Colorado Avalanche
RAPID REACTION: Mittelstadt Making Avalanche GM Look Real Good
It sure will be nice to not have to talk about who is going to be the second line center for the Colorado Avalanche next season and beyond. Chris MacFarland’s aggressive deadline solved that problem two months ago.
After a bit of a lull towards the end of the regular season, Casey Mittelstadt has hit the ground running to start the playoffs, playing fantastic through three games against the Jets.
As good as he was in games one and two, he set the bar pretty high with his performance in Game Three.
It started on one of his first shifts of the night. He got the puck in the neutral zone and cut to the middle to lead a 3-on-2. He sensed Artturi Lehkonen coming behind him, drew the defender to him, and chipped a backhand pass to his Finnish linemate. Lehkonen didn’t score, but the shift wasn’t over yet. A few seconds later, Mittelstadt pulled the puck between his legs and then to his backhand before Hellebuyck stretched out to stop him.
He was just getting started.
Zone entries are huge for this Avalanche squad, and Mittelstadt executed a perfect entry for Colorado’s first goal. Just when it looked like he might dump it in, he backhanded the puck under the stick of the Jets defender right to Parise, who gave it right back to Mittelstadt. A simple play like that showcased his skill and patience, and three seconds later, the puck was in the back of the net.
The vision and patience was on display in the third, as Hellebuyck looked like a guy who never expected the pass to Lehkonen to be completed on the fourth Avalanche goal. When you make one of the best goalies in the world look silly like that, you know you’re good.
And Mittelstadt is very, very good.
“Turned up his intensity of his game,” Bednar said after the game when talking about his 2C. “He makes a few other high skill plays that lead to scoring chances tonight, but I was most impressed with him with his wall-work. He’s been heavy and strong on pucks in the d-zone walls and the o-zone walls, guys trying to check him. He’s comfortable with guys playing on his back, reaching around him, continues to move his feet.”
It was Mittelstadt, and not superstar Nathan MacKinnon, who made the biggest impact down the middle of the ice on Friday night. After the game, he was rewarded by being named the first star of the game, and getting a huge ovation from Avalanche fans. It’s safe to say he’s loving his time in Denver.
“The crowd was insane,” Mittelstadt said after the game.
That’s a crowd he’ll likely be playing in front of for a few more years. Avalanche fans can thank Chris MacFarland on this one.
That 2C problem? It’s been solved.
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Mittelstadt is not great on faceoffs, but the rest of his game is outstanding. It is not all about his offensive skills either. He has made some really smart plays in the d-zone, getting the puck out to neutral ice. His play last night on (was it Morrisey or Lowry) was A+, the way he used both stick and skate to make sure the puck got over the blueline.
I thought Girard looked great coming back from injury too. Super smart in his own zone and the pass to Mittelstadt on Lehkonen’s goal was perfection.
Mittelstadt was awesome tonight and 100% agree he is the long term answer at 2C. CMac is going to have to get very creative to get him signed under the cap. Off topic question Evan. Is JDru skating or around the team or just gone for now. Realize trying to get something out of Bednar is a fool’s errand, but just wondering if second round is a real target or more than likely out for the year.
He’s around the team but not skating. It’s going to be a while.
Thanks…non-contact injuries are never good. Looked like a high ankle sprain or a knee. Hope he makes it back if the Avs keep playing. He was so good in the regular season, he earned some playoff ice time.
Mittelstadt’s line was fantastic last night. By far the best line on the ice the whole game. I would actually say outside the power plays, the top line was arguably our worst last night. However, that’s more of a statement on how good the other three lines looked, particularly the second and third.
Some credit also to the Jets’ shutdown line. They do a good job on the Avs’ first line. Fortunately the Avs are winning all the other matchups right now.
Not only does MacFarland deserve credit for his deadline deals, he deserves credit for cutting bait on Tatar and Ryjo. Avs took several gambles in the off season. Some worked and others did not. The fact that the Avs have a GM willing to correct mistakes and take a different course speaks volumes.