MacKenzie Blackwood goes supernova as Colorado Avalanche shutout Nashville Predators

MacKenzie Blackwood goes supernova as Colorado Avalanche shutout Nashville Predators

You’re not scoring goals. Welcome in to the BNBR Avalanche postgame show live from the Toyota Winners Lounge. engine powered by your front range Toyota dealerships presented by Bet 365. We’ve got Bailey, we’ve got Rudos. The ABS defeat the Nashville Predators 3 to nothing. Hard to believe, but the first shut out of the year for the Colorado Avalanche. It’s McKenzie Blackwood to come in and do it. We’ll talk about him a ton. We’ll get into the whole nine of this game, but uh I No one’s going to sit here and tell you that this was a good game, I think, from the ABS, but they won. I think the besides the shut out, the biggest thing to take away from this, ABS’s got business done in 15 seconds. They led for 59 minutes and 45 seconds of this game. About 58 of those minutes, there was a entirety of one goal scored by either team in the game, but the AB scored that one. Yeah. So, I mean, if that if that’s the big positive to take out of this, like I mean that Okay, fine. Cool. Great. podcast over at that point. But no, it’s the it wasn’t a good game by any means. Um, which is both, I think, a blessing and a curse. I mean, obviously you want to look at this one and say the ABS are saving themselves for a bigger game tomorrow. Yep. But to have this one be as close as it was for 57 minutes Yeah. was not settling. Yeah, it you know, I I do give the Nashville Predators a good amount of credit. Some of this was definitely the ABS making life harder than they had to be, but the Nashville team went out there and worked outworked the ABS, honestly, for a good portion of this game. They just ran into Mackenzie Blackwood. So, sorry Nashville, not your night. I guess that’s the way it goes. Uh, I do want to get to the shortest 60-second rundown I might ever do. So, uh, yeah, let’s do that. Uh, yeah, Brent Burns scored 15 seconds in, like we mentioned, unassisted. There was a world where this game was going to end with one goal and one point total for either team. Didn’t quite get there, but you might as well have. First period, ads mostly got their head kicked in. Nashville really was winning every single puck. Out skating, out, working, out, playing the ABS except for Mackenzie Blackwood, who would not give one up. Second period got a little bit better. Uh, ABS didn’t give up nearly as much high danger in the second and that showed with them not giving up a goal. Third period was a bit squirly. You do feel like maybe the ABS power play could have given them an insurance goal and it came up a little bit short. Uh, but Nashville just never able to get over that hump. And the ABS get a couple of empty netters from McKinnon and Drury to make it a three-0 win. That’s it. I don’t need 60 seconds. I only need 50 on a on a night like tonight. Woohoo. Sometimes it’s easy. Not going to be like that forever, Rudo. I’m probably not going to be like that tomorrow. I do not expect a similar game tomorrow. But yeah, I I don’t really want to read too much into the negatives. We’ll get into them because we’re doing an hourong show on a game that did not have a lot of scoring. Yeah. But you’re eight games into a win streak. A night like tonight, you may feel like you escaped. You got away with one, but every team is going to have those types of games, especially on a long win streak. Yeah. No. And there’s only so many ways you can say it, but that’s just a testament to what this ABS team is this year. I think it it goes back to the resilience, the the will to win and capitalizing on a lot of, you know, yes, Nashville did some good things tonight in some areas of the game. They were the better team, but the ABS were able to capitalize on a lot of mistakes made in the ozone on part of the Nashville Predators. And I mean, we we’ll get into a lot of what Mackenzie Blackwood was tonight, but he was phenomenal. And and that’s that’s also a big factor, too, is like goalending’s been huge. Yeah. For this team, especially the last handful of games, it’s been it’s been really really big. Um I where do you think the ABS effort levels as a team were at tonight? Because clearly in the first period it was not good enough. They go are up one- nothing almost exclusively because of Blackwood. I do think they built into the game some. But do they look at this game and and know that they need to be better? I give this a C. I think it it’s passing cuz you know they won. Any win is a pass. Yeah. But there’s a lot more in the tank. They’ve shown that they have a lot more like effort in the tank available to them on any given night and it just wasn’t there today. Is were D’s passing for you in school? No. At least not to my parents. Yeah. I mean, same. But but no, D’s were not. I I wouldn’t even give this a D, though. I wouldn’t either. I’m just curious. I So, I was watching the hockey guy the other day. And he said like in his schooling days that first of all his grading system had e ABCDE E F. What? And he said an E was uh 49 to 41%. Or no, it wasn’t. It was like a 41% was an E and an F was like below 40. And so a D was like 59 to 50 which would A 59 to 50 is an F for me. 59 below was an F. Yeah, that that’s Yeah, not I’m not a crazy person. No, but yeah, it’s that’s so weird. I D’s were considered bad in school though, too. Like it was you got a D and that’s like, okay, we’ll we’ll get you in a tutorial class. We’ll we’ll make this up tomorrow. Got to fix some stuff here. But no, the ABS get a solid C. Yeah, I I think a C is a a fair game. Uh as a team, there are individuals that had much better grades than C. Yes, absolutely. Um yeah, I let’s just talk about the special teams first because we have to do that by law every single game. Penalty kill the contract. Yeah, that definitely in the fine print if you look. Penalty kill. Awesome. Great tonight. And I know Nashville’s not a good power play team, but exactly what you wanted to see out of them bouncing back after a poor night. And then I don’t know what to make of the power play tonight. Wasn’t bad. No, I don’t think it was horrible. Obviously, I would have liked them to shoot more, but also it was a new look first unit, so you give them a little bit of leeway because Marty’s playing on his off side. Landy hasn’t really played on the power play at all this year up to this point. I’m willing to say, “Hey, they’re trying something. Let’s give it a few games.” Yeah. No, that’s And if they’re if that’s what needs to be done to um Yeah. Um if that’s what needs to be done to, you know, make up pick up slack