Down the Frozen River

Tag: Gabriel Landeskog

  • Avs beat Blues, 5-1, and take a strong 3-0 series lead on the road

    Avs beat Blues, 5-1, and take a strong 3-0 series lead on the road

    The Colorado Avalanche are one win away from sweeping the St. Louis Blues and advancing to the 2021 Second Round after winning, 5-1, in Game 3 at Enterprise Center on the road Friday night.

    Philipp Grubauer (3-0, 1.67 goals-against average, .944 save percentage in three games played) turned aside 31 out of 32 shots faced in the win for Colorado.

    St. Louis netminder, Jordan Binnington (0-3, 4.11 goals-against average, .897 save percentage in three games played), made 21 saves on 25 shots against in the loss.

    David Perron (COVID protocol) remained out of the lineup for the Blues, while Mitch Reinke and Steven Santini made their Stanley Cup Playoff debuts for St. Louis in Game 3.

    Meanwhile, Colorado forward, Nazem Kadri, was given an eight-game suspension for his blindside hit on Blues defender, Justin Faulk, in Game 2 shortly after puck drop, as the NHL Department of Player Safety announced late Friday night.

    Carl Soderberg entered the lineup for the Avalanche, as Kadri was already removed from Jared Bednar’s plans heading into Game 3.

    Brayden Schenn was penalized for interference at 6:49 of the first period and presented the game’s first skater advantage to the Avalanche as a result.

    Colorado’s ensuing power play didn’t go well and came to an end before Schenn’s minor was fully served as Samuel Girard tripped up Ivan Barbashev at 8:41 of the opening frame.

    After eight seconds of 4-on-4 action, the Blues had an abbreviated power play.

    St. Louis was powerless on the resulting skater advantage.

    Late in the period, Barbashev got tangled up with Ryan Graves and the two skaters each received roughing minors at 19:49.

    The score was still tied, 0-0, heading into the first intermission with St. Louis outshooting Colorado, 9-5, and both clubs slated to begin the middle frame at 4-on-4 for less than two minutes.

    The Blues held the advantage in blocked shots (5-3) and hits (21-7), while the Avalanche led in giveaways (5-2) and faceoff win percentage (54-46) after one period.

    Both teams had one takeaway each and were 0/1 on the power play heading into the middle period.

    As Graves and Barbashev exited the box, a wayward pass made its way to Colorado’s attacking zone where Graves met Binnington as the Blues goaltender played aggressive.

    Graves (1) sent the rubber biscuit off of Binnington’s paddle and into the empty twine behind the St. Louis goalie for an unassisted goal at 1:57 of the second period.

    Just like that, Colorado led, 1-0.

    Midway through the second period, Sammy Blais was penalized for interference at 9:53.

    Though the Avs didn’t score on the ensuing power play, they did take advantage of the vulnerable minute after special teams action– pouncing on a rebound and extending their lead to two-goals as Alex Newhook (1) scored his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal.

    Graves (2) and Valeri Nichushkin (1) tallied the assists on Newhook’s goal as the Avalanche pulled ahead, 2-0, at 12:37 of the second period.

    Minutes later, Tyson Jost (1) notched his first of the postseason after St. Louis sustained pressure in the attacking zone before Colorado turned things around with a fast breakout prior to Gabriel Landeskog giving Jost the puck on a rush.

    Jost scored on his own rebound from almost at the goal line while Landeskog skated near Binnington– never coming in contact with the goaltender, but nevertheless, Blues head coach, Craig Berube, challenged the call on the ice.

    Video review confirmed that Landeskog never made contact with the goaltender and thus, Landeskog (5) and Girard (2) each had an assist on Jost’s goal and the Blue Notes received a bench minor for delay of game, having lost the coach’s challenge at 16:08.

    Colorado had a, 3-0, lead as Vladimir Tarasenko served Berube’s blunder.

    While digging the puck out of his own zone, Cale Makar, turned the vulcanized piece of rubber over to Ryan O’Reilly, whereby the Blues captain dished it back to Tyler Bozak (1) as Bozak was entering the zone for a one-timer goal that cut Colorado’s lead to two-goals.

    O’Reilly (1) and Colton Parayko (1) had the assists on Bozak’s shorthanded goal as the Blues trailed the Avs, 3-1, at 16:17.

    Heading into the second intermission, the Avalanche led, 3-1, on the scoreboard despite St. Louis leading in shots on goal, 26-17, including a, 17-12, advantage for the Blue Notes in the second period alone.

    Colorado led in blocked shots (9-7), but St. Louis dominated in just about everything else including takeaways (2-1), giveaways (8-6) and hits (34-14).

    Both teams had split faceoff win%, 50-50, while the Blues were 0/1 and the Avalanche were 0/3 on the power play entering the final frame.

