Climbing the Central Division Ladder

As I said before, a six-game homestand is just what a team needs to move up the ladder. For the Colorado Avalanche, it was an opportunity to pick up a maximum 12 points, and maybe make a huge dent in the Central Division standings. Game One went well; a 5-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Two points down, 10 to go. Next up, a hugely important game against... the Minnesota Wild. I don't know how, but the Wild have been figuring out ways to stay in third place, but they enter this matchup coming off being blasted 6-1 in Utah. They are slipping, and we need to capitalize.

Mackenzie Blackwood was in net against Filip Gustavsson, and unfortunately, the Wild struck early. Mats Zuccarello made it 1-0 for the Bad Guys at 4:14. Ugh. We started late against the Wild last month and it didn't turn out well. I said a few minutes after the goal, "We need a power play," especially because Minnesota's penalty kill is as dead as a doorknob. Finally, that opportunity came. Brodin was in the box, Avs on the PP, and Valeri Nichushkin (in his second game back) ties it up. He needed that one, especially since he missed the open net earlier. The assists came from Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas, and for the latter, he's now nine away from his third straight 100-point season, and he's 10 away from 1000 career points. Minnesota received a gift PP, and Vinnie Hinostroza made it 2-1. Again... UGH.

Avs ended the first on the power play, but even so, 20 minutes were done, the Avs were down 2-1, and both Wild goals were softies. The rest of the PP was killed off, and we would not see one during the entire middle frame. We would see plenty of goals, though. First off, Jonathan Drouin tied it up, with the lone assist coming from Oliver Kyington. Less than a minute later, Jack Drury gives the Avs the lead for the first time, with the assists coming from Cale Makar and Ross Colton. So the Avs are leading, and we added on to it. Colton made it 4-2 with the helpers coming from Kyington and Joel Kiviranta.

The Avs led 4-2 after 40 minutes and were clearly in the driver's seat. Trust me, the refs definitely tried to help the Wild, and not just in that one moment where one of them tried to help one of their players up. Wild got another PP, but that was killed off. Get this. MacKinnon was slashed, and he let the ref know that it should have been called, yet Mack ends up in the box. I swear, Mack's the only one who gets penalized like that. They would never treat McDavid like this. Anyway, that PP gets killed off, too. Time went down bit by bit, and yeah, it was all over but the shouting. A goalie pull allowed Colton to get his second of the game, with the assists coming from Devon Toews and Blackwood.

I repeat, boy, did we need that! We needed this so much! A key regulation win over the Wild and now, the Avs are tied in points with the Wild. However, the Wild still have a game in hand, but that game will be played on Sunday against the Bruins, during the Avalanche's three day break. What was amazing about this win is it was a true team effort. Colton had three points, and Kyington had a pair of helpers. Also, it came despite the Avs trailing after one period. These are the games you need to win to get a good position.

Regarding the homestand, it's now four points down, eight to go. We are now entering the month of March, the final full month of the regular season. The Avs next game in the homestand is against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that will take place on Tuesday.

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