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We are now two weeks into the 2018-19 season and the Colorado Avalanche are sitting on a record of 6-1-2. They are currently in second place in all of the NHL with 14 points, just behind the Nashville Predators due to the ROW tiebreaker. Itโs incredibly exciting to see a team who has spent six of the first nine games on the road put together these performances, led by itโs first line and special teams units.
If last season proved anything, itโs that Colorado knows how to win at home. However, it also left the team wondering what theyโll need to do to turn road games into points. On the teamโs most recent roadtrip, the Avalanche appear to be figuring out how to play away from Pepsi Center โ a trip that saw the Avs bring home 7 of a possible 8 points, with theyโre only loss coming in a shootout against the New York Rangers this past Tuesday. New Jersey, Philadelphia and Carolina fans were all able to see what Coloradoโs top line is capable of first hand.
As it stands, the Avalanche have the highest producing line in the NHL. Wingerย Mikko Rantanenย is tied for the most points in the NHL and leads outright in the assists category.ย Nathan MacKinnonย and captainย Gabriel Landeskog, meanwhile, are tied for second in goals scored.
Before the road trip, it seemed like Landeskog may be surpassed by his linemates, having only tallied three points to Rantanenโs eight and MacKinnonโs seven. While on the road, however, the captainโs offensive production exploded โ with nine points in four games, including a hat-trick in New Jersey. Every member of the top line has landed in the leagueโs top-20 points producers thus far.
Along with all of that scoring, all three of the top line are in the top five for goals created, along withย Alex Ovechkinย andย Auston Matthews.
Beyond first line scoring, the Avalanche are also finding great success on the penalty kill. The good news being they have the third highest success rate on the PK, with 90.5%. The bad news is they have faced the most man advantages, and it isnโt close โ the amount separating the Avalanche from the second-place Detroit Red Wings is the same amount separating the Red Wings from the Carolina Hurricanes, the team ranked eighth in PKs faced. The units defending the man advantage have done a tremendous job thus far, but the Avalanche need to cut down on the constant parade of players heading to the box.
The biggest hiccup in Coloradoโs game so far is a lack of secondary scoring. The MacKinnon-Landeskog-Rantanen line has done a terrific job of getting the team out in front, while the rest of the forwards have fallen back.
Coach Jared Bednar switched his forward lines on Monday, leaving only his top line in tact.ย Gabriel Bourquestarted the year on the third line with Matt Nieto andย Carl Soderbergย was moved back to the fourth line, being replaced byย Matt Calvert.ย Tyson Jost, who spent most of his early season on the second line withย Alexander Kerfootย andย Colin Wilson, is now at center on the fourth line to make room for a returningย Sven Andrighetto. Rookiesย Vladislav Kamenevย andย Sheldon Driesย did not play in the final game of the road trip.
Now, thatโs a whole lot of names moving around, but what it really means is Bednar is open to new ideas. New looks, along with trading awayย Matt Duchene, are how this top line came to be in the first place.
In short, this Colorado team has all the pieces it could possibly need to make a deep run this season. The initial improvement on the road is incredibly exciting and, along with the continued strength of top line production and an unbelievable penalty kill, the Avalanche donโt look to be slowing down anytime soon.
The Colorado Avalanche will be home to face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, October 24th.ย
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