Things continue to evolve for the Colorado Avalanche, the best team in the NHL. They beat the New York Islanders to make it six straight wins and look to beat the New York Rangers on Thursday night to complete a sweep of New York.
The Rangers kept the game alive for about two quarters, but eventually succumbed to the Avalanche like every other team. The Avalanche gave up four goals to the Rangers in the third period to win 6-3, their seventh straight victory.
The attack is so deep that even the goalie is involved
There’s been a lot of talk about how deep the Avalanche’s offense is. The McKinnon/Necas/Makar trio continues to dominate, but the Avalanche have had as many as 10 players score in double figures in 20 games.
They can add one more name to the offensive column: goaltender Scott Wedgewood. It wasn’t enough that he was having the best season of his career on the court, now he’s adding a little more offense to his game by assisting on Brock Nelson’s third-period power-play goal.
Jokes aside, six players besides MacKinnon and Makar scored at least one point that night. Necas and Nelson combined for five points. Even on a quiet night for a superstar, someone fills the void.
MacKinnon and Makar are making the transition
Speaking of the aforementioned three-headed monster, we can’t help but talk about the two biggest stars in this package: Nathan MacKinnon and Kyle Makar. Even if they don’t show up on the stat sheet, they are the game’s facilitators, consuming huge minutes along the way.
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Both played over 25 minutes against Rangers and paid off, with both scoring two goals and an assist. MacKinnon leads Edmonton’s Connor McDavid in scoring by four points (with three games remaining), while Necas and Makar are tied for fifth in the league with 28 points each.
Having the best forward in the league and probably the best defenseman of all time makes the game unfair for the Avalanche. The fact that they have unreal conditioned reflexes means they can eat during these few minutes and never slow down.
Avalanches are on a historic run
With the win over the Rangers, the Avalanche secured a place in history. They became the fourth team in NHL history – joining the 1927-28 Montreal Canadiens (15-1-4), 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers (16-1-3) and 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks (17-0-3) – to become the only team in NHL history to lose one game or fewer in 20 games.
Their dominance so far cannot be underestimated. Even in games they technically lost, they fought back from significant challenges to win at least a point. If they factor their two overtime losses into the win column, that number looks even more ridiculous.
This may be the best time to be an Avalanche fan. The team has been fortunate to have some all-time great players wear this jersey, but this might be the best team we’ve ever seen from Denver.
can’t relax
If there’s one thing to note, it’s that the Avalanche have a winning percentage of .825 but are only four points ahead of the Dallas Stars in the Central Division standings. The Avalanche performed well and had the best goal differential in the NHL at +34, but the margin was still slim.
The Anaheim Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights are also just a few points behind, meaning even as the Avalanche dominate, there are still rivals hot on their heels. This means the gas pedal cannot be relaxed.
