Colorado Avalanche start strong in troublesome second round
Baby-step goals aren’t lost on the Colorado Avalanche, who were pleased with the Presidents’ Cup and the home ice it afforded them.
A 7-1 takedown of the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday was another item off the list. Colorado dropped Game 1 of the second round the previous two seasons, both of which ended in a Game 7 defeat.
“For us it’s not about moving to the third round or getting past Game 7,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said. “It’s about winning the Stanley Cup and this is another opportunity to do that.”
The team hasn’t advanced out of the second round since 2002. That streak nearly ended in 2019 with the Avalanche taking the Sharks to Game 7 in San Jose.
A fluky sequence played a role in the outcome. Landeskog came off on a line change and stood in front of the boards, one skate on the blue line, for two seconds too long. Colin Wilson’s game-tying goal was reviewed and determined to be offside and the Avalanche eventually fell 3-2.
“I think you only have to get burned on that once to learn that lesson,” Landeskog said.
Looking back at it, he said he “should have just dove head-first over the boards.”
“Listen, that’s in the past,” Landeskog said. “I think it comes down to details in any game, any playoff game especially. In Game 7 you need to be sharp on everything.”
The next season in the playoff bubble the Avalanche lost several key players, including Landeskog and two goaltenders, to injury. They limped to Game 7 and lost in overtime, 5-4, to the Dallas Stars.
The 2021 bid to end the second-round dry spell is off to a promising start.
“We’re definitely not taking this opportunity lightly,” defenseman Ryan Graves said. “This is a situation where we have to take it very seriously. We may not have unlimited opportunities like this. We only have so many years of this group.
“We understand that we maybe let an opportunity slip away last year, and we’re definitely not going to let that happen again this year. We’re going to give our best effort.”
Two games for Reaves
Vegas forward Ryan Reaves was suspended two games in the wake of his match penalty in Game 1 for retaliating against Graves. Reaves took Graves down and pinned him to the ice with his body weight. A video distributed by NHL Player Safety cited roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct and noted Reaves has been disciplined before.
Graves and Samuel Girard, who absorbed a high hit, were OK according to coach Jared Bednar.
“Everyone made it through last night fine,” he said.
Kadri suspension upheld
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman upheld Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri’s eight-game suspension on Monday. Kadri drew the punishment from the Department of Player Safety for an illegal check to the head of St. Louis Blues defenseman Justin Faulk in Game 2 of the first round on May 19.
TSN and RDS hockey insider Pierre LeBrun reported that the NHLPA filed an appeal to neutral discipline arbitrator Shyam Das on behalf of Kadri.
Paul Klee: Golden Knights’ Ryan Reaves suspended 2 games, and Avalanche are finally the losers
Colorado Avalanche demolish Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1