    Schenn hooked Nathan MacKinnon to kickoff the third period at 3:13, presenting Colorado with another power play that went untouched.

    Midway through the third, MacKinnon cut a rut to the box for interference at 10:06, but St. Louis was unsuccessful on the ensuing power play.

    A few minutes later, Brandon Saad (2) snuck behind Schenn into the slot, received a pass from Andre Burakovsky and buried the puck in the net on a backhand shot.

    Burakovsky (1) and Soderberg (1) recorded the assists as Saad’s goal put Colorado ahead, 4-1, at 13:42 of the third period.

    Landeskog was guilty of holding at 17:36, but the Avs’ penalty kill stood tall and didn’t budge in the face of St. Louis’ power play units.

    With about one minute left in the game, Berube pulled Binnington for an extra attacker, but his plans to rally a comeback were quickly ignored as J.T. Compher (1) delivered the final blow.

    Compher sent a billiard shot off the boards in the neutral zone from his own zone all the way into the empty net.

    Graves (3) and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (1) notched the assists as the Avalanche went ahead, 5-1, at 19:06 of the third period.

    At the final horn, Colorado secured the 3-0 series lead with a, 5-1, road victory at Enterprise Center on Friday.

    The Blues finished the night leading in shots on goal, 32-26, despite being outshot by the Avalanche in the third period alone, 9-6.

    The Avs exited the building with the advantage in blocked shots (17-10) and faceoff win% (52-48), while St. Louis led in giveaways (16-9) and hits (46-20).

    St. Louis finished 0/3 and Colorado went 0/4 on the power play in Game 3.

    The Avalanche have a chance to sweep the Blues while in St. Louis and punch their ticket to the Second Round of the 2021 Stanely Cup Playoffs on Sunday.

    Puck drop for Game 4 is expected around 5 p.m. ET and fans looking for national coverage of the game in the United States can tune their television sets and more to NBCSN, while those in Canada can view the game on SN360 or TVAS.

  • MacKinnon’s hat trick gives Avs 2-0 series lead

    MacKinnon’s hat trick gives Avs 2-0 series lead

    Nathan MacKinnon scored a hat trick as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the St. Louis Blues, 6-3, in Game 2 of their 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round series on Wednesday, but that’s not the only big thing to have happened in the matchup.

    Avalanche forward, Nazem Kadri, is likely to face supplemental discipline from the league’s Department of Player Safety for his high, blindside, hit on Blues defender, Justin Faulk, in the third period of Wednesday night’s action at Ball Arena.

    Kadri has not been suspended since the 2019 First Round when he retaliated– then as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs– with a cross check to the face of Boston Bruins forward, Jake DeBrusk.

    He has faced numerous fines and suspensions before prior to the DeBrusk incident– though in accordance with the league’s 18-month timeline for repeat offenders it’s more than likely that Kadri won’t be defined as one in whatever additional discipline he’s about to face.

    Nevertheless, the hit was bad.

    Whether Kadri will be back at all in this series or at all in the remainder of the 2021 postseason remains to be seen.

    Philipp Grubauer (2-0, 2.00 goals-against average, .931 save percentage in two games played) made 32 saves on 35 shots against in the win for Colorado.

    St. Louis goaltender, Jordan Binnington (0-2, 4.07 goals-against average, .915 save percentage in two games played), made 29 saves on 33 shots faced in the loss.

    David Perron remained on the league’s COVID protocol list as the Blues, Vegas Golden Knights and a few other teams across the National Hockey League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball had an issue with COVID testing at a lab.

    Though Perron was unaffected by the mass false positive tests produced, the Blues and Golden Knights were promptly retested and cleared to play.

    Joonas Donskoi (1) kicked things off with a deflection goal 35 seconds into the first period as the Avs went up, 1-0, on the scoreboard thanks to his presence in front of the net while Ryan Graves got a shot off from the point.

    Graves (1) and Kadri (1) had the assists on Donskoi’s first goal of the night and the Avalanche got off to a hot start– wasting little time to pull ahead of the Blues on home ice.

    Late in the period, St. Louis’ Robert Thomas sent the puck over the glass and out of play, yielding an automatic delay of game penalty and presenting Colorado with the night’s first chance on the power play at 17:35.

    It took the Avalanche less than a minute to dominate on the skater advantage and capitalize on their first power play of the game as MacKinnon (3) cut to the middle of the point with heavy traffic in front of Binnington before firing a shot through the legs of a Blues defender, as well as MacKinnon’s own teammate, Gabriel Landeskog, and into the twine.

    Cale Makar (1) and Donskoi (1) notched the assists on MacKinnon’s power-play goal and the Avs led, 2-0, at 18:05.

    After one period of action, Colorado led, 2-0, on the scoreboard and, 19-6, in shots on goal.

