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.
After moving some players around to try to generate some more offense the last few games, Jared Bednar returned to a similar lineup we saw last month. That meant reuniting the trio of Miles Wood, Ross Colton, and Logan O’Connor. They started the game, and when the Avalanche needed a goal to get things going in the third period, the trio stepped up for their team.
This 25 second clip gives everyone a pretty good idea of what this trio can create when together.
It starts with Cale Makar hitting Miles Wood up the boards. Wood sees that he has O’Connor streaking to the net, and O’Connor’s speed gives him some separation from the defender, but the pass doesn’t quite connect. When the puck goes into the corner, Colton takes the opportunity to finish his check. The pass still finds its intended target, but the Flames were down to five defensemen most of the game. A hit like that can take a toll.
The puck gets to Zary, but O’Connor is so quick coming back on the backcheck that he pressures the young winger into a bad pass. Wood reads it, and picks it off, leading to a 2-on-1, which unfortunately doesn’t connect. Luckily, the puck bounces around a bit until Bowen Byram is able to corral it at the right circle. If you watch closely in front, Miles Wood plants himself right in front of Dan Vladar, which takes away his eyes just a bit. When Manson’s one-timer starts bouncing around, that screen might have taken away the goaltender’s eyes just long enough for him to lose track of it.
The puck lands right on the stick of Colton for the goal. A little bit of good luck, but you make your own luck, and after the work leading up to the goal, they deserved it.
This trio has been pretty consistent when together, and I’m not sure I see any reason to really break them up. When the Avalanche needed some energy, they brought it, and got their team back in the game.