The Colorado Avalanche take on the Vegas Golden Knights Tuesday night in Las Vegas. The Golden Knights are looking to sweep the Presidents Trophy-winning Avalanche in convincing fashion.
No team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit in a Conference Final. Nathan MacKinnon took a puck to the knee in Game 3 and is questionable for Game 4. But it’s fine. We’re fine. Everything is fine. *Begins hyperventilating into brown paper bag*
Entering the Western Conference Final, Colorado had dispatched their opponents with relative ease. Los Angeles was swept and Minnesota was taken care of in five games. The series with the Wild did show some weaknesses in the Avalanche lineup and I think Vegas was paying attention.
The biggest issue for Colorado has been the second period. It is almost as if there is some weird Freaky Friday body swapping happening after the first period. The team we see in the second period is not what we see in the first.
I’ve mentioned the need for the Avalanche to control the puck when they have the lead. That remains true. Sloppy puck management came to bite them in Game 3.
In addition to sloppy puck control, an early season problem has come back to plague Colorado in the Western Conference Final. The power play has been basically non existent in this series. It is not like the Avalanche haven’t had their chances. Colorado has had nine opportunities with the man advantage but have only been able to get one goal out of it.
During the regular season, Colorado was 27th in the league on the power play. While that number may look bad (and it was) Colorado was actually showing improvement going into the playoffs. Colorado is ranked 6th among playoff teams on the power play and 3rd among teams left. If the series is to continue, Colorado will need to capitalize on every single chance they get.
Four consecutive wins is a lot to ask. But remember, the last time Colorado lost three games in a row (March 14-18) they went on to win the next four. (Just don’t look at who the opponents were.)