    The Avalanche also dominated in blocked shots (7-6), takeaways (4-1), giveaways (4-0) and faceoff win percentage (70-30), while St. Louis held the advantage in hits (13-8).

    The Blues had yet to see time on the power play, while the Avs were already 1/1 heading into the first intermission.

    Early in the middle frame, Ivan Barbashev hooked MacKinnon and presented the Avalanche with a power play at 2:48 of the second period.

    Less than a minute into the ensuing skater advantage, MacKinnon sent a shot from the point that Donskoi (2) deflected while acting as a screen in the slot with Landeskog.

    MacKinnon (2) and Mikko Rantanen (3) picked up the assists on Donskoi’s power-play goal as the Avalanche extended their lead to, 3-0, at 3:14 of the second period.

    Late in the middle frame, Sammy Blais (1) sent the puck off of Grubauer from about the goal line as the rubber biscuit had eyes and trickled through the Colorado netminder’s five-hole and into the net.

    Kyle Clifford (1) and Torey Krug (1) recorded their first assists of the postseason on Blais’ goal as the Blues cut Colorado’s lead to two-goals, 3-1, at 16:17.

    Though the Avs led, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 28-20, in shots on goal after two periods, St. Louis held the advantage in second period shots alone, 14-9.

    The Blue Notes also led in blocked shots (11-8) and hits (23-16) after 40 minutes, while the Avalanche maintained an advantage in takeaways (8-3), giveaways (9-5) and faceoff win% (68-33).

    Colorado was 2/2 on the power play heading into the final period as the Blues had still yet to encounter a legal skater advantage in the action.

    Then it happened.

    Early in the third period, Kadri hit Faulk from a blindside angle, right to the head.

    Faulk was visibly unwell and laying facedown on the ice– the CNBC broadcast briefly showed Faulk motionless on the ice, looking dazed and– even to the untrained eye– clearly unconscious as a scrum gathered along the side boards closest to the penalty benches.

    Kadri was given a five-minute major for an illegal hit to the head, which was reviewed and confirmed. He was also given a match penalty at 6:30 of the third period.

    St. Louis was already down a skater in Robert Bortuzzo– who had taken something up high earlier in the night– and was now short Faulk on the bench for the remainder of Wednesday’s action.

    Late in the five-minute power play, Brayden Schenn (1) buried a rebound off of a rush that he generated with Tyler Bozak entering the zone– with Bozak firing the initial shot before Schenn collected the garbage.

    Bozak (1) and Krug (2) had the assists on Schenn’s power-play goal as the Blues pulled to within one, 3-2, at 10:07 of the third period.

    About five minutes later, however, Colorado answered.

    MacKinnon (4) sent another shot from the point over Binnington’s blocker side with traffic in front of the net.

    Devon Toews (1) and Landeskog (3) collected the assists as the Avalanche bumped their lead back to two-goals, 4-2, at 15:25.

    But 15 seconds later, Mike Hoffman (1) had a quick breakout the other way and sent one of his patented quick-release shots off of Grubauer under his blocker side and into the top left corner of the goalframe.

    Niko Mikkola (1) and Thomas (2) had the assists on Hoffman’s goal as the Blues pulled back to within one, 4-3, at 15:40.

    St. Louis’ head coach, Craig Berube, pulled Binnington for an extra attacker with about 2:18 remaining in the game.

    It didn’t take long for Colorado to score.

    Brandon Saad (1) simply cleared the puck from behind the red line into the open 4×6 net as Tyson Jost (1) and Toews (2) picked up the assists to make it, 5-3, Colorado at 17:51.

    Once more the Blue Notes pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker after getting possession deep into the attacking zone.

    Though the Avalanche would also once again capitalize on the empty net– this time as MacKinnon (5) completed his hat trick with the assists going to Rantanen (4) and Landeskog (4) as the Avs pulled ahead, 6-3, at 19:48.

    At the final horn, the Avalanche secured a 2-0 series lead with a commanding, 6-3, victory in Game 2 at Ball Arena in Denver.

    Colorado finished the night leading in blocked shots (17-14), giveaways (11-5) and faceoff win% (64-36), while St. Louis exited the building leading in hits (26-19).

    Both teams finished with 35 shots apiece, though the Blues led in shots on goal in the third period alone, 15-7.

    St. Louis went 1/2 on the skater advantage while Colorado was a perfect 2/2 on the power play on Wednesday.

    The Avs lead the series 2-0 as the venue shifts to Enterprise Center for Game 3 in St. Louis on Friday.

    Puck drop is expected a little after 9:30 p.m. ET and viewers in the United States can tune to national coverage on USA Network, while those in Canada can watch the action on SN360 or TVAS2.

