This Has Only Happened FOUR Times In NHL History…

This Has Only Happened FOUR Times In NHL History…

Throughout the entire history of the NHL, only three teams have gone through their first 20 regulation games with one loss or fewer. 2728 Montreal Canadiens, the 7980 Philadelphia Flyers, and the 2012 2013 Chicago Blackhawks. That Chicago team was the only one out of those three to end up winning a Stanley Cup. Except now there is a fourth. The Colorado Avalanche just went through their first 23 games with only one loss in regulation and with their pure domination have become the bonafide odds on favorite to win the Stanley Cup. Hockey is a funny sport though and very rarely does the best regular season team go on to win a championship. But this Avalanche team looks borderline unstoppable. And when you take a deeper look into how we may be witnessing one of the greatest teams in modern NHL history. As it stands right now, the Colorado Avalanche seem like they’re in a league of their own. Of course, they are being led by arguably the two best players in the world right now, Nathan McKinnon and Kale Mar. McKinnon leads the entire NHL in scoring, while Kale Mar is tracking to make history for an NHL defenseman. Macar is currently on pace to have the best season for a defenseman in over 40 years. If all things continue, he’s on track to become the fourth different defenseman with 30 goals and 100 points. These two are at the core of Colorado success and their entire team identity is built on the basis of their strength. That identity first and foremost is raw, undeniable speed. Colorado as a whole is one of, if not the fastest team in the NHL. According to NHL edge stats, they rank in the top five in all speed categories and number one in the 18 to 20 mph range, which is the area that most players end up falling into. Pace is found in every area of their game, and it starts on the for check. Because of their speed, the Avalanche primarily run a 2124 check. So, naturally, they can be far more aggressive up the ice and still maintain a good defensive structure even if things go bad due to their team speed. Colorado is also less concerned about throwing the body and trying to kill a defenseman to manufacture mistakes. This is evident in just the numbers as the ABS are a bottom five team in terms of hits thrown in the league. Now, yes, that is partly because they usually have possession of the puck. But on the forche, they prefer to use their speed to close the gap and cut off any safety valve that the retrieving defender may have to break out the puck. On this play, look at two abs closing quick on Roman Yosi. Yosi is still one of the best puck moving defenseman in the game, by the way. But with how quickly this gap closes, this puck gets forced to the wall. And again, neither ABS player tries to kill Yosi with a hit. But instead, they prioritize taking away all options. Sure enough, the ABS win the puck battle. It goes to the point and it’s in the back of the net. Here’s an example of McKinnon using a calculated chip right into his winger’s corner. And then it’s speed and determination that makes the magic. And even though the Rangers break that up to get the breakout going, McKinnon disrupts the middle lane bump with his back pressure. And now it’s trouble. The guy’s just three moves ahead of everyone right now. And peekab-boo, there’s the dog on the doorstep for the goal. This play here is another example of how intelligent the ABS are checking right now. This F1 is going to just keep using his speed to force the puck here to his backhand side. Now, the F2 and Parker Kelly is going to come right into this winger’s passing lane, but watch the angle he takes. It’s not a curl towards the boards, but instead it’s a curl into the middle to force the puck carrier to the wall. Two brilliant things about this route. Not only does this set up the trap for the F3 to step in and disrupt the play, but it also allows Kelly to reload into the middle of the ice and put himself in a good defensive position in case that Islanders breakout is successful. It ends up in a possession and in the back of the net within seconds. Now, where we see this team speed truly thrive is off these counterattacks and rush plays, which is where the dynamic between Macar and McKinnon becomes nearly unstoppable. The presence of McKinnon speed in the neutral zone is enough to get defenseman backing way off to avoid getting burned. Once he slams on the brakes, the rest of the ABS players continue to go north or straight to cause the rest of Boston to sag while McKinnon attacks laterally to take advantage of that space. Both Mar and Taves fully have the green light here to activate because they’re superior skaters and that forces Boston to make a decision. continue to sag and give McKinnon all this space to step in or try to quickly flex out the pressure and take away any passing lane. Before a decision is made, McKinnon has already moved on. Coverages are all scattered with both the D at the front of the net and McKinnon gets himself wide open to wire one home. The AS are the best