for some of these guys who are not in the lineup, that’s fine. And I think it was at a level where there’s improvement, but it’s not the worst we’ve seen this season by any any means. The power play, no not close to some of the rough nights the ABS power play has had. I granted they also only got two opportunities, but I like some of the ideas. I think Kale Mar was was utilized in some of these really really well. You see him kind of pushing up closer to the net, which I really like. I do like that, too. Um, he’s got to finish eventually though. Yeah. Um, I will say with having McKinnon kind of I I don’t know. Like he’s roaming his corner per usual and you’ve got Netas on the other side. Maybe that’s got to grow on me. Yeah. Not about it. I It’s I I don’t know. It just It looked odd. It did. May and maybe that’s just, you know, they they have to fix some of the process because I I think the idea is there to create more movement. I just I know that a lot of the power play often falls on Nathan McKinnon. Mhm. But we need to somebody needs to sit Marty Nus down and tell him to shoot the puck. Yeah. it. We’re especially over these last like four or five games, the the number of opportunities he’s passing up to literally pass. There are literally two or three different situations in this game alone where he’s standing one-on-one with the goalender. He’s got open windows on both sides of the goalender and he’s making a little one-touch pass to the center. And when those plays are working, you live with it. But so many of those pucks we’ve lot watched end up on the opposing team sticks and you just you’re not setting yourself up for success. You you’re asking more of nature’s than that. And he’s got the talent. Yep. He he’s shown that he has the talent. I mean he’s finishing at an unreal pace so far this season. So you know he can do it. I He’s not going to shoot 30% forever, but while you are, you should probably shoot. Yeah. I mean, I don’t know. Like, is that broken down enough? Like, Benar just clipped this, show him like I I I don’t know. It’s It’s such a frustrating aspect of his game. It something that like I love Martin that just I love the way that he plays the game. He’s a super smart hockey player. He sometimes falls into the hole of not knowing how to simplify, not knowing when is why he fits so well as an F. Is that it? But like he I would love to see coach Dave Hackel sit down with him a little bit more and just say like you have a lot of talent, you have a lot of conf confidence, you have a lot of agility in the ozone, but let’s reel this back a little bit because if you can just expand your vision just that much more. Yep. Like you become you go from a great hockey player to an elite hockey player. can do all the fancy stuff in the world. It doesn’t mean anything if puck no go net. So yeah, sometimes you got to caveman think it. That’s that’s where I’m at with the power play. Fair. Yeah, but penalty kill. I I mean huge step up from last game. Great. I was I have no notes for how that was deployed tonight. Great work from all of them. I considered putting any number of guys from that penalty kill in the ABS three stars. ultimately didn’t do it, but very well could have earned a a star tonight given how little offensive production there was. And it was interesting to watch the penalty kill succeed so effectively in a game where Nashville was kind of running over the ABS at times at five on five. Nashville would look great at five on five and then they’d get a power play and it would look bad and you’d go, “Well, this this this looks like the ABS.” Yeah. No, it’s just looking at stats. They Nashville led Colorado 16-6 in shots by the end of the first 20 minutes. Yeah, that’s that’s bad. That’s awful. There’s There’s no redeeming and that’s with one one uh penalty courtesy of Martine Duchess, right? And so most of that comes five on five. That’s that’s not good. It isn’t it at all. I feel like we’ve said this a few times this year. There’s an argument that tonight was this the ABS worst game at five on five. I don’t know if it was their worst game of the season. Again, PK was really good. Five on five. I can’t Their five on five play tonight was not very good. And again, credit to the ABS hat. I They’ve done this a handful of times this year. Maybe they don’t have the best starts and they work their way into games. There was some of that tonight. They got better as the game went on, but boy was it not difficult to get better than that first period in pretty much every category but the scoreboard. No. And that’s again we talk about traits of a championship team. And they had an a I mean it’s crazy to say that they had an awful start because again scoring 15 seconds into the game is great but that period otherwise was horrible. Well, every period from then they trended up. They trended up. Still got pretty heavily outshot. Still a lot of things I don’t like in the game, but it didn’t get worse. Right. You see a team like Nashville who plays such a good first period. Don’t get rewarded for it. And the ABS do enough to keep it where it is. And Nashville starts to get frustrated as this game goes on and on and on. They start trying, oh well, we can’t solve Blackwood, so now we need to do the cute plays. like the Avalanche are trying to do. And you mentioned it, they couldn’t execute. Pucks were rolling off their sticks, getting to dangerous areas, but that second level of play was not there for Nashville. And yeah, some of that’s on Nashville’s own head, but some of that is on Colorado doing enough to force them into that position in the game. Yeah. No. And I mean, it’s it’s just a testament to how dangerous this team is. You you’re getting outplayed five on five. Maybe everything else is getting through you, but your goalender is coming up huge. Yep. And and that’s the name of the game for the Avalanche this season. Like you don’t need every piece working. You just need enough pieces working. Like as long as something works, like that’s that seems like, you know, okay, cool. Cut. Like we we’ve got this. If we can get enough rolling, like we we can win anything. Yep. And they’ve won eight in a row. So, the proof is in the pudding on that one. I guess it’s not I mean, it it has not worked once. I I would consider the other overtime situations at least somewhat of a win cuz again, you’re getting out of something right out of it. It has not worked one singular time for this Colorado Avalanche team. All right, we do need to take our first break of the show. So, let’s make sure we head over and do that as we are brought to you by Breen Ridge Brewery, the official craft beer of DNVR. You can check out dozens of flavors of beer from Brew. They’ve got something for everyone. Whether it be their Ridgerunner IPA, it’s a West Coast style double dry hop brew inspired by the untamed beauty of Colorado’s Trails, or you can be simple like me, get an Avalanche amber ale. 