  • MacKinnon’s pair powers Avs past Blues, 4-1, in Game 1

    MacKinnon’s pair powers Avs past Blues, 4-1, in Game 1

    Cale Makar opened the scoring for the Colorado Avalanche in their, 4-1, victory over the St. Louis Blues in Game 1 of their 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs First Round matchup, but it was Nathan MacKinnon that scored the eventual game-winner as well as an empty net goal and Gabriel Landeskog that had a “Gordie Howe hat trick” in the bout.

    Philipp Grubauer (1-0, 1.00 goals-against average, .957 save percentage in one game played) turned aside 22 out of 23 shots in the win for Colorado in front of their home crowd at Ball Arena.

    St. Louis goaltender, Jordan Binnington (0-1, 3.05 goals-against average, .939 save percentage in one game played), made 46 saves on 49 shots faced in the loss.

    The Avalanche and Blues are meeting for just the second time in Stanley Cup Playoffs history with Colorado having beaten St. Louis in five games in their only previous series matchup in the 2001 Western Conference Final.

    Colorado, of course, would go on to win the Cup that year– and their second in franchise history– while the Blues would wait until 2019 for their first Stanley Cup ring.

    The Avalanche are making their 26th appearance in the postseason dating back to their days as the Québec Nordiques, while the Blues are appearing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 44th time in their history.

    Colorado went 5-3-0 in the regular season against the Blue Notes in 2020-21.

    St. Louis was without David Perron for Game 1 as Perron remains in the league’s COVID protocol.

    Landeskog and Brayden Schenn kicked things off with an exchange of fisticuffs at 10:47 of the first period after Landeskog took exception for a perceived cheap shot by Schenn directed toward Mikko Rantanen.

    The two skaters received fighting majors and were sent to the penalty box.

    Moments later, Blues captain, Ryan O’Reilly, tripped MacKinnon and presented Colorado with their first power play of the night at 14:04.

    It didn’t take the Avs long to convert on the resulting skater advantage as Rantanen fed Makar a pass off of an attacking zone faceoff, whereby Makar (1) waltzed along the blue line before wiring a shot from the point past Binnington to give the Avalanche a, 1-0, lead.

    Rantanen (1) had the only assist on Makar’s power-play goal at 15:15 of the first period.

    Entering the first intermission, the Avs led, 1-0, and were outshooting the Blues, 18-5.

    St. Louis held the advantage in blocked shots (8-4) and hits (9-7), while Colorado led in giveaways (2-1) and faceoff win percentage (57-44). Both teams had four takeaways aside, while only the Avalanche had seen any time on the skater advantage and were 1/1 in that department heading into the middle frame.

    Blues defender, Justin Faulk, caught Avalanche blue liner, Samuel Girard with a slash one minute into the second period.

    This time, however, Colorado could not beat the Blue Notes on the ensuing power play.

    Ryan Graves sent the puck over the glass and out of play for an automatic delay of game minor infraction at 7:10 of the second period and presented St. Louis with their first power play of the night.

    The Blues, however, were no match for Colorado’s penalty kill.

    Midway through the middle frame, Sammy Blais hooked Andre Burakovsky at 10:21, but once more the Avalanche were stumped on the power play.

    Late in the period, Jordan Kyrou (1) sent a one-timer past Grubauer’s blocker side as Nazem Kadri was separated from the puck in the neutral zone– leading to St. Louis’ break and Colorado’s defense to be out of position.

    Ivan Barbashev (1) and Robert Thomas (1) had the assists on Kyrou’s goal as the Blues tied the game, 1-1, at 16:31.

    Through 40 minutes of action at Ball Arena, the Avs and Blues were even, 1-1, on the scoreboard, despite Colorado outshooting St. Louis by a 2:1 ratio (32-16, to be exact, including a, 14-11, advantage in the second period alone).

    The Avalanche maintained an advantage in takeaways (8-7), giveaways (7-5) and faceoff win% (52-48), while the Blues led in blocked shots (14-11) and hits (16-8).

    Colorado was 1/3 and St. Louis was 0/1 on the power play heading into the final frame.

    It didn’t take the Avalanche very long to get going in the third period as Rantanen sacrificed his body to absorb a hit while Landeskog pursued a loose puck in the attacking zone.

    The two players quickly exchanged touches while Rantanen setup MacKinnon (1) with a pass for the top-shelf one-timer goal.

    Rantanen (2) and Landeskog (1) had the assists as Colorado’s first line trio put the Avs ahead, 2-1, 30 seconds into the third period.

    Moments later, Graves cut another rut to the sin bin– this time for tripping Blais at 5:32– but the Avalanche’s penalty kill managed to kill off the minor with ease.

    A few minute later, Devon Toews sent the puck to Rantanen along the boards, who dealt it back to the point where Girard then moved the rubber biscuit to MacKinnon for a blast from the high slot.