team in the world at using their speed going north to create all kinds of openings for these east west lateral types of plays. This is why Marty Nas has been such a perfect fit in Colorado. He’s one of the faster players in the league. Also, so defenses have to give him a similar amount of respect on rush plays. Watch Macar and Lechin here use that speed to drive north. Two stars are forced to drop back to stay with their check, creating a whole pocket of space here for the dog to step right in and work his magic. Of course, these compromises for defenses continue when the abs have sustained pressure in the ozone. Colorado plays this 2-3 system like they have for years now. This is where they have McKinnon as that high forward swinging up along the blue line with Macar and Taves. When this happens, defenses are forced into a lose-lose situation. If you play a more zonal coverage like Edmonton does here to try and double team McKinnon to cut off the pass, you risk leaving one of Mar or Taves wide open on a change of sides. That usually doesn’t end well, by the way. It also doesn’t work out well if you want to try to be a little bit more passive and block a shot. Sorry, sir. Mart takes full advantage of that space, steps in and puts him on the highlight reel. In this structure, it gives Colorado’s best players all kinds of chances to create these mini 2v1s to attack downhill. All of this is the big reason why Colorado has scored the most goals when five on five this year of any team and why they have the number one ranked offense despite having a power play in the bottom third of the league. Now, what’s equally as impressive is their defensive numbers. They’re also the number one ranked defensive team while being second in the league in terms of goals against in five-on-ive action. It’s easy to separate teams and break them down in terms of defense and offense, but they’re intrinsically related. And what empowers the Colorado Avalanche rush game is how well they defend in the neutral zone. They are so good at closing off opponents at the red or blue line to force a turnover and then right away using a quick up to turn it into a rush chance. against the pairing of Macar and Taves. It is just smothering in this area. If they don’t stop you at the first blue line, they’ll just stop you on the second and then spring Colorado on a rush the other way. There’s nothing more annoying as an offensive player than this. You’re trying to get a line change. All you want to do is get the puck in deep. And Kale Mar won’t even let you do that properly. This guy’s out here batting down dumpins that the other team can’t even set up their dump and chase game effectively. That’s something that Nick Lindstrom used to do, by the way, which used to drive players nuts. If you remember from last year, Florida mastered these defensive gaps. They gave teams no room to create in the neutral zone by stepping up at each line to close off plays. And Colorado is doing exactly that right now. When it comes to actually defending in their zone, the ABS disrupt a lot of plays when the puck is high near the blue line as their speed forces mistakes in a man-on-man system. As a result, you get a lot of forced long-range shots or plays that are ultimately blocked and immediately turned up ice for a Colorado attack. But what makes them so frustrating to play against is how connected all five guys are in the Dzone, especially on these stalled pucks along the wall. I mean, just look at the support and structure here. All five players are in the frame, ready to help on this puck and get the puck moving north. Again, another page out of Florida’s book with how tight the support is on the breakouts to help with these wall plays. And the cheekiest part is that Kale Macar himself is a one-man breakout that leaves the F1 in the dust for an automatic numbers advantage going the other way. Finally, we do have to give some love to the attendees and really management. Last year at this point, the ABS goalending was miserable. Colorado had the worst team save percentage in the NHL at the start of the season last year, but GM Chris McFarland said, “Nuh-uh. I’m not dealing with bad goalenders and totally overhauled their crease, bringing in all the wood. He picked up Mackenzie Blackwood and Scotty Wedgwood, who now combined for the best save percentage in the league. Yes, Colorado’s strong defensive game is a big reason for the success, but when called upon to bail them out, both goalies have been incredible. Right now, we’re seeing an ABS team that is on another level from the rest of the league. A pace so rare that only three other teams in history have matched it to start the season. The best team in the regular season is usually faced with the burden of expectations and superstition. But right now, the feeling around this team is different. And if they stay healthy to keep this pace, we might be watching the beginning of something unforgettable.

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In this video, we breakdown how the Colorado Avalanche have become the juggernauts of the NHL.