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It’s finally time to see what this team is made of.
As the
Colorado Avalanche embark on their first-round playoff series with the Dallas Stars, we’ve gathered to share our thoughts on the matchup and the postseason road ahead.
This year’s slogans seem to be “Built to Win” and “Built Different.” Do you agree?
Adrian: Regarding the theme itself, I’m not a fan of ‘Built to Win’ as it just feels like a repeat of ‘All in,’ and whether I think that claim is valid remains to be seen. I feel like not calling on Landeskog’s return in some way is a massive miss for this franchise. I should have been in this meeting cause I feel like ‘Lead the Way’ with a Landeskog graphic was the move.
Jackie: Different, sure I agree with that. It’s not the different I would have chosen. I’m still of the position you can’t buy a championship or bring in a bunch of guys in the second half of a season and expect genuine cohesion through the adversity of a long playoff run. Using “built” so prominently is at least admitting the unusual route taken to create this team.
Jess: Not to be that guy, but if you really want to get technical, the team is absolutely “Built Different” compared to the beginning of the season, so I think it fits! Real talk though, I do think they’re built to win, they’re far stronger both down the middle and at the goaltender position than they’ve been in recent memory in my opinion, and seem more fit to properly compete with other teams instead of just relying on the top line to get them through playoff rounds.
Ezra: Definitely, they check all the boxes for recent cup winners - Steady goaltending, strong center depth, quality defense depth, and an elite top pair and center on the top line. I don’t need a slogan to tell me this team has the pieces in place to make a run - but they need to gel quickly to really do it. Brock Nelson and Charlie Coyle specifically have a ton of experience elsewhere but a lot to prove still as Colorado Avalanche.
What are your expectations now that Gabe Landeskog has played a couple of games?
Adrian: I mean, we heard Erik Johnson say, “It’s not a matter of if, but when,” regarding Landeskog’s return, and no one has denounced that claim. Logically speaking, you can start pulling those #92 jerseys out of the back of your closet!
Jess: Going off of what Adrian said, based on things like that comment from Erik Johnson, I’m expecting him to give it a go in the playoffs this year personally. It’s been amazing to watch him see this process through and persevere, and I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say that I’m just thrilled to watch him play hockey again.
Jackie: It’s great Landeskog got to a place where he’s ready to play in a game. Playoff hockey in the NHL is a different beast but getting in a game was a big hurdle. I still feel his contributions might be more limited or not every night but what he can do off the ice might be just as important. His road has had a lot of ups and downs so we should prepared for it to continue to be non-linear progress.
Ezra: I’m excited to see him suit up in the first round - that’s definitely happening! Anything beyond that is gravy. I’d be completely shocked if he played in every game, though. I think he’ll rotate in and out of the lineup game to game. He just hasn’t built up the stamina from a regular season to play intense playoff games every other night.
What hurdles do the Dallas Stars present, and what’s your series prediction?
Adrian: For me personally, the biggest hurdle for this Avalanche club will be surviving the ebbs and flows of what will likely be a highly emotional and physical series from its onset. These games will be won and lost on the slightest of margins, and some nights, those wins will come in the form of not letting the moment get the best of you. Which team has more experience and prowess in the field of unwavering focus? That’s who will win the series.
Jess: I completely agree with Adrian’s sentiments, it’s going to be an extremely emotional series I bet. Not only is this the team that ended your season last year, but it’s also the team that Mikko Rantanen signed with for the long run. Dallas is always a stingy defensive team it seems like as well, which will definitely be a challenge to deal with. That being said, if Miro Heiskanen doesn’t play in round one of the playoffs, which it looks like will be the case, all of a sudden the right side of that defense looks a lot less daunting than it would otherwise.
Jackie: As much as the roster is getting downplayed in the hockey world, the Stars have a strong team top to bottom. And as much as the conversation is about defense it’s the offense that put up just as many goals as Colorado this season. For my prediction I’ll go ahead and say Colorado will slay the dragon and defeat their demons. They’ll get over that Pete DeBoer hurdle and everyone can get their victory lap over former faves Mikko Rantanen and Matt Duchene. But don’t overlook the Winnipeg Jets, just saying.
Ezra: Dallas is loaded on offense, very strong in goal, and has some good defenseman. Defense depth is where they’re weak, and they’re missing their best defender on top of that, sooo it’s realistic to say they have a serious problem on the backend. That being said, Jake Oettinger in net can cover up a lot of flaws and they have the firepower up front to outscore their issues against a lot of teams. I just don’t think they can do that against Colorado. I think Dallas blows out a too-rested Avs team in Game One, but Colorado dominates after that and wins in six.
Who is your playoff X factor for the Avalanche?
Jackie: I’m sure a lot are thinking Landeskog but it has to be Val Nichushkin. There’s a lot of unfinished business from the previous two playoff runs for obvious reasons but Colorado’s record with and without him in the lineup is staggering. I also feel like Scott Wedgewood might factor in somehow, especially if the playoff run is as long as folks are hoping for. He seems to bring a stability in net that Bednar might lean on if there’s any adversity.
Jess: Nichushkin is the biggest X factor in my opinion as well. He brings such a unique skill set to the Colorado lineup, which the Avs were missing in the second round last year as Jackie alluded to, and he’s such a force to be reckoned with on the ice. I’ll throw Landeskog in there too, even if he plays on the third line, him coming back slots your players even deeper into the lineup and makes the coaching staff have to make even more decisions about who to play night in and night out, which is a great problem to have!
Adrian: Some of y'all might think I’m going off the board with this one, but my answer is Charlie Coyle. I’ve started my deep dive into this playoff series, and year after year, one thing sticks out when I watch playoff tape. It’s an entirely different game. Once the playoffs start, some players aren’t suited for the change, but conversely, some players’ style is complimented by the delta of pace and physicality. Enter Mr. Charlie Coyle.
Ezra: I agree with what everyone has said so far, but they’re wrong it’s Brock Nelson. His second line has to be productive for this team to make a serious run — we know Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are gonna score points and the bottom six is going to defend extremely well, we expect the depth defenseman and goaltending to hold up, but what we don’t know is if the middle six is going to come through. Big Val and Charlie need to contribute too, but Brock Nelson was brought in to be that guy and in my opinion everything hinges on that gamble.
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