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Not necessarily because Brock Nelson had a great game tonight, but he picks up a point on the empty netter, which I know it’s an empty net point, but a meaningful goal. It made the game two nothing. It It ensured the win for the Avalanche, and it puts Brock on a fivegame point streak. It’s nice, especially with the 2C position. For the last three seasons, I’ve had to sit here at this point in the season going, “You need more from your 2C. You need more from your 2C. You need more from your 2C.” I maybe erroneously believed in some of those guys and was wrong about it. This year, I get to have said, “You need more from your 2C.” And Brock Nelson has delivered. You’re believing in it now. Like, that’s it’s nice to believe in something that actually happens for once. I and you know I I feel like this is the the game we’re starting to play where we’re looking back on the 10ame segment, the first 10ame segment for the ABS. This was one of my nitpicky points that Brock Nelson looks great, but he’s not getting on the scoreboard. He’s not producing the way that a 2C should. And I mean, he’s he’s doing that now. He’s stepping up. I I love the word that coach Bedar used for him and saying he’s snake bitten because that’s exactly how it felt. Yeah. For a guy like for a little bit there for sure. And finally seeing that start to go his way a little bit. And I I I hate calling it puck luck, but that’s kind of what it feels like for him cuz like everything was going everywhere for him but into the net. And finally Yeah. finally seeing that start to go his way and get on the score sheet. And not only that, but he’s making a lot of the other players around him better for it as well. Like it’s you you know that’s a successful player for your team when not only is he starting to produce himself, but that production is also helping out everybody on the ice with him. And it’s, you know, I kind of harped on this already with the Nichushkin thing that you needed Nelson to step up, but it’s it’s more complicated than that because Nelson has experienced a bit of a spin cycle of linemates over this with Brinley also going down. You saw Landiskog play on that line. You saw Nes play on that line. You saw Olivesson play on that line tonight in that second line wing spot. And Nate just or Nelson rather just keeps on trucking, doing what he needs to do. Yeah, it’s good stuff when you can rely on a guy like that. When you have I I call it an anchor. I mean that in a good way on that second line of okay, we can move stuff around this guy and trust it. Yeah. No, and that’s I mean steady piece for the ABS while they kind of play a a jigsaw game. Yep. Here here in the next few weeks. It sounds like we’re going to need more of that as Brinley officially listed as week to week now. So unfortunate, but it is. ABS keep on chugging with or without him. Second star, Brent Burns. Zero doubt in my mind he was the A’s best skater tonight. Oh yeah. Easily his best game of the year. Yeah. By by a mile, by a country mile. And like obviously the goal 15 seconds in is great. It’s awesome that he’s there. I don’t know that it’s a awesome goal. Sorrowos a little bit soft on it in my opinion, but Bren Burns is the one who shoots it on that. He’s the one who gets it. But far more what I loved about Brent Burns game was the willingness to sell out for the ABS defensively. He’s blocking shots. He’s breaking up plays. He’s getting back and winning battles. On a night where the AS struggled to win a lot of puck battles, Brent Burns was the guy who stepped up on this Avalanche defense and did what was necessary. Even if it wasn’t the prettiest at times, even if it wasn’t the ABS best game, Brent Burns getting an A for me tonight. Yeah. No. And on a night where I It’s crazy saying that 25 minutes is decreased minutes for a guy like Kale Mar. You see Brent Burns playing 17. Yep. And um the low man. Yeah. No. And that that’s a good amount of defenseman too. I mean Molinsky had 18. Uh Devonte played 19. Like it’s uh Josh Manson played 18. And so Brent Burns to have the impact that he did on defense while playing some of the lowest minutes for the blue line is is a testament to what he was brought in here to do. It it it lines up perfectly with the vision for the Colorado Avalanche. He also had three shots on goal. Uh only one player on the ABS had more than that, which was Ross Colton. I mentioned the the pass breakups and the blocks. it the version of Brent Burns that the ABS have gotten this year I think is far better than they expected. Yeah. Not that they didn’t believe in Brent Burns and not that it they didn’t bring him in for a reason, but the pace at which he’s produced, the effectiveness, especially I think once he found his footing in Colorado and he took away some of that struggle with his skating and getting burned all the time. This guy has developed into a legitimate second pairing guy and they just played him as the six tonight. Like yeah, like that’s it’s incredible especially when you take a look at this guy and realize he is on the like very tail end of his career. This is a guy who’s playing past a lot an age where not many hockey players get to and he’s still like yes maybe looks geriatric in some games which is is maybe to be expected considering you know he’s 41 years old that is old for hockey players. Geriatric for a hockey player for sure. So that’s it. It’s really promising to see just how much a guy like Brent Burns has left in the tank and being able to adjust the way that he has from a system like Carolina and being able to adjust and bring some of that to the ABS and fit in as well as he has especially in a game like this. And it’s you talk about that iron man streak too. It’s like 940 games or something whatever it’s at now. But, you know, he just played 1730 low men and he’s going to turn around tomorrow and probably play over 20. He has the gas tank. I Yes, the foot speed and all that might not be there anymore, but everything else still rocking for Brent Burns. So, he deserves a ton of credit on a night like tonight. And then obviously the number one star is Mackenzie Blackwood. 