3 Things Avalanche Must Avoid Against Golden Knights – Hockey Writers – Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche dispatched the Minnesota Wild in an electric Game 5 comeback, setting the stage for a battle with the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. It’s a battle of teams that have been to the top of the mountain before and did so recently.

It could also be a battle of star power like a few other series before, as long as Cale Makar can fit. There are more than a few things the Avalanche need to do right to advance to their fourth Stanley Cup Final, but there are a few things they need to avoid as well.

1.) Don’t Let The Golden Knights Top Line Go

The trio of Jack Eichel, Pavel Dorofeyev, and Ivan Barbashev were outstanding for the Golden Knights. Eichel has one goal but 14 assists to lead the playoffs. Dorofeyev leads the Golden Knights with nine goals in 12 games, while Barbashev has quietly collected nine points.

There is a lot of star power in this group. Mitch Marner leads all scorers with 18 points and Brett Howden has eight goals in 12 games. There are plenty of areas for the Avalanche to focus on, but the top line keeps them going.

The Avalanche can obviously roll their own elite top line and Nathan MacKinnon will get a ton of comparisons to Eichel and Marner throughout the series. But the Avalanche defense will have to do their best to at least silence the top line if not silence them.

2.) Losing the Special Teams Battle

The Avalanche have gotten a lot from their special teams play this season, but the power play has found itself again. At 25%, it is fifth in the playoffs and second among active teams – just behind Vegas at 25.7%.

The difference, on paper, is penalty killing. The Golden Knights are the second best remaining team and fifth overall, killing 86.8% of their penalties. The Avalanche, on the other hand, only have 11^th with a success rate of 79.3%.

If the Avalanche can be disciplined, they have the potential to change the series. Vegas’ power play is deadly, and the Avalanche may be without Cale Makar for one of these series. In a series as tightly contested as this one should be, the last thing the Avalanche need to do is give up a distinct advantage.

3.) Focus on Change

The Avalanche are known for their speed, generating plenty of odd man rushes and putting defenses in situations they don’t want to be in. The aforementioned MacKinnon and Makar are known to tilt the ice in an instant.

On the other hand, the Golden Knights may be one of the most organized teams in the league. They limit clean zone coverage, get into passing lanes, and play the kind of defense that eliminates the kind of open ice opportunities that Colorado loves.

Puck discipline will be critical. The Avalanche will need to watch for changes, especially in the neutral zone. The Wild were able to jump out to an early Game 5 lead by exploiting defensive gaps, though the Avalanche ended up winning. Makar can be a key asset thanks to his exit and rebounding skills, so it will be huge for him to play.

This Should Be An Interesting Fight

There is little familiarity in the game but these two teams are often far from each other during the regular season. The Avalanche have been the best team in the league, but the Golden Knights have more recent playoff pedigree than Colorado.

These are two good teams that know how to win big games. The margin of error in this series will be very small and a significant mistake in one way or another could swing the series.