10 Takeaways: Avalanche Are More Than an Offensive Powerhouse

The Avalanche have always been a high-scoring playoff team. When they won the Stanley Cup in 2022, they had a whopping 85 goals in 20 games. When they swept the Nashville Predators in the opening round that year, they scored 21 goals in four games.

It’s quite a bit higher than the 13 they had against the Los Angeles Kings, capped by a 5-1 victory in Game 4 on Sunday to sweep their way through the first round.

Offense has never been an issue. But the way they’ve evolved into a defensive stalwart over the years is equally impressive. Colorado gave up 55 goals on its way to that 2022 Stanley Cup championship. It’s an average of nearly three goals against per game. The Predators, in that first round, scored nine times in four games.

This year’s Kings? Just five goals. Three of them on the power play, and only two at 5-on-5.

“It’s not offense. They have offense, they have lots,” Kings interim coach D.J. Smith told reporters in Los Angeles after his team was eliminated. “It’s how well they check and how well they defend. I think when you talk about the Avalanche, a lot of it goes by how much they score and how good a players they have. Give them credit, their coaching staff, on how well they check, to a man.”

The comparisons to the 2022 squad aren’t to try to replicate that season entirely. It’s simply to show just how well this current rendition of the Avalanche defend. And they do it while still scoring the most goals in the regular season — while the Maurice Rocket Richard winner centers their top line.

“They didn’t give us a breakaway in the series other than the shorthanded one,” Smith said. “They never gave us a 2-on-1 other than a partial 2-on-1. That’s incredible to do for four games. Give them credit.”

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10 Takeaways

1. Defending and checking is the core of Avs coach Jared Bednar’s system. Any skilled forward can play for the Avalanche and put up 50, 60, or 70 points. Most puck-moving defenseman could join the Avalanche and put up points if they have any ability to rush the puck up the ice.

But if you’re not checking, if you’re not defending, you’re not going to be a fit. That’s the Bednar way.

“It’s not as fun to commit on the defensive side and really dig in there and spend a bunch of energy there in order to chip away at the game,” Bednar told reporters. “I think they bought into the way we needed to play the L.A. Kings.”

2. Committing to that style means the Avs’ leading point producers in the first round, Gabe Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Artturi Lehkonen, each finished with four points. They all had two goals and two assists.

To put that into perspective, 10 different players in the series between the Dallas Stars and the Minnesota Wild already have four points. And it’s going to take at least two more games before that series ends.

“I think all season we were pretty solid, so that gave us confidence,” MacKinnon said of his team’s ability to defend.

3. MacKinnon continued: “That’s our main focus in the room, that’s what we’re preaching on the bench. I feel like that’s how you win, it’s good sound defensive hockey.”

4. The Stars and Wild play Game 6 on Thursday. If the series ends up going seven, that game will take place on Saturday. Either way, I don’t envision a Game 1 of the second round being played any earlier than Sunday. Maybe Saturday, but that would probably be a reach.

5. I’ve already seen comments on social media wondering if the Avalanche are going to have far too long of a break. If it’s going to lead to rust. I don’t believe that at all. This core marched to a Cup four years ago after using rest as a weapon between rounds. They preached it, they publicly said it, and they always started the next series strong, no matter how long of a break they had coming into it.

6. Impressively, 14 Avalanche skaters had points in this series. The points were coming from all over the lineup.

7. The second line was the only one that didn’t really produce. Brock Nelson had an empty-netter in Game 3. But the wingers that played with him, whether Valeri Nichushkin, Ross Colton, or Parker Kelly, all had zero points. That probably won’t fly in the second round. But I’ll break that down more as we get closer to knowing who the Avs are facing.

8. I did like that Colton was throwing his body around a lot. He had six of Colorado’s 21 hits in Game 4.

Colton was visibly upset every time I saw him at Ball Arena during Games 1 and 2 when he was a healthy scratch. He wanted to play. And he should’ve been angry that he wasn’t. That’s how competitors operate. He was shot out of a cannon as soon as he entered the series. I’d like to see him, Nelson, and Nichushkin get going offensively, though.

9. Without Josh Manson available, Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Brent Burns, Brett Kulak, and Sam Malinski all played at least 20 minutes. Nick Blankenburg, who entered the lineup, played 12:35. He got beaten up quite a bit in this game.

10. Hat tip to a wonderful career for Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar. I’ve had the honor of speaking with him both on and off the record a handful of times over the last seven years. He was one of the good ones.

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