Hockey

It’s amazing how dominant the Avalanche are this season: good luck to the Canadiens this week!
Charles-Alexis Brisebois
It’s amazing how dominant the Avalanche are this season: good luck to the Canadiens this week!
Credit: Getty Images

It's crazy to say, but the Avalanche don't miss Mikko Rantanen these days.

It was certainly different last spring, when Rantanen played a small part in his former club's playoff elimination in the colors of the Dallas Stars…

But not right now.

Because right now, Martin Necas has adequately replaced Mikko Rantanen as the club needs to move to the next level.

Necas, who recently extended his contract in Colorado, is helping Nathan MacKinnon (who currently has 37 points) stay at the top of the NHL scoring charts.

Right now, everyone in Denver is doing what they need to do, and that's putting the club in first place overall in the National League.

But there's more to it than that. The club, which has won its last nine games, has just one setback in 60 minutes this season. Its 16-1-5 record in 22 games is… impressive.

The Avalanche have the best differential in the league (plus-38), the most goals scored (88), the fewest goals allowed (50) and the most regular season wins (15) in the league.

With 37 points, Colorado is seven points ahead of the Hurricanes and Stars, who have 30 points and are therefore in second place. And if you take seven points off the Stars' and Canes' 30, you're down to… 25th place, where you'll find the Panthers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

So, in a league where there's a motton of clubs in close proximity to each other, the Avalanche are winning solidly in the King of the Mountain game.

Understandably, it's in the playoffs that the club will have to win to erase the failures of recent years. But you can't win NHL playoff games in November, can you?

The Avalanche will have to improve their powerplay (15.7%, good for 24th in the NHL) soon… but with numbers like that, nobody's really worried.

Remember that the Canadiens will face the Avalanche on Saturday afternoon. It's going to be a big challenge, since no one can compete with the Avalanche right now.

(Credit: NHL.com)

It won't be an easy challenge. The Avalanche are proving that even on the road, nothing is too much trouble. The club just blanked the Preds and Hawks in 24 hours… in two different cities far from Denver. Imagine how hard it is to beat them at home…

The Canadiens will arrive in Colorado after Friday's game in Vegas. The visitors won't have much time to adjust to the air pressure… and they'll have to face a club that gives NOTHING away on the ice.

(Credit: NHL.com)

Would you be surprised if Jakub Dobes got the start in Utah and Denver, leaving the game against the Golden Knights to Samuel Montembeault?

Either way, it won't be easy on Saturday against the Avalanche, who will be sporting their Nordiques jerseys.


overtime

– Interesting.

– Really?

– Coming up.

– Penguins dominate powerplay.

– News from the waivers.

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