    MacKinnon’s shot was deflected by Landeskog (1), however, as the Avalanche captain was battling in front of the net as a screen.

    Landeskog’s goal made it, 3-1, Colorado at 8:30 of the third period and MacKinnon (1) and Girard (1) were credited with the assists as Landeskog completed the “Gordie Howe hat trick” (goal, assist and a fight) on the event sheet.

    With 1:32 remaining in regulation, Blues head coach, Craig Berube, pulled Binnington for an extra attacker, but it was to no avail as Jared Bednar’s Avalanche kept St. Louis from establishing a prolonged 6-on-5 advantage in the attacking zone.

    Landeskog broke up a play with a diving poke check at the blue line that led MacKinnon into a race for the loose puck before MacKinnon (2) scooped it up and buried an empty net goal with punctuation.

    It wasn’t just a nonchalant tap-in. It was a statement.

    Colorado had taken a three-goal lead, 4-1, with Landeskog (2) earning his third point of the night on MacKinnon’s second goal of the game at 19:20.

    As the final horn sounded and a scrum ensued after the, 4-1, victory was complete for the Avalanche in Game 1, Binnington charged down the ice like a bat out of hell looking to fight what we can only assume to have been Grubauer had an on-ice official not grabbed the Blues netminder before he could enter the slot.

    Binnington previously charged then San Jose Sharks goaltender turned current Avalanche backup, Devan Dubnyk, earlier in the regular season in the calendar year, 2021.

    Though St. Louis came back to beat the Sharks that night, Binnington’s nightmare in the crease didn’t end in Game 1– not at least until he was pulled away and sent to the dressing room with the loss.

    Colorado finished the night with the advantage in shots on goal, 50-23, including an, 18-7, advantage in the third period alone.

    St. Louis, on the other hand, had wrapped up the action leading in blocked shots (19-15), giveaways (8-7), hits (21-16) and faceoff win% (53-47) despite being outplayed.

    The Blues went 0/2 and the Avalanche went 1/3 on the power play on Monday.

    Colorado takes a 1-0 series lead heading into Game 2 on home ice Wednesday night at Ball Arena. Puck drop is expected a little after 10:30 p.m. ET.

    Viewers looking to catch the action in the United States can tune to CNBC for national coverage, while those in Canada can choose from SN360 and TVAS.

  • DTFR Podcast #214- 2020-21 Season Preview: West Division

    DTFR Podcast #214- 2020-21 Season Preview: West Division

    Zdeno Chara signed with the Washington Capitals, the AHL announced plans for the 2020-21 season, the NHL divisions are sponsored for 2020-21, what’s going on with the New York Islanders, Pierre-Luc Dubois wants out (maybe) and we preview the West Division for the 2020-21 season.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • DTFR Podcast #206- What’s Kapanen, My Dudes?

    DTFR Podcast #206- What’s Kapanen, My Dudes?

    The DTFR Duo discuss Photoshop, Todd Reirden’s firing, Arizona Coyotes draft violations, the Kasperi Kapanen trade back to Pittsburgh and the Second Round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • Look To The Rafters: Colorado Avalanche (Part II)

    In the early days of DTFR, we made an educated guess as to who each team might honor in the future regarding retired jersey numbers. Since then, the Vegas Golden Knights came into existence and more than a few jersey numbers went out of circulation across the league. 

    It’s time for an update and a look at who the Colorado Avalanche might honor by hanging their name and number from the rafters of Pepsi Center someday.

    Colorado Avalanche Current Retired Numbers

    19 Joe Sakic

    21 Peter Forsberg

    23 Milan Hejduk

    33 Patrick Roy

    52 Adam Foote

    77 Ray Bourque

    Did Anything Change In The Last Five Years?

    Yes! Milan Hejduk’s No. 23 was rightfully retired on Jan. 6, 2018. He had 375 goals and 430 assists (805 points) in 1,020 career NHL games (all with the Avalanche), won the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy in 2002-03 with 50 goals and won a Cup with Colorado in 2001. Much like Colorado’s first line these days, you can’t forget the forward trio that preceded them in an Avalanche sweater of Sakic, Forsberg and Hejduk. 

    Possible Numbers to Retire Someday

    6 Erik Johnson

    Johnson’s been around in Denver for parts of ten seasons and counting these days after being traded to the Avalanche from the St. Louis Blues during the 2010-11 season. He was drafted by St. Louis 1st overall in the 2006 NHL Draft, but made his league debut with the Blues in the 2007-08 season to the tune of five goals and 28 assists (33 points) in 69 games. 

    In his 2009-10 sophomore campaign, Johnson’s totals increased to 10-29–39 in 79 games before splitting the 2010-11 season with St. Louis and Colorado and amassing eight goals and 21 assists (29 points) in 77 games with the two teams.

