Evan Rawal
In the Turning Point, we’ll take a look at one moment in the previous Colorado Avalanche game that changed the momentum in the game, whether in a good way or bad way.
The Calgary Flames were really pushing towards the end of the second period to make a comeback. The Avalanche had started to look a little tired, and the intermission buzzer saved them. The home team came out with a bit more energy to start the third period, but needed a goal to really give themselves some breathing room.
That goal came from an unlikely source, but solid team structure created the opportunity.
Winning a Tired Battle
It all starts in the defensive zone. A tired group had to stay out after icing the puck.
The face-off is a bit of a draw, as it just goes straight to the wall. Englund battles Toffoli to make sure he doesn’t get the puck cleanly, then Compher has the puck taken from him. Englund starts battling again, and he pokes the puck away from Backlund, right to Rodrigues.
Rodrigues does a great job of chipping the puck out, but not hard enough to where it would be an icing. The fresh group of Flames were outworked by some tired Avalanche skaters, and the Avalanche are able to get some new skaters on the ice.
Trapped
Zadorov takes the puck behind his own net and from there, he’s trapped. Malgin shadows his every move to not give him an easy breakout. The fans actually started booing him for standing back there, but from the angle of the press box, you could see the Avalanche had everyone covered. I wish TV had a replay with an overhead angle. Now, ‘Z’ could have moved his feed, but he didn’t do that, and because of that, he had no options.
He eventually dumps it out to Toffoli at center ice, but Newhook is right on him. Because everyone else is covered, he panics and tries to chip it behind him. What should have been an easy breakout of the Flames has now turned into possession for the Avalanche, as it goes right to Manson.
Malgin Does The Rest
From here, it’s the Malgin show. He goes around Backlund in the neutral zone, and Backlund heads to the bench, creating even more room for the Swiss forward.
That allows him time and space to enter the offensive zone, and the ankle breaking move he puts on Zadorov is brilliant. He gets him leaning one way and pivots to the right. Real shifty stuff.
When he gets in, he shoots for the same spot MacKinnon did on his first period goal. Perhaps a little bit of pre-scouting at work by the Avalanche there. It goes in, and the three goal lead is restored.
From that point on, the Avalanche were in total control. The Flames only mustered up five shots in the third period, and went out with a whimper. Some hard work and solid team structure allowed Malgin to show off his skill and put the game away.