35 save shut out, the first shut out of the season for the Colorado Avalanche. And look, when you play behind the Colorado Avalanche, sometimes you get to waltz into like a 19 save shutout. You do not have to do a lot of work. That was not the case at all. Blackwood balled out in this game. 34 of 34 saves. They took one away. I thought it was 35. 34 of 34 saves according to the NHL media site for Mackenzie Blackwood. That’s That’s good. or no. Okay, it is 35. They had one on the power play. Sorry, just kidding. 35 of 35. Like that. That’s either way though. Like that is amazing. And that that is like I I thought maybe he had some, you know, scary moments here and there. Rebound control was a little crazy, but overall like this was his best game of the season and he’s only four in. I think there’s an argument that this was the best goalending performance of the season, period. regardless of Blackwood or Wedgewood. And that’s not me being like, “Oh, Blackwood’s better than Wedgedwood.” Wedgewood has had some really good games and Blackwood took it even a step further in this game. Just to jump off of that, too, at five on five, the ABS gave up 16 high danger chances. Nashville generated 2.75 expected goals for and Blackwood goose egg that. That’s I the Avalanche, not just the Avalanche, but we as hockey watchers and the Colorado fan base as a whole needs to take a good look at this tandem and say like this is the luckiest that the ABS have had it in a long long time. And that that goes back to to last season as well. You get these two guys, bring them into the system. You I mean, Wedgewood kind of balls out in a couple games, but Blackwood is for the most part like your your main guy, and you’re getting starterike performance from your both of the goalenders in your tandem. That is it’s great. Insane to me. Cannot heap enough praise on Blackwood for this game. You’ve been put in a room with the way the Colorado Avalanche’s goalending has been. He didn’t necessarily need to have a 35 save shutout, but he needed to have a good game. We talked about it in pregame. Bednar is in a spot where he’s like, “Look, if Blackwood wants more minutes, he’s going to have to earn them cuz Wedgwood’s playing too good.” Yeah. Yeah. I think Blackwood might have just earned some more minutes. Yeah. I I mean, one game is one game, of course. Right. Too. And I’m and and I say this as somebody who like I want that for Blackwood so badly. Like if he wants those minutes, I want him to earn them. I also really love watching Wedgwood. But that’s that’s what makes this so interesting is like I I want to see another game like this from Mackenzie Blackwood where maybe maybe you’re not getting 35 out of 35 and like like performing on a completely different level. Talk about an alien. But like I I’d love to see another game like this from McKenzie Blackwood and I’m glad he’ll have a little bit of rest. We’ll likely see Wedgewood tomorrow. Hopefully we can get a good performance out of him against a more challenging team. But you got to think Wedgewood’s going to get a a few more than just a couple. Yeah. Here in the next two weeks and and just to give that extra look, he earned it. He did tonight. Totally. It’s It’s really fun when you get to see all these success storylines. I talked about it with Brock, we’re talking about it now with Blackwood. This isn’t normal. Most teams are like, “Hey, we need all these guys to be good.” And maybe some of them are success. And then some of them struggle. But right now, every time the ABS have said, “Oh, we need a guy to step up.” That guy has up and down the lineup. Whether it’s a night where you need Nathan McKinnon to score, okay, great. He got a point tonight, by the way. Up to 37. Uh on on nights where they’ve needed their depth to step up and produce, it has. On nights where your goalender needs to show up, it has. On even in a few odd cases, instances, your power play has made the difference. Mhm. I I’m almost at a loss as what else to say about this team other than whatever it takes, they seem to have that trick in the bag. It’s a really really good situation to be in. It is. I And and that that’s what makes this team so much fun for me right now too is like nitpicking aside like what we’re doing is nitpicking and they’re fixing it. Yeah. Right. Like that’s what more can you ask from a team like this? Oh yeah, they’re they’re first in in the league by the way, too. Like that’s by like a lot. Like it’s not a super close margin. No, it is not. It’s Oh gosh. Like I I don’t know how else to sit here and sing my praises for the way this Avalanche team is rising to every single occasion. No, this season. It It’s the stuff of like fairy tales. It It really is. Like I They’re one of four teams ever to be this far into the season with one regulation loss. people will be telling these bedtime stories to their kids in 5 10 years. Like that’s that’s how good this ABS team is. Uh just to round it out and bring down our unbound optimism a little bit. It is worth noting the ABS did get smoked at five on five. Yes. Shot attempts 67 to 38 in the PR’s favor. Actual shots 34 to21. Scoring chances 32 to 23. And I mentioned the high danger 16 to9 in the Predator’s favor. By expected goals, the ABS were lower. Predators were expected to score more goals tonight. So, yeah, everyone go by McKenzie Blackwood a steak. Yeah, that’s uh the team owes Blackwood some to not pay for dinner for the foreseeable future. Yeah, it’s well earned by Blackwood there on a night that weren’t at their best, but we’re good enough. Yeah. Uh, we do need to take our second break of the show here. So, let’s make sure we’re going and shouting out some more of our sponsors as you can get with the Fire on the Mountain wings, which by the way are the best wings in Colorado. You cannot go wrong. It’s Denver’s favorite local wing joint. 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And when you bet on wings, you can bet on your sports, too, with Bet 365, our presenting sponsor. Uh, I ended up hitting two of my three bets yet again. Got uh got the ABS to cover and uh got the uh Blackwood saves by like a million. I I think out of all of those like that that’s the one I maybe expected you to kind of be inching for. Yeah. And yet here we are. Did not get the nature’s goal, but that’s all right. Two out of three. You means you’re making money. And with Bet365, you can do it with their bonus bets. When you sign up with a new account with code DNVR365, put $10 in your account. Bet $5 on anything. Win or lose that $5 bet, they’ll give you $150 in bonus bets, which you can then play with. The bonus bets can be used to bet on pretty much anything. Uh, and it’s like free money. If you hit your bets, you have real money now. If you miss your bets, it was free money. So, just that easy. They also offer the early payout option. 