Avalanche Game 30 Recap: Rough Night in Winnipeg
The Colorado Avalanche's first road game in nearly two weeks sees them fall badly to the Winnipeg Jets
So quite a bit happened regarding the Colorado Avalanche following the team's five game homestand. The team traded Tomas Tatar to the Seattle Kraken, receiving a 5th-round pick in return. The Avs acquired Tatar during the offseason from the New Jersey Devils, but his start to this season has not been a good one. Tatar, usually a 20-goal-per-season player, only put one puck in the net this season. The assists were there, but the goals weren't. Tatar's only goal with the Avs came in the 6-5 comeback win over the Calgary Flames; it was actually the Avs' first goal of the game.
Seriously, what is it with the Seattle Kraken taking a lot of our players? This is only their third season in existence, yet their expansion year saw them take Joonas Donskoi (who has since retired) via the expansion draft, and Philipp Grubauer via free agency. Andre Burakovsky, after winning the Stanley Cup with the Avs, went to Seattle, and now they have Tomas Tatar. Wow. The trade did free up some cap space, so the Avs could make another big move later in the season. Antti Raanta's available now. Maybe we get him to back up Georgiev? Imagine that three-headed monster: Georgiev, Raanta, and Prosvetov.
Speaking of Prosvetov, he was in net against Connor Hellebuyck, and at first, the Avs were leading in shots at first. I expected Colorado to strike first, but Winnipeg beat them to it. Gabriel Vilardi, one of two main players dealt to the Jets in the Pierre-Luc Dubois deal, scored, with the assists coming from Mark Schiefele and Josh Morrissey. Less than two minutes later, Vladislav Namestnikiov makes it 2-0 for the Jets. Remember that name, Avs fans? I do. I haven't forgotten his go-ahead goal for the Avs in that Game Seven in the bubble.
2-0 was the score after 20 minutes, and it would be 3-0 at the near midpoint of the second period. Alex Iafallo, the other player dealt to the Jets for Dubois, scored his first goal in forever, giving him. The score held up after 40 minutes. We needed to strike first, and fast, in the third. We did, and it as Jonathan Drouin on the power play. The assists went to Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon, with the latter continuing his points streak. It looked like the Avs would be on the verge of getting back in it, but barely over 90 seconds later, Vilardi struck again to give Winnipeg their three-goal lead back. At 8:48, Nino Niederreiter (another name we Avs fans remember, unfortunately) made it 5-1, putting it completely out of reach for the Avs. Jack Johnson put one in for Colorado, but the Avs' extra attacker attempt saw Nikolaj Ehlers put it in the empty net.
The Avalanche were blasted, 6-2, by the Kyle Connor-less Winnipeg Jets. The loss and Dallas' overtime loss caused quite a shift in the Central Division. All three teams are tied in points, but first place now goes to the Jets, while the Avalanche actually drop to third behind Winnipeg and Dallas. Even crazier: the Nashville Predators are creeping up in the Central. Oh man. It's still pretty early in the season; 52 games remain in the Avs' season, though the All-Star Break is just over a month away. It is always important to be in a good position at the break, and there is a good chance that the Avalanche will be in quite a peachy position by the time February arrives.
The Avs will be back in action tomorrow, and back at home as well. The back-to-back concludes with Colorado's second meeting with the San Jose Sharks--a Sharks team that has improved a bit in the two months that have passed since the first encounter.
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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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I've so enjoyed reading this recap.