AVALANCHE

Game 2 offered plenty of good for the Avs, but also a few worries

May 20, 2021, 3:00 PM

An underdog in the series and losing Game 1 forced the Blues to come out fighting, even more so with the disruption of COVID-19 on the day of Game 2. Unfortunately for St. Louis, the fight wasn’t enough.

The Avalanche top line continues to control the series. Off to the Lou.

The Blues will have more control over the matchups and will try to climb back into the series on home ice. A healthy David Perron would be a big boost. The Avalanche will be forced to make some changes with suspension coming to Nazem Kadri and potential an injury or two.

Evolution of a goal…

***

Colorado 1, St. Louis 0

It didn’t take long for the Avs to jump on the board. A Blues defensemen pinch in their offensive zone caused Ryan O’Reilly to cover. O’Reilly was put in a challenging position when heading back into his zone.

Ex-teammate Gabe Landeskog was hot on his tail. In this situation, either a defenseman or a forward will have a tough out; the puck sits tight against the wall, making it slightly more difficult to get clean. O’Reilly had to position himself to embrace the oncoming hit. He needed to find his outlet partner and also deal with the puck against the boards.

The end result wasn’t in the Blues favor. The puck was turned over. Ryan Graves made a quick and hard shot that got tipped by Joona Donskoi for the goal. The Donskoi shift was nine seconds long.

***

Colorado 2, St. Louis 0

Late in the first period, the Avs continued to attack, forcing the Blues to take a penalty. The critical part here was where the puck went out of play.

It was to the right of Blues goalie Jordan Binnington, therefore, making the face off to the right. This little detail forced the NHL’s leading face-off man, O’Reilly, out of the circle since he takes face offs on the other side.

The Avs won the draw and quickly set up their power play. Nathan MacKinnon did the rest.

Coming off the half wall, MacKinnon used two screens, one by the Blues defensemen and one by Landeskog, to score short side on Binnington. It was a beautiful shot.

***

Colorado 3, St. Louis 0

I should say this: See above. This situation was very similar to the previous goal. Almost identical.

Avalanche pressure caused a Blues player to hook MacKinnon and put the Avs back on the PP. The Avs needed just 30 seconds to score goal No. 2. This time, it was 26 seconds for No. 3.

MacKinnon used more smarts than power here; placement of the shot was more important than velocity. Slightly moving to his left to created a better shooting angle and screens made the difference.

***

Colorado 3, St. Louis 1

This is the issue for the Avalanche. Defensive depth. In the first two games, both home games with control of the matchups, they have rarely played their third pairing of Patrik Nemeth and Conor Timmins together.

Nemeth has had a tough series so far with several turnovers, including one here in the second period to get the Blues on the board. Nemeth played 16:53 in Game 2. I would like to see him to around 10 or 12.

***

Colorado 3, St. Louis 2

Nazem Kadri. That is it. The Blues pull within one with a power-play goal.

***

Colorado 4, St. Louis 2

See the second goal in Game 1. Identical.

The Avs on the forecheck created a turnover. Mikko Rantanen used his manpower to push Torey Krug off the puck.

This was smart hockey. This would be the difference between Valeri Nichuskin and Rantanen. Nichuskin would be more likely to finish the check where Rantanen uses his strength to take the body and puck. Not a big difference but a difference that makes No. 96 great.

Turnover. Rantanen to Landeskog to Devon Toews to MacKinnon. Screen in front. Goal. Skate, check, pass, shot, screen, repeat.

***

Colorado 4, St. Louis 3

A little bit of a let-up here by the Avs after their fourth goal. Nemeth pinched down the wall in an effort to keep the puck in the zone. The puck got by, putting the Blues on a break.

The pinch left Tyson Jost to play defense. Forwards can skate backward; however, the gaps will not be as good as defensemen who practice every day.

Jost was slightly out of position, too close to the wall, and has to pivot and skate forward to keep pace. It didn’t take much for a team to take advantage.

Samuel Girard, playing the right side on the rush, adjusted his gap on the Blues shooter to support Jost, which is just enough for an excellent shooter to get a shot off. Also, it wasn’t a good save.

***

Colorado 5, St. Louis 3

Empty Net

***

Colorado 6, St. Louis 3

Empty Net

***

The Good:

• The Avs top line
• Donskoi
• The power play
• The fans

***

The Bad:

• Nemeth
• Timmins
• Kadri
• Stan Kroenke

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