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Big part of the penalty kill and it definitely falls into one of those categories of he only knows how to play at one speed. Yeah. No, it’s really he is a really one of the steadiest guys I think when it comes to this Colorado Avalanche team. Really solid defensively but had some really really dangerous chances. Y in today’s game and it’s it’s almost a little like it’s weird saying that it’s disappointing that the empty netter was the one that went in for him because he had so many other chances that I I would have loved to that one net front you really would have liked him to finish for sure. Yeah. But like that that’s just a testament. I mean again nitpicking hoping a player can step up and Jack Drury tried his hardest to do that today. And I I think that’s important in a game like this, right? You have to have those guys because you’re going to get a night where if you don’t have the right mindset going into this, you’re going to see some guys slack off when it’s halfway through the second period and you’re getting outshot 27 to 12 or whatever it was at the moment. That might be a little bit worse than it actually was, right? But having those guys to keep the pace for you to say, “Hey, we’re still winning this game. Hey, we need to still go work out and finish this thing off. It It helps prevent the lols in play that can cost you games like this one. Yeah. Uh I have a couple others, but if you do you have more on Jack, you good? Go ahead. Fourth line as a whole. Yeah. Uh I know they didn’t play a ton in like seven, eight minutes. That’s more than we were expecting them to. More than five, two, the only three players on the avalanche to not be on the ice for a high danger chance against. They gave up nothing. Okay, that’s all you want from your fourth line, especially when Tristan Nielsen and Jason Poland are on it. Good job. This is Yeah. No, and I mean I I will say out of that entire fourth line, I loved what I saw from Tristan Neielson today. Yeah, he’s got a motor. It’s good. I I really appreciated his work along the boards. I loved his forche at times. I I thought he was really really strong for how many minutes that he played. And I mean, not allowing a high danger chance against is is great, but if you can get that extra little push out of players who are maybe not used as used to the system as other guys around you, like, okay, it’s good stuff. That’s awesome. Nothing but good stuff there. I can live with that. Bartikov, in fact, might be the only ABS forward. Yeah, the only ABS forward to be on the positive side of possession tonight. So, okay. I I’m I don’t know what to take from that. I know Bedar’s trust is hard earned, but maybe Bartikov earned a sliver more tonight. No. And I I didn’t mind him either. Like that that’s I don’t know how many times can you say like it we got what we expected from the fourth line and then some. Yeah. Tonight which especially in a game where you’re giving this ABS team as a whole a C. Yeah. Like that that’s that’s incredible. It You have to find the success with the little details if your team as a whole is going to play a C game. Oh yeah, good job by the fourth line to do that. Yeah. Uh I do want to get into checking the stat sheet as well with Dick’s sporting goods. Uh obviously there’s not like a ton of overarching highlevel stats to get into in a game that was one- nothing with a minute and a half left to go. But you mentioned it on the defensive side. You taking a look at the time on ice on the offensive side as well, which we already mentioned, the fourth line, not playing a ton, but up a little bit from their fiveminute usages and the really bottom of the barrel stuff. You only had two forwards play over 20 minutes tonight. Naylor McKinnon at 21, so not crazy. And Archery Lechin in at an even 20. You then had Gabe Landoskog at 18 1.5 minutes. So doing a lot of that bulk work of filling that second line roll. Uh Nelson and Nas both at 17 1/2ish. and then Drury at 16, Parker Kelly at 1548, Ross Colton 1532. The ABS used their entire lineup tonight. At times early in the season, it felt like the ABS were maybe leaning on those guys pretty heavily in back-to-back situations. I don’t know how much better you can spread the timeout than they did tonight on the forward side, too. Yeah. No, I This is up and down the lineup. Yep. for them, which is really exciting to see on the front end of a backtoback. And that’s I mean, we talked about it in the pregame show, like we’re we’re finding an ABS team that is getting very very comfortable with shortening the bench. Yep. And you see a little bit more trust given to those fourth wing guy or those fourthline guys that Bedar is not used to to deploying every so often. And so that’s going into a game like tomorrow’s where maybe you need a little bit more of a motor out of some of your guys. I I highly expect to see a lot of that shortening of the bench tomorrow. Especially if the ABS are in they get themselves into a sticky situation, which it’s Chicago. They’re going to just how it is. The script is already written. But this seeing this tonight knowing that if they’re planning on doing that tomorrow or at least expecting to do that tomorrow, they know they’re getting a more rested team. Yep. And on a night where you feel like the ABS got pretty dominated at times, five on five and Yeah, they need to possess the puck better. Yeah, they need to do a better job of winning puck battles at times, especially in their own zone. A lot of wishy-washy clearing attempts that end up not getting out. If you want to find bad things that the ABS did, it’s not hard to do. No. But do you need like the ABS aren’t stupid? They know they need to clean stuff up and they’ve won eight in a row. So, if they were going to have a bad game, I’m glad it was this one. Like, I I I will say like this isn’t an ABS team that gets in a habit to have games like this very often. And unfortunately, again, it was one of those ones where maybe you you see the motor go down a little bit. Maybe you’re playing down to your opponent in ways like you’re letting your opponent kind of dominate, especially five on five and other areas of the ice. Playing down in that sense. Y if they were going to have a game like this, I’m glad it was today’s like and I I winded up with your best goal goes to the season, right? But that’s what I’m saying is like if you’re getting this tonight, this team doesn’t do this very often. And so I can sit there and comfortably say like th this is not part for the course and they still there was still