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  16. <title>Colorado Avalanche news, rumors, stats, photos, video — The Denver Post</title>
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  36. <title>How use of analytics is part of Colorado Avalanche&#8217;s secret sauce: &#8220;Numbers are unemotional&#8221;</title>
  37. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/05/05/colorado-avalanche-analytics-success/</link>
  39. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Corey Masisak]]></dc:creator>
  40. <pubDate>Sun, 05 May 2024 11:45:43 +0000</pubDate>
  41. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  42. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  43. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  44. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  45. <category><![CDATA[analytics]]></category>
  46. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche]]></category>
  47. <category><![CDATA[Chris MacFarland]]></category>
  48. <category><![CDATA[Devon Toews]]></category>
  49. <category><![CDATA[Jack Johnson]]></category>
  50. <category><![CDATA[Jared Bednar]]></category>
  51. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  52. <category><![CDATA[Ross Colton]]></category>
  53. <category><![CDATA[Stanley Cup playoffs]]></category>
  54. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6044654</guid>
  55.  
  56. <description><![CDATA[For the Avalanche, it's not just the quality of information from the four-person team on the analytics staff, but how it gets communicated and circulated throughout the organization that helps maximizes the franchise's success.]]></description>
  57. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Avalanche just overpowered the Winnipeg Jets in a Stanley Cup Playoffs series with a tenacious forecheck, a terrifying combination of skill and will in front of the net and &#8230; statistical analysis?</p>
  58. <p>Colorado has assembled a roster deep enough to win the Stanley Cup for the second time in three seasons. The Avs have arguably the best core of world-class talent in the NHL, backed by a second wave of terrific players and an improved collection of depth after fortuitous work before the trade deadline.</p>
  59. <p>But a significant part of the franchise&#8217;s secret sauce is how it has used analytics, with information flowing smoothly from the front office to the coaching staff to the players, to directly impact how the team plays on the ice.</p>
  60. <p>&#8220;I think it’s super useful for us,&#8221; said defenseman Jack Johnson, an 18-year NHL veteran who admitted he had little desire to understand or use analytics earlier in his career. &#8220;They break it down and simplify it. They pretty much tell you, ‘Hey, we’re struggling on breakouts’ or ‘We’re giving up too many odd-man rushes.’ I think it puts it into a perspective for the players that takes away any opinion or emotion because numbers are unemotional.</p>
  61. <p>&#8220;&#8230; It just puts the numbers in front of the players’ faces. You can’t really argue with the way they present it to us.&#8221;</p>
  62. <p><em>Did how the Avs use analytics help the club in its five-game rout of the Jets?</em></p>
  63. <p>&#8220;Yes, absolutely,&#8221; Johnson said.</p>
  64. <p><em>Care to share any examples now that the series is over? </em></p>
  65. <p>&#8220;No,&#8221; Johnson replied with a mischievous grin. &#8220;We knew there were certain things that they did well, and there were certain things that they struggled with. And we knew those were the things we were going to focus on and try to exploit.&#8221;</p>
  66. <p>For the Avs, it&#8217;s not just the quality of information they receive from the four-person analytics staff, but how it gets communicated and circulated throughout the organization that helps maximize the franchise&#8217;s success.</p>
  67. <h4>&#8220;It&#8217;s changed a lot&#8221;</h4>
  68. <p>Jared Bednar was hired on Aug. 25, 2016. Around the same time, the Avs also added Arik Parnass to head up an analytics department. It was a clear departure from the Patrick Roy era &#8212; a coach who at the time was among the most famous opponents of the burgeoning advanced information age.</p>
  69. <p>Bednar, on the other hand, might be the most numbers-friendly head coach in the NHL.</p>
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  131. <p>He has used phrases like &#8220;goals saved above expected&#8221; on his weekly radio show and regularly cites other advanced statistics when he meets with media members.</p>
  132. <p>The analytics team is now four people. It includes Parnass as the director, associate director Dawson Sprigings, hockey analyst David Wood and Jetson Ku as a data scientist.</p>
  133. <p>&#8220;It&#8217;s changed a lot, even in just my time here,&#8221; Bednar said. &#8220;I like all of the information. You just have to make sure you’re presenting it in a way that the players can understand and grasp all of it.&#8221;</p>
