Evan Rawal
In the Turning Point, we’ll take a look at one moment in the previous Colorado Avalanche game that changed the momentum of the game.
Colorado’s best players had to play a lot this season. That didn’t change in the first round against the Kraken. The game-winning goal by Seattle came at the end of a long shift for the top players on Colorado, and they looked as exhausted as you would expect. They were the only players on the team generating offense, and that push cost them.
On Fumes
Everything starts off great, as Rantanen wins the face-off as cleanly as you can. Makar walks the line to change the angle, but misses the net completely. That happened a lot for him this series. 37 total shot attempts, but only 13 shots on net. The Kraken clogged up the lanes, and forced the Avalanche defenders to be perfect with their shots. That didn’t happen here, but the Avalanche keep possession.
Toews hustles to keep the puck in, and then at the other side, Makar has to rush to get to it. It eventually goes down to MacKinnon, who cuts back and tries to force a pass in front to Lehkonen. Grubauer reads it perfectly, and knocks it away with his stick. MacKinnon gets up but the energy and legs just aren’t there.
Seattle chips it out, and it’s a race between Bjorkstrand and Makar. Now, I think health potentially plays a factor in this series. Makar admitted he wasn’t 100% before the series started, and it looked that way all series. He didn’t have his usual burst. But on this play, exhaustion is likely a bigger factor. Bjorkstrand was fresh. He had just gotten on the ice. Makar had not, and he can’t chase him down. Bjorkstrand places a perfect shot off the post and in, and that goal ultimately is the game-winner for the Kraken.
Let’s look at the final shift numbers for the Avalanche players on the ice.
MacKinnon: 1:17
Makar: 1:15
Lehkonen: 1:12
Rantanen: 1:14
The only “fresh” player on the ice was Toews. Everyone else was exhausted. The star players on Colorado were the only reason this series went seven games, and on this shift, they pushed so hard for offense that it cost them at the other end. Can you blame them? If they weren’t scoring, no one else was.