a lot of good to take out of it as well. Eric Laqua used to always say this when he was on the show. When teams go on winning streaks, when you get to the end of it, you look back and you look at a couple and you say, you know, we probably got away with one there. Tonight is going to be one of those in this stretch of wins for the Colorado Avalanche. It’s going to be one where if they didn’t get a little lucky, if things didn’t break their way, if Blackwood didn’t play his agame tonight, they probably lose this game. Yeah. And you would feel less good had they lost it, but it still would not change the fact that coming into the night they had won seven in a row and are a great spot. And now you get to take even another step forward. And I think this has been something that’s been very true of the ABS a lot this year. The ABS don’t have to play their best game to beat opponents. And this one was bad enough that you’re like, “Okay, maybe they should play better than that, right?” But they’re capable of coming out with a win. Honestly, more consistently than not, even when you feel like, “Well, they didn’t play that well here. Well, there’s this thing to improve there.” Good. There’s always something to improve and if you can win while improving like you mentioned there hasn’t been a lot of repeat mistakes right on nights where they struggle they’re struggling with different things outside of the power play again I know but it it’s been refreshing to see the abs have different issues and them not cost them Yep. And I mean a hockey team is a machine with many different moving parts. Yep. But it’s a machine that can function without all of its parts working, right? And that that’s what I would equate, especially a night like tonight to Yeah. is you have your most important part working in a Mackenzie Blackwood. You’ve got, you know, some of the gears working in guys like Brent Burns, like a Brock Nelson, like Jack Drury. And even then, like maybe it’s not up to, you know, 100%. But like if that’s what you’re getting and you’re still able to win on any given night, like that that’s a testament is what what this team has the ability to do. Someone in the Toyota chat said the word for the ABS is undeniable. Yeah. And I think that’s a an accurate statement. That is a wonderful way to describe this team. I think it was Quinn who said that. So yeah. So an accurate statement right there. A couple of other things in the Toyota chat talking about more wins to get to 10. Uh I said this on the pregame show. I’ll say it again because you know I’ll put my neck out there and pay my bets. Yes, the ABS are at eight wins right now, which is four short of their record. The ABS have won 12 in a row before. I said if they get to 13, I’ll bleach the hair. So, give you something to root for, chat. So, you get the keep the shaved thing going. I said I’ll keep it clean until they lose. So shaved and blonde Rudo if the ABS get to 13. Oh, I’m so ready. But you got to help me out and get us some winner shots. We only need three more likes. There’s Guys, I haven’t done a winner shot and I do a bunch of winner shots from Ballerina. So give Bailey a winner shot. Give me a winner shot, chat. Uh, all right. A a couple of other things I wanted to get into which first I say the ABS have won eight games in a row and that is true but in some ways I’m actually selling the ABS short because they’re actually on a 12game point streak. There’s some overtime losses thrown in there against San Jose and New Jersey. But they’ve got a point in all but one of 21 games this year. Yeah. Absolutely outrage. Like I’m trying to keep myself on an even keel cuz we’re pumped up and we all can tell that this ABS team has some special stuff going on this year. We also know they’re going to lose games eventually if they’re not going to end the season 61 and 21 or something crazy. There will be some losses to come. But I do think when you dig into a little deeper games like this, the thing you worry about about teams that are so good and win the President’s Trophy and you worry that they’ve had no adversity in their season and you get into the playoffs and a team punches them in the mouth and all of a sudden they don’t know what to do with it. But I don’t think that’s the case for the Colorado Avalanche this year. No. Not just overtime losses to to good teams or the loss to Boston or all that, but you look on a game-to-ame basis, the ABS have learned how to come back from def deficits this year. They’ve learned how to deal with injuries this year. This is not a team that has gotten to coast their way to the top of the league. No, not by any means. Not by a long shot. And I I want to go back to something Victor Olivet Oliffson said very early on in the season when you know they’re they’re starting to preach this full 60 effort, right? Yep. And he said it’s really really difficult to do that in a night. You’re not going to play a full perfect 60 game or 60-minute game. It’s impossible. And that goes like for the through the season. Not every game is going to be perfect, but the fact that they’ve been able to do what they have done, um I mean 12 games for a point streak is no slouch. That’s crazy. That is insane. The ABS are the first they’re the fourth team in NHL history to go through 20 games with one or less regulation loss. That’s it’s crazy. It’s crazy to think about when you actually sit down and talk it out and are like, “Oh yeah, by the way, one of the best teams ever right now, maybe.” Yeah. Like I mean by by a long shot four teams four three teams did this before then. What like a hundred years of high I mean I don’t know how long they played over 20 games I guess but but I mean regardless though like that’s so good. I this is elite level hockey and like I I mean we we have all these predictions. We have all these mockups and inevitably we’re going to get to a trade deadline. We’re going to get to a situation where lot of hockey a lot of hockey left. There’s a lot of games left to play. There’s a lot of situations left to potentially be played out for this team. So we could be looking at a different hockey team. Absolutely. in a couple months from now. But more than anything, they might be healthier than me. Right. Right. But but that’s what I’m saying is like that that’s the situation we’re running into where the hypothetical is, oh, maybe you’re changing up a little bit due to some, you know, injury related lack of depth. Yeah. But this team is a freaking on another level. And it it’s really really fun to be able to say that knowing again where they are where they rank in the league right now. Like that’s it is crazy to