10 Observations: One Regulation Loss in 20 Games? You Can Thank the Leadership (+)

The Rangers learned the hard way on Thursday that you need to play 60 minutes of your best hockey to contain the Avalanche.

New York has been one of the better defensive clubs through the first quarter of the season. Even if Mike Sullivan’s club is struggling to score, they don’t usually let in goals at the other end. For a little more than a period, they suffocated the Avs’ offense. When Colorado got going in the second, Igor Shesterkin stood tall.

But then the third period came around. Shesterkin couldn’t stop every puck. The Avalanche were skating circles around the Rangers. The top line, primarily, could not be contained.

Not Nathan MacKinnon, not Cale Makar, and not Martin Necas. The trio combined for nine points, and the Rangers conceded six goals.

“It’s definitely the best team we’ve played all year,” Sullivan said.

How are the Avs doing it? These games aren’t coming to them right away. But they’re eventually getting there. Is head coach Jared Bednar changing things on the fly?

It doesn’t sound like that’s been the cure. Bednar said it’s the leadership that’s been the difference. Hockey is a game of skill and will. This team has had the skill in each of the past three seasons, but now they’re finding ways to will themselves to success.

It all starts with the captain, and having him back in the room, on the ice, and on the bench.

READ MORE: The Aftermath: Top Line Handles Rangers, Avalanche Win 7th Straight

10 Observations

1. Here’s how Bednar described his team’s resilience.

“It’s leadership. That’s what it is. It’s the focus of the whole entire group,” he said. “If we get off track or things aren’t going the way we want them to go, the leadership group has done a nice job of getting guys back on track and focusing on the right things. The message on the bench is not just coming from the coaches, and what needs to be done. And what we can do better in certain areas. On top of that, I like the way they’re delivering that message, too. It’s not just yelling and screaming, it’s delivered the right way, and guys are taking accountability if they’re making mistakes. And moving on to the next play.”

2. There was a funny moment after practice on Wednesday when I asked Bednar about the team’s resilience. This was before the Ranger game.

Bednar joked twice about how we, the media, aren’t writing enough about or putting enough emphasis on having Gabe Landeskog back in the room — on having a healthy roster with No. 92.

3. There was a question asked about what things were like from 2022 to 2025 without Landeskog. Bednar has said several times that Landeskog’s calming presence is making a world of difference behind closed doors.

“He’s a very well-respected guy, for, you know, obvious reasons,” Bednar said. “Everyone has their own leadership style, right? But Landy seems to complement all the other leaders that we have in the room. … He’s the first one to recognize things, and when he’s saying stuff, everyone listens, and his delivery is perfect. He’s going to deliver the message the right way. Other guys can sit back, relax a little bit more, and keep going about their business. With our captain in the room, it’s a more calming influence than what we had without him.”

4. The Avs finished the homestand with 20 goals. Necas led the way with nine points, followed by MacKinnon’s seven. In third, Makar had six, but was tied with Brock Nelson.

Nelson had three goals and three assists. He has 11 points on the season, and more than half of them came during these last four games. Is anything different?

“I think he’s skating better with the puck right now,” Bednar said.

That might be the easiest and most accurate way to explain the recent surge. Kudos to Nelson for figuring it out. We all wondered if or when he’d get going offensively, but he never let that bother him. He’s a veteran, and he was okay with taking the necessary steps to work through this process.

5. Rounding out the top five in points during the homestand? Sam Malinski. Four games, four assists.

Malinski is breaking out before our very eyes.

6. Makar was unbelievable in this game. He had six shots at the second intermission and had two other golden opportunities ring off the post. You just knew he’d eventually score. It felt like one of those games where he would not be denied.

In the third, he rang another one of the post that MacKinnon cleaned up to put the team ahead. And then Makar scored on the empty net. He finished with nine of Colorado’s 35 shots on goal.

7. When Scott Wedgewood made that save on Alex Lafreniere late in the third period, Ball Arena was louder than it was all night. After that, MacKinnon rushed the puck up the ice the other way and fired a shot on Igor Shesterkin that was saved. Had that gone in? The fans would’ve lost their minds.

Also, it was a brutal pinch by Samuel Girard to give Lafreniere a lane to go in all alone.

8. The last shift in the second period was total domination from the Avs. It was MacKinnon, Necas, and Landeskog with Makar and Devon Toews.

They cycled the puck, they kept the Rangers on their heels, and they got several nice looks at the goal.

We’re all patiently waiting for that first Landeskog from MacKinnon goal or vice versa. Just like old times. I thought this shift would be the one.

9. Landeskog had not yet cracked 17 minutes in any game this season. But against the Rangers, he played 18:55 and got several shifts with both of the top two lines. The lower-body injury to Gavin Brindley played a part in this. But Bednar also noted that he’s seeing an extra jump from Landeskog whenever there are breaks in the schedule. Colorado had three days in between Sunday’s game and Thursday.

“I think eventually it’ll look like that all the time after one day off, but the little bit of extra rest is certainly giving him a little bit more jump in his stride, and he’s playing good in those games,” Bednar said. “So when I recognize he’s playing good, I’m gonna play him more.”

10. There are eight players in the NHL with at least 28 points.

MacKinnon is first with 36, followed by Connor McDavid (32), Macklin Celebrini (31), and Connor Bedard (29). The next four, all with 28, are Makar, Necas, Mikko Rantanen, and Leo Carlsson. Three of the top eight point producers play for Colorado.

Landeskog said something after the game that we need to be reminded of from time to time.

“You’re just blessed to get to watch [the trio] on a daily basis. I feel like you guys should probably feel the same way and don’t take it for granted because it’s not normal everywhere,” he said. “You have very elite players that are fully bought into what we’re trying to do, and they’re special hockey minds, and the talent and the hard work that they put in is exceptional.”