    He didn’t shake the Earth when he broke into the league, but he’s managed to have the staying power and a dressing room presence for the Avs over the years.

    Johnson has put up 60 goals and 152 assists (212 points) in 573 games for Colorado– or roughingly .370 points per game as an Av.

    Meanwhile, former captain and current retired jersey number recipient in Avalanche franchise history, Adam Foote, had 259 points in 967 games for the Québec Nordiques/Avalanche franchise. That’s .268 points per game in Foote’s time with Québec/Colorado.

    If Foote can have his number retired for almost reaching 1,000 games with the team, then Johnson can surely have the same honor for producing more in almost half the time– except by the time he hangs up the skates, he’ll likely play in almost 1,000 games for Colorado and have even more points by then, so yeah, the logic is still sound here.

    You don’t always have to be a superstar in the league to be honored by a team for putting in the work and dedication to an organization.

    29 Nathan MacKinnon

    The 1st overall pick of the 2013 NHL Draft, MacKinnon won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year in 2013-14, with 24 goals and 39 assists (63 points) in 82 games with the Avalanche.

    The following season, MacKinnon’s production dropped to 14 goals and 24 assists (38 points) in 64 games in 2014-15. He then had back-to-back seasons of at least 50 points in 2015-16 and 2016-17 as the Avs floundered through the beginning of the second half of the 2010s.

    Just as most experts began to rule out MacKinnon’s ability to be a franchise changing impact player, Colorado General Manager, Joe Sakic, helped create the foundation for a better roster for years to come and MacKinnon broke out of his shell with 39 goals and 58 assists (97 points) in 74 games in 2017-18.

    Last season, MacKinnon almost reached the century mark with 99 points in 82 games, while setting a career-high in goals (41) and tying his career-high in assists (58).

    This season, he had 35 goals and 58 assists (93 points) in 69 games and was on pace for about 111 points had the regular season not come to an abrupt end due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    With 495 points in 525 career games so far, MacKinnon is destined to be an Avalanche player for life and rise in all-time franchise glory. As it is, he currently sits 7th in the most points in Nordiques/Avalanche franchise history, with Anton Stastny sitting ahead of him in 6th by 141 points.

    92 Gabriel Landeskog

    Landeskog was drafted by Colorado 2nd overall in 2011, and had 22 goals and 30 assists (52 points) in 82 games in his rookie season (2011-12). Despite 9-8–17 totals in 36 games in his sophomore season– don’t let the numbers fool you, that was only a result of the lockout shortened 2012-13 season– the 2011-12 Calder Memorial Trophy winner has long been an underrated mark of consistency even as players like MacKinnon came to the team and emerged as one of the game’s superstars.

    The following year, Landeskog scored 26 goals and notched 39 assists for 65 points in 81 games under head coach, Patrick Roy, en route to Colorado’s 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance that collapsed in seven games to the Minnesota Wild in the 2014 First Round.

    He followed suit with back-to-back 50-point seasons in 2014-15 and 2015-16, then dropped to 33 points (18 goals, 15 assists) in 72 games in 2016-17– a season that, until the 2019-20 Detroit Red Wings happened, was the worst performance by a team in the salary cap era.

    In 2017-18, Landeskog had 62 points. Last season he set career-highs in goals (34), assists (41) and points (75) in 73 games played.

    This season, he had 21 goals and 23 assists (44 points) through 54 games until the ongoing pandemic put an early end to the regular season. He was on pace for about 67 points despite being injured for part of the 2019-20 season.

    The current captain of the Avalanche, Landeskog fits Colorado’s image well as the quintessential power forward in franchise history. He has 198 goals and 262 assists (460 points) in 633 career NHL games thus far and, like MacKinnon, will probably never play anywhere else in the league before he retires.

    It’s safe to assume both Nos. 29 and 92 are not only the inverse of each other, but will be going to the rafters of Pepsi Center together.

    96 Mikko Rantanen

    Rantanen was drafted by the Avs 10th overall in 2015, then made a brief NHL debut in nine games in the ensuing 2015-16 season. He was a minus-seven and recorded no points in that span.

    Then came the 2016-17 season, in which Rantanen was the only bright spot for an otherwise horrendous season for the club. In his rookie season (first full season, anyway), Rantanen had 20 goals and 18 assists (38 points) in 75 games, despite having a career-low, minus-25 rating.

    His sophomore campaign only got better with 29 goals and 55 assists (84 points) in 81 games in 2017-18, followed by career-highs in goals (31), assists (56) and points (87) in 74 games last season while battling injury.

    This year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic cutting the regular season short, Rantanen’s regular season action was almost completely derailed by long term injuries. Nevertheless, he managed to put up 19-22–41 totals in 42 games and was on pace for 80 points had he managed to avoid injury.

