10 Observations: ‘No Passengers’ in a Nearly Perfect Avalanche Performance (+)

Jared Bednar and Nathan MacKinnon both said the team had no passengers.

That’s not a new concept, nor is it the first time we’ve heard the coach and star center use that phrase. But this season? It very well just might be.

In a year where injuries, suspensions, and blockbuster trades have shaken up the lineup each night, it felt like the Avalanche were itching to take full advantage of a game where all of their forwards were available to them (yes, I know, except for Gabriel Landeskog).

Was it as simple as getting their big power forward back?

10 Observations

1. Sure sounds like it. Valeri Nichushkin’s return was everything for this team — specifically, second-line center Casey Mittelstadt. Nichushkin had five shots on goal and was the key to a struggling line that, on most nights recently, was ineffective.

2. Nine forwards pitched in on the scoresheet, and Nichushkin wasn’t one of them. Jared Bednar still couldn’t stop singing his praises.

“If you look at the second line, the pace, the O-zone time, the scoring chances. He was one of the guys that didn’t get one, and he still had a huge impact on the game,” Bednar said. “That’s just what he does. He’s checking the puck back all over the offensive zone, forechecking, tracking, skating with it in the neutral zone. He’s a net-front presence. He makes so much stuff happen on both sides of the puck.”

3. MacKinnon nonchalantly called him a beast.

“A guy that big that moves like that with his forechecking. He helps that second line a lot. He pushes that pace,” MacKinnon said. “We’re tough to beat when he’s in the lineup, honestly. We’re just a completely different team.”

4. Bednar was happy to see several depth forwards get rewarded after such a tough stretch for pretty much all of them. Mittelstadt had a handful of flashy plays in the first two periods. It felt right to have him get one before the game ended.

5. Scott Wedgewood’s stall is the last one on the corner before exiting the locker room at Ball Arena. While Mittelstadt was making his way out, Wedgewood reached around the corner and tugged on the centerman’s arm to get his attention. He got up and embraced Mittelstadt, calling his tally “a sick finish.”

It’s those little things that tie a room together. We all know how much Mittelstadt has struggled this year. But nobody knows it more than Mittelstadt himself.

6. I remember Jack Johnson telling me before the home opener that his favorite part of playing with the Avs was seeing a core group that didn’t ride the highs too high and didn’t get too low when things weren’t going well. This past week felt like the complete opposite for this team.

This game should be celebrated, but not for long. With a big game against Minnesota coming up on Friday, the focus should quickly shift to that. And I’m sure it already has.

7. MacKinnon’s faceoff numbers have been miles ahead of where they used to be ever since the Mikko Rantanen trade. It’s almost as if he realized that he’d lost his security blanket. But why does MacKinnon think he’s getting better at them?

“It’s about time I bear down a little bit. Trying harder,” he joked.

8. Martin Necas had three assists, which means he’s up to 12 points in 11 games with the Avs. For those keeping track at home, Necas now has as many points as Rantanen does this season.

9. MacKinnon became the first player to reach 90 points, accomplishing the feat in 60 games. He was also the first to reach 30, 50, 60, 70, and 80. Care to wager a guess on who beat him to 40?

It was Necas. That scorching start with Carolina catapulted him past MacKinnon for a brief period earlier in the year.

10. I’ve seen it on TV, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a goalie get called for playing the puck outside of the trapezoid in person. It’s a rare penalty that came to life because of Devils legend Martin Brodeur. So, of course, they benefitted from it against the Avs.

That was a strong penalty kill by Colorado, though.