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.
Alright, maybe Devon Toews and Cale Makar didn’t kill the penalty all by themselves. After all, Alexandar Georgiev made a few big saves to keep the Boston Bruins off the scoreboard…but it sure felt like the best defensive pair in the league did a lot of the legwork.
Upon rewatch, that statement held true. Makar and Toews put on a clinic, helping the Avalanche hold off the Bruins and get this game to a shootout, where Georgiev and Nichushkin did the rest.
It starts with Toews jumping the face-off. He races to beat McAvoy to the puck and chips it out. He would have had a nice rush if not for losing his edge, but it at least kills off the start of the penalty and takes the Bruins off schedule a bit.
The Avalanche keep everything to the outside to start, and Georgiev takes one off the dome for his first stop. Pastrnak then tries a sneaky pass backdoor, but Makar’s stick deflects it into the corner. Toews fights in the corner against two Bruins players to kill time, but they get the puck back.
This next play is probably the best chance Boston gets, as Pastrnak tries to hit Marchand down low. I can’t tell if it even hits Georgiev, but Toews doesn’t give him Marchand chance at a second opportunity. After this, you can tell Toews is gassed in front of the net, and Makar goes to work.
He blocks Marchand’s attempt to go down low to Pastrnak, and the Bruins have to reset. Off a cross-ice feed, Pastrnak just fumbles the pass, so Makar attacks, and breaks up his pass. That’s when he rushes up the ice, but his teammates are so exhausted that he just eats the puck in the corner, killing off a big chunk of time.
Georgiev makes two nice stops after this, and with just 12 seconds left, Toews and Makar are sent back out after the Avalanche call timeout.
Even if Pastrnak’s pass gets through Makar, Toews looks like he reads it perfectly and would have gotten his stick in the way. But it doesn’t go through, because Makar blocks it, and heads the other way.
Makar said after the game he read the clock wrong, thinking he had more time than he did. He still just about gets his shot off at the buzzer, but it doesn’t matter, because he succeeded in his original job – killing off the penalty.
Just a masterclass from Toews and Makar, and more evidence that they’re the best defensive pair on the planet.