    Regardless, Rantanen’s quickly amassed 250 points (99 goals, 151 assists) in 281 career NHL games thus far and is sure to be a member of the Avalanche for a long time– if not his entire career– as he gets healthy and things continue to be on the up and up for one of the most dominant teams in the Western Conference these days.

    Final Thoughts

    It might just be that since the Avalanche have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs for three consecutive seasons after only making the postseason twice in a span of nine seasons from 2008-09 through 2016-17, but it feels like Colorado’s in a renaissance these days and that’s bad news for the rest of the league.

    Yes, especially more so when you consider the team friendly contracts that Sakic has been able to convince his players to sign. Even in the salary cap age, the Avs have found a way to compile a roster full of talent and depth. Now if only they could convince Roy to come out of retirement and play goaltender (I’m sure he’d still be fine and settle, once and for all, the Patrick Roy vs. Martin Brodeur “Best Goaltender of All Time” argument).

    Anyway, there’s at least two or three players that’ll see their legacy take permanent residency in the rafters of Pepsi Center some day, but that’s not even counting what Cale Makar could be capable of in his career.

    Makar is one of this year’s finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year and could make a claim to having his No. 8 retired one day by the Avs.

    Likewise, since the Avs retired Foote’s No. 52 and acknowledged Hejduk’s contributions to the team by retiring his No. 23 in 2018, there’s a chance someone with 167 goals and 321 assists (488 points) in 598 games with Colorado could also see his number rise to the rafters– but which one would Alex Tanguay rather see hanging from the ceiling, No. 18 or No. 40?

  • DTFR Podcast #200- 200th Episode Celebration

    DTFR Podcast #200- 200th Episode Celebration

    To mark 200 episodes of the DTFR Podcast, Nick and Colby talk about the origin story of DTFR, give podcast advice and share some of their favorite memories from the show or otherwise from the last six years of Down the Frozen River. Also, Lindy Ruff is the new head coach of the New Jersey Devils, more Florida Panthers talk and extended CBA musings.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • Avalanche beat Bruins, 4-1, in Boston

    The Colorado Avalanche extended their winning streak to six games with a, 4-1, win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday night.

    Ian Cole scored the game-winning goal in the second period of his 500th career NHL game, while Philipp Grubauer (10-5-2 record, 2.76 goals against average, .914 save percentage in 18 games played) made three saves on four shots on goal (.750 SV%) before being replaced by Pavel Francouz (7-2-0, 2.25 GAA, .931 SV% in 11 GP) late in the first period due to an injury.

    Francouz stopped all 16 shots that he faced en route to the win for the Avs.

    B’s goaltender, Jaroslav Halak (7-2-3, 2.22 GAA, .930 SV% in 12 GP) stopped 16 out of 19 shots faced (.842 SV%) in the loss.

    The Bruins fell to 20-4-6 (46 points) on the season, but remain in command of the Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, the Avalanche climbed to 19-8-2 (40 points) on the season and remained in 2nd place in the Central Division.

    Boston is now 12-1-5 at home this season.

    Kevan Miller (knee), Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Zach Senyshyn (lower body) and Patrice Bergeron (lower body) remained out of the lineup on Saturday.

    Bergeron is likely to return on the B’s road trip.

    Meanwhile, Brett Ritchie returned to the lineup after missing the last seven games (and 12 out of the last 16) with an elbow infection.

    As a result, Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, adjusted his lines.

    For his first line, Cassidy reunited Brad Marchand with David Krejci and David Pastrnak, while moving Jake DeBrusk back to the second line with Charlie Coyle and Danton Heinen.

    Ritchie was inserted on the right side of the third line with Anders Bjork at left wing and Par Lindholm at center, while the trio of Joakim Nordstrom, Sean Kuraly and Chris Wagner was reunited.

    On defense, John Moore remained in the lineup on the third pairing with Matt Grzelcyk, while Connor Clifton and Steven Kampfer joined David Backes in the press box as Boston’s only healthy scratches.

    Midway through the opening frame, Moore shot the puck from the point as Wagner (3) skated through the low slot and tipped in the rubber biscuit behind Grubauer to give the Boston the first goal of the game at 13:14 of the first period.

    Moore (1) and Bjork (4) had the assists on Wagner’s goal and the Bruins led, 1-0.

    The B’s didn’t lead for long, however, as Valeri Nichushkin (4) pulled a loose puck to his backhand and snuck it behind Halak’s extended pad– tying the game, 1-1, in the process at 17:25.

    Matt Nieto (8) and Tyson Jost (5) tallied the assists on Nichushkin’s goal.

    Upon tying the game, Avalanche head coach, Jared Bednar, switched out his goaltenders after Grubauer showed signs of discomfort after making a save only moments prior.

