Avalanche Game 9 Plus/Minus: Protecting Prosvetov, Cale Goes Crazy

As with every game, you take the good with the bad, so time to take a look at the pluses and the minuses in the game against the Blues for the Avalanche. Once again, not much positive to take from this game.

+ Protecting Prosvetov

I really liked what I saw from Ivan Prosvetov. He’s a big guy, and from what I saw, he used his size to his advantage and took away a lot of the net, he was really square to the puck, and after the first period, his rebound control was greatly improved. He likely did enough to earn a little more playing time in November.

With all that being said, the Avalanche did a fantastic job of making life pretty easy for him. In my opinion, Colorado has been a little too loose this year defensively, but that wasn’t the case on Wednesday night. The forwards back-checked hard, and the defense was strong. In just over 48 minutes of even strength hockey, the St. Lous Blues registered just six high-danger scoring chances.

Granted, the Blues are not some high flying hockey team, but this was a strong defensive game from the Avalanche.

+ Makar Takes Over

Colorado was okay in the first period, but I didn’t love their second overall. In the third period, they came out with a killer instinct, and it was all led by Cale Makar.

He completely took over the game on the shift where Artturi Lehkonen scored, and after that, the Blues were essentially done. He made multiple great defensive plays to end any chance they had, and even found himself in the slot a few more times for scoring chances.

Makar is the best defenseman in the world, and he showed why in the third period. When he wants to take over a game, no one can stop him, and that’s what separates him from everyone else.

+ Riley Gets Shots

Riley Tufte has been scoring a lot of goals in the AHL, but he’s been doing so because he goes to the net and is not afraid to rip the puck at the net if he has an opportunity.

That “shoot first” mentality carried over into his Avalanche debut on Wednesday, as he led the team with four shots on goal at 5-on-5. Three of those shots came in the first seven minutes of the second period, including two really good looks in the right circle.

We will see if he can keep this up moving forward. Given the size of the Golden Knights, he’s almost a lock to play against them, but this is definitely something to monitor on a game-to-game basis. The Avalanche didn’t want to send him to the AHL, but there just wasn’t enough room for him on the roster. Seeing as how they just threw him on the second line right away, they clearly like him, and if he can play consistent, it seems like there’s a real opportunity for him to break through.

+ Third Line Brings The Energy

When the Avalanche picked up Ross Colton and Miles Wood this summer, you could tell they were destined to play together. Through eight games, they’ve had their chances, but one thing they’ve struggled to do is keep sustained pressure in the offensive zone.

On Wednesday, Logan O’Connor moved up to play with them, and his speed on the forecheck did make a difference. That trio had multiple extended shifts in the offensive zone, resulting in a fair amount of shots.

In just under 10 minutes as a line, they produced 14 shot attempts. That’s two more than the top line generated in four less minutes. Exactly the type of energy you want to see from your third line.

– Less Is More With Wood

I did have a bit of a bone to pick with Wood, though. With him, less is more. What do I mean by that?

When he keeps his game simple, he is significantly better. He had a play in the third period where he just chipped the puck past the defenseman and used his speed to the outside to generate a great scoring chance. That’s the simplicity he should play with. In the second period, he had a few plays where he tried to make a difficult pass in the offensive zone, and it resulted in a turnover heading the other way. That’s not his game.

+ Mom’s Trip

It is fun to see all the mom’s with the team. Walking through the corridor after the game and seeing all the mom’s wearing their son’s jersey was fun, and you can tell it means a lot to the players to have them in town. Hockey mom’s sacrifice a lot for their children. I know mine did, driving me to my 6 AM practices, so it’s fun when they can be around the team.

The Avalanche leave for Vegas on Thursday, so I’m sure they’re going to have something fun planned with all the mom’s that evening, and then get all of Friday to recover.

+ Monkey Off Ross’ Back

That celebration said everything for Ross Colton. Yes, he did have a goal coming into the game, but that one sure didn’t feel like a goal to him. When the puck went in for him in the first period, you could see the combination of relief and excitement on his face. He had a few more chances later in the game, and maybe this is what gets him going offensively.

– Second Period Slumps

The Avalanche had a lull in the second period where they were trading chances with the Blues. This isn’t the first time this season that they’ve gotten a little sloppy in the middle session, so it’s something that they’ll need to clean up. Against a team like the Blues, you can get away with it. If you slip up against a team like Vegas, you’re in trouble.

+ Another Strong Third

That being said, this team has shown the ability to lock things down in the third period and step on the opposing team’s throat, and that’s what they did again on Wednesday. The third period was far and away their best period, and the numbers back that up, as the scoring chances were 14-4 in favor of the home team. When this team continues to attack, the opposition doesn’t have an answer.