 3.57 goals per game, their Expected Goals Percentage is 1st in the league…by a lot: 59.97 per cent (more than three percentage points more than Washington in 2nd). Colorado fires pucks on goal, 34 shots on goal per game, are Corsi darlings, and generate the 2nd highest Goals Per 60. Heard of Nathan MacKinnon? 20 points this season. A total of 387 points in three seasons and change. Check. Martin Necas, fresh off signing a $11.5M extension, is not far behind with 18 points. Wicked. Cale Makar? He has 18 points as well to lead all NHL defencemen, with a precipitous gap of five points. He’s good. You know the big guys, but Viktor Olofsson’s sneaky under-the-radar signing has paid major dividends so far. For just a tidy $1.575M, he’s providing quality offence 5-7–12, and is fresh off a two-goal showing in the Avs’ recent win vs Tampa Bay. Brock Nelson, however, has been a disappointment. The Avalanche have sought a solid 2nd line center since the departure of Nazem Kadri. The Casey Mittelstadt experiment didn’t go as hoped, and Nelson was acquired for a haul. Sinking a 1st round pick and Cal Ritchie was a big price, not to mention re-signing for $7.5M for three seasons. Nelson is 10th in team scoring with a mere five points. It’s a far cry from a player who, in his last four seasons, scored 26, 34, 36, and 37 goals. Although not loud, there is concern about Gabriel Landeskog. He hasn’t scored this season and is playing 13:58 on average a night. His days as a top-6 forward may be over. He’s beloved, of course, in Denver and should be commended for returning after 1032 days between games with a cartilage transplant, amongst his surgeries. The Avs produced a stellar interview with a candid Landeskog about the arduous process of getting back to full health that’s worth a listen. Fountain of Youth Brent Burns, during his off-season of hanging out in the wilderness, stumbled upon an untapped fountain of youth, playing the 5th most ice-time overall for the Avs. He still shoots at high volume and is playing 2nd pair minutes as Sam Girard is out with an injury. The Cale Makar-Devon Toews are amongst the best pairs in the league, but Toews’ usual steady offensive numbers have taken a big dip. Typically a 45-55 point guy, the struggles show just three assists this season. Iyla Solovyov has stepped up to play nine games on the backend. He’s sheltered on the third pair with Sam Malinski, who played 76 games with the Avs last year. Malinski is doing a lot of good things for Colorado. Keep an eye on him. Notes