    After one period in Boston, the B’s and Avs were tied, 1-1, with the Avalanche leading in shots on goal, 9-4.

    Colorado led in takeaways (6-2), giveaways (4-2) and faceoff win percentage (57-43), while the Bruins led in blocked shots (5-4) and hits (18-11) entering the first intermission.

    There were no penalties called in the first period as the action carried over into the middle frame.

    Midway through the second period, Boston couldn’t clear their own zone.

    As a result, the Avalanche went right to work on a forced turnover and zipped the puck around the horn, finally finding its way to Cole at the point whereby Cole (1) skated up to the faceoff dot and rocketed a slap shot over Halak’s glove to give Colorado their first lead of the night, 2-1.

    Mark Barberio (1) and Joonas Donskoi (12) had the assists on Cole’s goal at 9:17 of the second period.

    A little over nine minutes later, after Boston sustained pressure in the attacking zone for what seemed like a potentially momentum shifting couple of minutes, Colorado got a break the other direction and scored.

    Andre Burakovsky (12) broke free from his own zone and sent a snap shot over Halak’s glove to make it a two-goal game at 18:21 of the second period.

    Nathan MacKinnon (27) and Donskoi (13) collected the assists as the Avalanche collected a, 3-1, lead heading into the second intermission.

    Through 40 minutes of play, Colorado led Boston, 3-1, on the scoreboard and, 14-8, in shots on goal– including a, 5-4, advantage in shots on net in the second period alone.

    The Avs held the advantage in blocked shots (11-10), takeaways (10-7), giveaways (12-3) and faceoff win% (54-46) entering the third period, while the Bruins led in hits (27-23).

    Once more, both clubs remained 0/0 on the power play as the first penalty of the night wasn’t called until the third period.

    Early in the final frame of the game, Ryan Graves caught Kuraly with a high stick and was sent to the box at 5:54 of the third period.

    Boston’s power play was powerless and the Avs killed off Graves’ minor infraction without any issues as Graves was hooked by Marchand seconds after emerging from the box and receiving a breakaway opportunity in the attacking zone.

    Marchand cut a rut to the sin bin at 8:02, but Colorado’s skater advantage didn’t last long as Donskoi clipped Zdeno Chara with a high stick at 8:27 and presented both teams with 4-on-4 action for a span of 1:35 before an abbreviated 5-on-4 advantage would begin for the Bruins.

    Neither team capitalized on the special teams play.

    Late in the period, Avalanche captain, Gabriel Landeskog, caught Pastrnak in the face with a high stick and was assessed a minor penalty at 17:39.

    With 2:21 remaining in the game and the start of yet another power play, Cassidy pulled Halak for an extra attacker– effectively making it a two-skater advantage with Landeskog in the box.

    Upon exiting the box, Landeskog (5) pocketed an empty net goal, giving Colorado a three-goal lead to seal the deal on their win.

    Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (5) had the only assist on Landeskog’s empty netter that made it, 4-1, at 19:57.

    Colorado finished the night with the advantage on the scoreboard, but both teams actually tied in shots on goal, 20-20, as Boston rallied to a, 12-6, advantage in the third period alone.

    Meanwhile, the Avalanche finished the night leading in blocked shots (21-10), giveaways (13-7) and faceoff win% (60-41).

    Boston ended the night with the lead in hits (36-34) and went 0/3 on the power play. The Avs went 0/1.

    Colorado hasn’t lost a game in regulation in Boston since March 30, 1998. The Avs are now 12-0-2 in their last 14 games in Boston.

    The Avalanche ended Boston’s 17-game point streak.

    As a result of the loss, the B’s are now 13-3-3 when scoring the game’s first goal this season and 4-3-3 when trailing after two periods.

    The Bruins are now 1-6 in their last seven games against Colorado, including Boston’s, 4-2, loss at Pepsi Center on Oct. 10th.

    Boston finished their five-game homestand 3-1-1 and will begin a four-game road trip on Monday with a matchup against the Ottawa Senators.

    The Bruins then face the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning on back-to-back nights in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday and in Tampa on Thursday before wrapping up their road trip in Sunrise, Florida next Saturday in a duel with the Florida Panthers.

  • DTFR Podcast #178- Another Day, Another Dollar

    DTFR Podcast #178- Another Day, Another Dollar

    Zdeno Chara surpassed 1,500 career games, Claude Julien reached 1,200 games behind the bench, the Toronto Maple Leafs are facing injuries and backup goaltender struggles, Taylor Hall reportedly won’t sign an extension with the New Jersey Devils, the 2019 NHL Global Series happened and the 2020 NHL Global Series was announced.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • DTFR Podcast #177- And A Dollar Short

    DTFR Podcast #177- And A Dollar Short

    2020 Winter Classic sweater reviews, a standings update and Top-10 NHL power rankings.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.