Vegas Golden Knights @ Colorado Avalanche - Pre-Game Report
The Avalanche just finished three rounds of back-to-backs scoring an unexpected 11 of 12 possible points. They now sit third in the Central Division with games in hand that if converted to wins, would put them in first place in the Central. Conveniently, the Avs play the team who leads the Western Conference tonight and a win here would convert those potential game-in-hand wins into the Western Conference lead. Now that I have sufficiently upset the hockey gawds, let’s look at the pre-game thoughts.
Keep the Momentum, Get the Win: The past couple of weeks have been a mix of the Avs winning and the teams around them in the standings losing. The question about making the playoffs no longer feels in doubt. The question that creeps in is now, “Can the Avs be the #1 seed in the west?” Beating the Knights would be a rubber stamp on the notice being delivered to the rest of the west, the Avalanche are back and they have more reinforcements on the way. I want this game, not just to bury that second-round loss to the Knights a little deeper, but for the reward for the boys who put in a lot of back-to-back in order to put themselves in this position.
Byram Leads the Way: Bowen Byram is noticeable every time he is on the ice. He is following up on offensive zone rushes and has scored points in four straight games. Byram is making the offensive firepower of the D-Corp exciting and providing the time Makar needs to take in order to come back to the line-up and bring his Norris-level play to the Avalanche. Byram is fun to watch and I want him to succeed not just for the team I root for, but for the player who was willing to speak up about his head injury and the front office that was willing to listen to the player and give the player time and space to get better.
Point Salad: The Avs have been getting points from their stars, their defense, and their depth forwards. The way the Avs have been winning are the kinds of wins that make us fans believe this is for real. It’s not a joke to say “the Avs are back” because the Avs are winning in ways that mimic the team from last year. This season has been a waiting game of surviving AHL rosters and injury bugs. Did I mention Landeskog and Makar are skating? I want to see the point salad continue, especially against the team currently sitting first in the Western Conference.
Vancouver @ Dallas
The Stars just beat Vegas in Vegas. Vancouver just lost to the Bruins, the best team in the NHL, but where is the threat to Dallas? Dallas really just needs to get away from the 3-3-4 in their last 10 games version of themselves and they should find a win at home. When the biggest threat to your division lead is playing the best in the west and your opponent is 12th in the conference, 19 points out of a playoff spot, this has to be a win.
What is there to say about Vancouver? There are five other teams in the league ahead of them for the Conner Bedard sweepstakes. The team’s captain has recently been traded and the National Hospital League intermural squad is filled with Vancouver players, it’s not fun to be a Canucks fan right now. Where does relief of any kind come from? Being a fan of a stuck team sucks.