me that they currently like 35 points five points more than the team currently in second place which is the Carolina Hurricanes. Oh, and let’s mention this goal differential, too, which is just a casual plus 37, which is I I think the Canes are at what plus 16. Yeah, more than double the next closest team in gold differential. It’s I will say some of the goal differential is inflated by like empty net goals and stuff at the end of games. But but like that that’s just icing on the cake. It is. It’s it’s bonus for what how how good this team performing the cylinder that they are firing on. six points ahead of Dallas in their own division. Even Dallas is playing right now. They were losing to Calgary at the end of the second period. I don’t know where the game’s at now. Um next closest team is uh Minnesota who’s they’re eight points ahead of and they have a game in hand on. We are 21 games in and we’re already teetering on the brink of the ABS just straight up running away with the Central Division. They I they have to do more than just fall off a cliff. Yeah. To to get to that point where they’re not basically be disaster. Yeah. The ABS could play 500 hockey for the rest of the year. There are 61 games left. Take one overtime loss and then play 500 hockey and say they win 30 of those games. So 61 points. They play 500 hockey for the rest of the year. They will be a 96-point team, which will almost certainly get them into the playoffs. And they’re a lot better than a 500 hockey team. Oh my god. I like that that is like an unthinkable situation. Yep. To be in. Outrageous. I I have zero words for this. Like it’s it’s incredible to sit and watch. 10 minutes left in this show and I really don’t know how much else I have to say other than the ABS are the best team in the NHL by a lot. But you guys did get us to our winner shots. So, let’s do those. Thank you very much. Yeah, it’s been a while for Bailey. Cheers. Dr. Dubs in the chat. Drink your medicine. I feel like at this point, what is it like if we’re going to go and nitpick things, right? Like, yeah, this game for the most part. Like, it’s weird to say it sucked because they came out of this on top with the shut out. What else is there left to nitpick besides, you know, maybe getting more out of the power play, but I feel like that’s a copout. I’m going to I’m going to limit that one. I mean, if we’re really digging down into the nitpicking, I think I would have liked more from Victor Olivesson tonight. Okay, we we talked about, hey, they’re going to be uh by committee solving that second line left wing spot. Olivesson had his minutes cut a good amount tonight. Only played 1222. Landiskog and Nate just really filled that second line roll. You felt like Olivesson had one great chance tonight on a partial breakaway. He goes to the backhand, doesn’t finish it. And this is a guy who is a middle six player that has 15 points in 21 games. like being mad at him big picture. No, not at all. Right. But in a game like this one where it is 10 and you feel like you could make your life a lot easier by getting that next goal, you really would have loved someone like an Olison to step up there. Someone like a Colton step up there. Although I actually thought Colton was quite good in this game, just didn’t have the finishing. Uh maybe Artur Lean, another guy. You look at the shots he had tonight and you’re like, you really would have liked one of those to go in the net. Mhm. So, not an uncommon issue early in the season. The ABS, we kind of were critical of their finishing ability. Think that did creep in a little bit tonight. I The guy I was going to bring up is a a Martin Nut. Yeah, I kind of already ragged on him in the first segment. Right. So, like that’s it just just to kind of bring that back up. Like it’s for a guy who just signed a really long extension who’s going to stay here for a while. like he’s not it him going through I I’m going to call them quote unquote slumps because two game long slumps. Right. Right. But like he he this isn’t uncommon for him to kind of go a bit some of some of the lols and whatnot. But especially in a game like this where you’re maybe looking for some of that top end talent to stand out a little bit more. Uh Brent Burns has already done his job. Nelson and Drury are kind of doing theirs. Yep. Um, you see a Colton kind of do a little bit more. It like it’s Nutas is one of those ones where I I hope to see a little bit more. Yeah, I I think that’s a fair ask and he’s a topline player. Yep. The reality is the expectation is you score every night as a topline player and he didn’t get one on the board tonight. So, no, you would like a little bit more. McKinnon technically did. Yeah, it’s an empty net. I almost would ask a little bit more from a guy like Nathan McKinnon. You could definitely ask more. Those are the guys when you’re in a 1-0 game, you ask those guys to get you the twogoal lead. Mhm. That that’s what they’re paid the big bucks to do. And that’s it’s it’s unfortunate because McKinnon did get to that 20-minute mark. Yep. And the only goal to come out of it was an empty neter. An emptyer that he didn’t have to do anything. That that was all the right time kind of situation. Exactly. I I mean, you don’t have to work for that one, but it’s I I don’t know. It’s I I ask more for guy from guys like that in a game like this and it’s Taurus in the chat being like Major has seven points in his last two games and it’s like great. Yeah, that’s awesome. It It’s unfair. But to be a superstar in the NHL, the bar is that high. You score every night. And again, we’re talking about a guy like Nes who reports say this guy has a very high self-belief. Oh yeah. like he he may not always perform. Game isn’t going to rattle the confidence there. No. No. And so he’s got a very high self-belief as a guy who can keep up with someone like Nathan McKinnon and he’s proving that. Y I mean he he is top 10. Yeah. Like it’s and that that’s what makes this so weird is like that that’s why this is nitpicking is we’re we’re sitting here trying to pick apart, you know, what are the things we expect more. And I mean that a guy who wants to be a superstar in this league. I feel like that is not an unfair ask. Yeah, I I totally agree. He’ll come back tomorrow and have another three-point night. We’ll go sick. Awesome. They pick another thing pick like great. Cool. So, yeah. Let me ask you about one other guy. Okay. Devontaves. Weird night for him. I I don’t know. I thought he played somewhat like more than decently defensively. I agree. I I think for the most part he was on his game and as far as, you know, being paid as one