Though the Colorado Avalanche saw their winning streak come to an end, the playoffs are still lining up nicely. Entering Monday night’s contest, the Avalanche sported a six-point lead over the Dallas Stars and are nearly a lock to close out the Central Division race.
Against the Calgary Flames, the Avalanche left no doubt. A first-period barrage left the Flames hoping for the final buzzer en route to a 9-2 rout by the home team. These are the takeaways from the Avalanche’s dominant win over the Flames.
Nate Dogg Isn’t Out of the Scoring Race Yet
This has been one of the best scoring races in years, but it has felt lately that Nathan MacKinnon is slowly sliding out of the race. He changed that very quickly in a completely dominant performance by the Avalanche.
Though the Avalanche had already been up 5-1 at the time, MacKinnon turned it on beginning at the end of the second period, ultimately finishing with a goal and a pair of assists. That brings him up to 120 points for the season, just four back of Connor McDavid for the league lead.
The Avalanche have a largely manageable schedule down the stretch, including two more games against the Flames. Could this be the beginning of a final push by MacKinnon to secure his first scoring title and possibly another Hart Trophy?
Kadri KO’s His Old Team
Also of note is the fact that this was the first time Nazem Kadri played his old team since the trade deadline. Kadri didn’t take long to make an immediate impact on the game while simultaneously squashing his old team’s hopes.
Related: Avalanche Finding a Groove as Playoffs Approach
Kadri scored twice in the first period, both on the power play. He looks like such a natural fit on the power play (more on that below) and just gives the Avalanche yet another dimension of scoring to bury opponents.
The poor Flames looked so disjointed defensively, but being shorthanded multiple times in the opening frame didn’t help. Kadri took advantage as the Avalanche continued to poor it on right from the start for a very successful return engagement.
The Power Play is Becoming a Problem for Opponents
For the bulk of the season, the power play has been an issue for the Avalanche. That slowly started to turn and now they are one of the best units in the league. They rank 24th in the NHL for the season because they were comically bad, especially given how much talent they have.
Since returning from the Olympic break (Feb. 25), the Avalanche have been elite. They have connected on 16-of-58 opportunities (27.6%), which puts them fourth in the league over that time.
Sure, it is a much smaller sample size, but it is a scary thing for the rest of the Western Conference. It felt like the one actual issue for what looks like an otherwise unstoppable team and now they have shored it up.
Locking In
The Avalanche are about to close out the Central Division and lock down the Presidents Trophy. With just nine games left, it is now about keeping everyone healthy and locked in for the playoffs. It is looking likely that the Avalanche will have the Nashville Predators, Los Angeles Kings, or Seattle Kraken as a first-round opponent.
Whatever the matchup winds up being, it is looking like a true David vs. Goliath pairing in the first round. The Avalanche need to make sure that they don’t lose their edge and try to crush the opposition.
