A New York Minute
A look at the Colorado Avalanche's back-to-back games in NYC
The Colorado Avalanche kicked off the month of December with another home win, this one against the Vancouver Canucks. Now, the Avs are on the road; a four-game trip that mostly takes place in the East Coast. The season has been very amazing. Only one regulation loss, near perfect play, and a huge points streak. Which begs the question: when will that other shoe finally drop?
Asked and answered.
Well, it finally happened, folks. The Avs' road trip began in Long Island against the Islanders, and as "Iron" Mike Tyson says, "Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth." For the first time this season, that's exactly what happened. The Isles made it rain on us--a 4-0 lead in the 2nd period. Valeri Nichushkin cracked our goose egg, and then we made it a two goal game, but the Isles got one back at the very end of the 2nd period.
At the end, the final score was 6-3 in the Isles' favor, and for the first time in over a month, we lost in regulation. I'll be dead honest, we needed this. Because in sports, everything cannot go right all the time. All teams have to have some downs. This game was our first. This was the first time that we did not have a lead the entire time, and this was the first time we lost by more than one goal. It won't be the last. We will continue to get wins, but those losses will be part of our season. It's how we respond that tells the tale.
Case in point:
The Avs remained in the Big Apple and took on the New York Rangers at MSG for an early game, and the first frame had a lot of shots, but nothing went in. Mackenzie Blackwood was a brick wall, and Igor Shesterkin was, well, Igor. No score after 20 minutes, second period saw heavy pressing from the Avs, and something broke through. Parker Kelly made it 1-0, and that score held up after two periods. In the third, Conor Sheary (who played under Mike Sullivan in Pittsburgh) tied it up pretty early, and it was mostly quiet after that. Then in the final five minutes, it got noisy again. Guess who? Yep. #29 struck and gave us the lead!
We put in another one after that, or so we thought. Replay showed it didn't fully cross the goal line, so it was still 2-1. Igor was pulled for the extra attacker, and Artemi Panarin tied it up. Here's the thing, though. Before he put it in, Panarin played the puck with a high stick... twice. Once is supposed to be too many, but despite this, they let it slide. So we had overtime, and this was an interesting one. We don't win in OT this season. The Rangers don't win at home. Something was going to give.
And guess who made sure it was the former?!
Give him the trophy. Give him the Hart Trophy. It should already have his name on it. MacKinnon's OT winner was his second of the game and his twenty-fourth of the season. We've played 28 games. He's on pace to end up with close to 70 goals this season. Give him the trophy. The fact that he wasn't even a finalist for the Hart last year is a damn crime. As for the Avs overall, we became the first team to reach 20 wins this season. Again, we've played 28 games.
The Avs' road trip continues on Sunday in Philadelphia against the Flyers, and it will conclude on Tuesday in Nashville (on TNT).
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About the Creator
Clyde E. Dawkins
I'm a big sports fan, especially hockey, and I've been a fan of villainesses since I was eight! My favorite shows are The Simpsons and Family Guy, etc.
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