of the top defenseman in the league, like that’s what you’re expected to do. Yep. Scoring is a really interesting front for him right now. He is one of the only guys who has not produced at a somewhat consistent level. Yep. Through the season so far. A five game stretch where he had six points and then he has one point outside of that range. And I and I go off of last season because he was really really good, especially in the final minutes of games last season. Notched a lot of gamewinners for this team. Yep. And I’m trying to find that Devontaves, the Devontaves that can not only be that difference maker defensively that we have seen. There’s a reason he makes national rosters every year and is is touted as one of the top defenseman in the league. I’m looking for that extra spark. Yeah. And you would hope some more of that would come back as the ABS got Sam Gerard back and you settle into okay well now we have another real lefty on the team and and maybe this is my double standard showing too but like I I’m allowed to be this nitpicky about a Martinez. I I’m almost of the mindset that I want to let Gerard kind of settle in for another game or two. I would agree with that for sure expecting more of that out of Dvonte. say even give Gerard to game 10 honestly like that which is fair. Um, but it it is something I’ve been keeping an eye on. Like I I you want more out of your a guy who’s playing with you want less. I’ll tell you that. Right. No. From a guy who is playing very very consistent minutes with a Kale Mar. Yep. I like we talk about the expectation is and that is it for me. It is. I I think it’s reasonable. There’s no reason to believe Devonte’s can’t produce more. Not just based on the Avalanche, but based on his history. He it would be tough for him to get to 50 points on the season at this point unless he really goes on a tear. But yeah, he should pretty much be an automatic 40 point guy for you. And he may well get there, but the offense has definitely been we’ll call it streaky. Yeah. So far this season, absolutely. But that doesn’t matter tonight. Brent Burns got on the board. Yeah, you got you did not get a point from Kale Mar Devontaves and your defense still contributed the only goal that beat a goalie tonight. Yeah. So, ABS defense pretty ridiculously good when you look at it from that front of things. Uh looks like we do have one super chat to get to here and then we can start winding down the show. Uh Hos Josh $5 says, “Are we worried about Burns having more goals and assists than a decade younger TA?” Well, we kind of just answered that question. We saw into the future on uh on that one. Am I worried about it? No, not at all. Would I like more from Taves? Yes. Yeah. Um but if that’s I mean talking about testaments, that’s just a testament to the ABS depth. Yeah. At this point, I mean, maybe I’m just a hater here, but like did anyone actually think Brent Burns would have 11 points in 21 games for the ABS? No. like we’re talking about him on a 40point pace for the season. That’s I I don’t know. I like I I love this because I feel like this is starting to become the expectation for a couple different guys on the blue line. Yep. Like I I I look at a Sam Molinsky who’s on a career pace right now, too. He’s got like 10 points. It’s crazy. like that. That’s incredible for second and third pairing guys who are playing behind a Kale Mar who is currently leading all defenseman and a lot of forwards in the league in points. Yep. So if that if that’s you know what the abs are getting, you’re not going to see me complaining about that at all. I I I’m very happy to celebrate that. Especially for a 41-year-old defenseman who is still playing in the league and sacrifing sacrificing his body the way that he still is. Ridiculous. 41 year olds don’t don’t play that well. That’s not how it’s supposed to work. No. Um I do think I will say I think there’s a convergence coming of like you have to keep playing great and our expectations keep going higher and higher and higher and higher. Eventually those are going to have to meet somewhere. It’s a come to Jesus moment of Yeah. the the limit does exist unfortunately mean girls but yeah I but that that’s just again I feel like we’re all allowed to kind of live in that exactly right now we can deal with the limit when we smash into it right now that’s that’s content for another day but right now we can we can ride the high everything’s greatosphere it’s perfect it’s awesome even when the abs don’t play their Last game, they still win. They’ve won eight in a row. The wagon is chugging along. The wagon is any faster and the wheels are going to light on fire at this point. So, feeling pretty good. Yeah, eight is great. I I’ll leave it to you there. I think we’re just about done. So, just to wrap up, consider becoming a supporters club member here on YouTube. It helps us out a bunch and you get access to a bunch of emojis that you can spam in chat during post games and watch alongs and all that good stuff. also gets access to the behindthe-scenes content. Make sure you go become a Die Hard member if you’re not to uh Bailey’s instant reaction piece is already up if you want to go read that side of things. AJ did the one tonight. You’re doing tomorrow. I’m doing tomorrow. Go read AJ’s one then. Same difference. Bailey also just put out a great piece on the goending and Blackwood pitches a shut out. I’m just saying. Do I need to write write more goalie pieces? That might be uh that might be what it is. So, go read that. Although like not trying to give you too much insider information, but we might have some pretty cool stuff coming up for Black Friday, too. If you like shirts, you know, just saying, just throwing it out there. He wears a lot of them on show, guys. You can get a lot of them. I wear exclusively Eric Weedm. So, I love it that he’s my designer. Uh, go check it out at the All City Network store. That’s it. That’s all I got. We’re going to wrap up for this one. Any final thoughts, Bailey? Nine’s my lucky number. Let’s go do it tomorrow. Next one. One step closer to blonde hair. I love it. We are out of here. This has been the DMV Avalanche postgame show presented by Bet 365.

The Colorado Avalanche best a goalie just once tonight as Brent Burns scores 15 seconds in. That would be enough with nothing beating Blackwood and MacKinnon and Drury would add empty netters

Intro – 0:00
Rundown – 2:40
Special teams – 7:00
Three Stars – 17:30
This isn’t normal – 27:50
Got smoked on 5v5 – 29:50
Avs vibes are immaculate – 43:30
Nitpicking – 49:50
Superchats/Wrapping up – 57:00

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