By Jordan Long
The Colorado Avalanche start the 2019-2020 season tonight against the Calgary Flames. The Avalanche come into the year with high expectations and are looking for a third consecutive trip to the NHL postseason. Some NHL experts even think Colorado could contend for a Stanley Cup.
Colorado finished last year at 38-30-14 for 90 points, making the playoffs as the 2nd Wild Card team. They beat the Calgary Flames in 5 games before falling to the San Jose Sharks in the 2nd -round in game 7. Colorado looks to improve on their points. They would like to earn home ice advantage in the 1st or 2nd round so game 7 is at the Pepsi Center.
There are areas Colorado needs to clean up from last season to become a Stanley Cup threat. First is the power play kill. Colorado had one of the worst power play kills in the league. They killed off 78.7% of the penalties they took, ranking 25th in the NHL. The Avalanche allowed teams to keep the puck in their defensive end and those ended in goals.
Colorado must be more aggressive on the power play kill. Colorado needs to block shots, hit opponents, and poke check the puck away. When they do, Colorado can fire the puck to the other end of the ice to kill time off the power play. They can’t permit opposing teams to hold the puck in the zone and set up the play. If they do those will end in goals. The power play kill must be at 84.3% or higher for them to have a chance to be a top 2 seed in the Central Division.
Regular season overtime killed Colorado last year. Sure it was nice to have the extra point but Colorado was outplayed in overtime. Teams scored pretty early in overtime to end games. Colorado was tied with the New York Rangers and Florida Panthers who all had 14 overtime losses. If Colorado managed to win even half of those games, they easily make the playoffs rather then trying to earn a playoff spot at the end of the year.
Colorado must dictate the play in overtime. When they have their chance, steal the puck and set something up. They can’t allow rivals to steal the puck to start overtime and score. If they generate more chances in overtime, it could end in more wins in the extra frame.
One player Colorado will rely on is goaltender Philipp Grubauer. He started last year as the backup goaltender but ended up as the starter, outplaying Semyon Varlamov. Grubauer ended the regular season at 18-9-5 with a goals against average of 2.64 and a save percentage of .917. In the postseason, he was 7-5 with a goals against average of 2.30 and a save percentage of .925.
This year Grubauer is the starter and doesn’t have the pressure of a goaltender competition. It is his job to lose. If he struggles, Colorado’s backup is Pavel Francouz. Francouz is not a veteran backup goaltender. He appeared in 2 games last year for the Avalanche and both ended in losses. His goals against average was 1.96 and his save percentage was .943. If Francouz has his chance, he must play well and give Grubauer a run for his money. If not and he allows goals, Colorado might look to trade for a backup goaltender. The Avalanche host the Calgary Flames tonight. Puck drop is at 7:00 PM Mountain Time. Colorado hopes this is the first game of a long season which may end in June. f
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