Avalanche With Seven Straight Wins
The Colorado Avalanche have stayed the course this season, struggling at times. However, the recent stretch they’ve put together has been nothing short of impressive and proves that they might still be the team to beat in the Western Conference.
Colorado is now tied in points with the Winnipeg Jets with 93, the second most in the entire Western Conference. Given it’s the end of the year, the Avalanche will need to continue putting this type of stretch together.
It’s always going to be the offence for Colorado, scoring 258 goals, the most in the Western Conference this season. Their recent wins have been impressive, winning on the road against the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and St. Louis Blues.
Getting wins on the road is never an easy task and Mikko Rantanen understands that. He had the following to say after this recent stretch, according to The Hockey News.
Read More:
NHL Games Predictions, Picks, And Odds. Weekly Schedule 12/03/2024
NHL Predictions, Picks, And Odds: Tuesday 12/12/2023
“Home, we’ve been good all year pretty much, but on the road we’ve been kind of inconsistent,” Rantanen said after the game. “This was a really good road trip, not easy teams to play against. St. Louis was four points out before today so they’re kind of playing playoffs already to get in so tough buildings to play in to get four wins — got to be proud of the group, for sure.”
Winning on the road in the playoffs is a must. If Colorado did struggle when it mattered most, they could kiss their Stanley Cup chances goodbye. Championship teams win on the road, and the Avalanche know that after winning one themselves.
Read More:
NHL Predictions. Bruins Vs Panthers, Rangers Vs Penguins, Golden Knights Vs Stars
NHL. Predictions, Picks, And Odds. Weekly Preview 16/01/2024
NHL Predictions, Picks, And Odds. Weekly Preview 02/01/2024
Latest Moves Should Improve the Team
For a championship team, adding players was a need for the Avalanche. They landed Sean Walker from the Philadelphia Flyers, Casey Mittelstadt from the Buffalo Sabres, Brandon Duhaime from the Minnesota Wild, and Yakov Trenin from the Nashville Predators.
Read More:
NHL Predictions, Picks, And Odds 26/02/2024
Toronto Maple Leafs Vs. Florida Panthers Prediction, Odds 01/04/24
St. Louis Blues Vs Edmonton Oilers Prediction, Odds 28/02/24
Adding four players of this level was massive for the Avalanche, and will be in the playoffs. The Avalanche know better than anyone that if they want to win in the playoffs, they’ll have to be ready and add players of this calibre during the deadline.
They did something similar in 2022, and we all know what happened then.
While it’s not a guarantee that they’ll win, all the front office can do is go out and add players who can help. They’ve done just that and the Avalanche have started to see the earlier rewards for it.
Chris MacFarland had the following to say about the moves, according to The Athletic.
“In 2022, we took a similarly strategic approach and tried to fill holes,” MacFarland told The Athletic after Day 1 of the NHL general managers’ meetings in South Florida. “The (Tyson) Jost-(Nico) Sturm deal saved us money on the cap that allowed us to add (Andrew) Cogliano at the last minute. We felt we needed to add a strong defenseman, so we got (Josh) Manson. We felt we needed another solid forward, so we added (Artturi) Lehkonen. All played significant roles in winning the Cup.”
“It’s the hockey and the math and trying to find those pieces, and you have to have another team amenable to what you’re trying to do as well. So it’s a real fun, exciting period in the weeks from your midyear meetings till the deadline. This deadline was similar in that regard to 2022. We certainly weren’t going in going, ‘We’ve got to get four guys, four new players.’ But we wanted to identify needs and try our best to fill those.”
MacFarland has put them in a position to succeed, and now it’s the Avalanche’s job to finish what they started.
More analytics on NHL:
- The Vancouver Canucks Are Being Underlooked
- Are the Philadelphia Flyers Actually This Good?
- What to Make of the Minnesota Wild’s Recent Stretch
- The Vegas Golden Knights Proved They’re Still the Team to Beat
- The Dallas Stars Are Flying Under the Radar This Season
- The Eastern Conference Is Unstoppable
More predictions:
- Boston Bruins Vs Edmonton Oilers Prediction, Odds 21/02/2024
- NHL Predictions, Picks, And Odds. Weekly Preview 20/12/2023
- NHL. Predictions, Picks, And Odds. Weekly Preview 30/01/2024
- NHL Predictions, Picks, And Odds 19/03/2024
- Detroit Red Wings Vs. Colorado Avalanche Prediction, Odds 06/03/24
- NHL. Predictions, Picks, And Odds. Weekly Preview 15/02/2024
