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.
The first period of Tuesday night’s game against the New Jersey Devils wasn’t bad by any means, but it didn’t have a ton of energy to it. A 30 second span in the second period helped change that, kickstarting a chaotic second period.
Alexandar Georgiev didn’t have the busiest night, nor did he have his best night, but a fantastic save at one end allowed Miles Wood to bring the energy into the building at the other.
After that, all hell broke loose.
Quick Feet
I liked Georgiev’s game in the first period, even though he gave up a goal pretty early. He was into it, and very active in his net, diving to poke pucks away and freeze them. That’s probably an indication that his energy levels were pretty high.
The first save here is mostly strong positioning. Georgiev reads the play below the goal line, and is ready for Mercer’s shot from the face-off circle. From there, Georgiev’s athleticism takes over.
Timo Meier beats everyone to the front of the net, and gets a whack at the puck. It’s tough to see if Georgiev’s leg kicks out and makes the save, or if Meier misses the net, but either way, his leg was there to make the stop.
Not Friends Anymore
After the big saves, Miles Wood does a nice job winning the battle to get the puck out of the zone. O’Connor corrals it at center ice, and doesn’t take any chances, dumping it into the zone.
That’s when Wood goes on the hunt.
Wood waits for Siegenthaler to touch the puck, and hammers him into the boards. That sets off Dougie Hamilton, who slams him from behind into the boards. It was total chaos after this hit for the remainder of the period. Powerplays all over the place, big hits (*cough* Ross Colton *cough*), and goals.
The coaches may not have loved it, but the fans sure did. The building was rocking during the second period, and I think the Avalanche fed off that. Outside of the extended powerplay for the Devils, the Avalanche were the far better team.
And both of these plays kickstarted that.