  134. <p>The war on analytics in the NHL is long over, even if some people around the sport still try to pick losing battles. Every club uses advanced statistics in some way, and the NHL&#8217;s implementation of a player and puck-tracking system with microchips has given teams a near-limitless amount of data to sift through.</p>
  135. <p>Before the tracking system went live, how NHL clubs acquired that information was an arms race. Now, how the information is parsed through, circulated and harnessed to find advantages and improve aspects of player acquisition or how a team plays is critical.</p>
  136. <p>This is where the Avs have excelled.</p>
  137. <p>&#8220;It&#8217;s definitely two parts,&#8221; Bednar said. &#8220;Me getting the information from (the analytics staff), and it’s not just this big blob of information with all these numbers. I want it broken down in a certain way that makes sense. So the evolution of that for us was they started giving me all the information, then I talked to them about how I want it broken down because this is how I like to present it. And then it just got cleaner and tighter as it went on.&#8221;</p>
  138. <p>A key part of that process was Wood sitting in on meetings with the coaching staff and players. He got a first-hand look at how the coaches present the information to the players, how the players and coaches interact with the data and how the coaches use video clips to support it.</p>
  139. <p>From the early days of fans creating and discussing advanced statistics on the internet to NHL teams using and developing new metrics, gaining acceptance was a hurdle. Then finding ways to communicate the information so that coaches, players and scouts would embrace it was another.</p>
  140. <p>&#8220;There is so much information out there, but I think our guys do a great job of filtering through the noise and getting to what (Bednar) finds valuable,&#8221; Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said. &#8220;It allows (Bedar) to link it, whether it’s with video or a message, to our group.</p>
  141. <p>&#8220;(Bednar) has embraced it, and all aspects of it. It’s a teaching tool. I think younger players, sometimes they want to know the why. When you try to put a concrete explanation on things, it’s another resource, not only for Jared but for the rest of our staff. They want it. The more information, the better.&#8221;</p>
  142. <h4>&#8220;It’s new to me&#8221;</h4>
  143. <p>The Avalanche uses analytics at all levels of the organization, but how Bednar and his staff use data with the players is the most obvious way to see how the club sees a return on the resources it invests.</p>
  144. <p>As Johnson noted, the Avs use the information to identify the strengths and weaknesses of every opponent. That becomes more critical during the playoffs, but even the lighter lift involved for a random weeknight game in the regular season is important.</p>
  145. <p>&#8220;Pretty much the whole pre-game meetings are based on the other team’s analytics,&#8221; said defenseman Sean Walker, who joined the club before the trade deadline after time with the Flyers and Kings. &#8220;It’s new to me. It’s not something that I paid attention to too much before, but it definitely gives you a strong idea of what the other team is trying to do. I think it’s helpful. It’s definitely interesting to see the analytics and how it plays out on the ice.</p>
  146. <p>&#8220;(My previous teams) would talk about some stuff, like &#8216;they like to do this&#8217; and I’m sure that was based off the analytics, but here they actually show you the numbers and the stats and where they place in the league.&#8221;</p>
  147. <p>One of the key aspects of how Bednar and his staff help the players connect with and absorb the data is not the numbers themselves. Most players aren&#8217;t going to care if tonight&#8217;s opponent is creating X shots in the slot area on the power play per game, or Y shots from the right faceoff circle.</p>
  148. <p>But tell them a team is fourth in the league in one category or 30th in another &#8212; and then supplement it with video clips — and the information hits home.</p>
  149. <p>&#8220;We&#8217;re just trying to find a competitive advantage to what we&#8217;re doing,&#8221; Avs defenseman Devon Toews said. &#8220;Analytics gives you data, and our coaching staff does a good job of supporting it with video and the things that show you the eye test as well as the numbers. They do a good job of bringing both pieces to us and we’ve done a good job of implementing it in games.</p>
  150. <p>&#8220;They do a good job of understanding, like this number is a bit of an outlier and they’re not seeing that when they watch the video. Others stick out and it’s very blatant and straightforward &#8212; this is the way they play and this is what they do and that’s why the numbers are like that. They do a good job of explaining all of that.&#8221;</p>
  151. <p>Another integral part of how the Avs use analytics is in self-evaluation.</p>
  152. <p>Bednar likes to break the regular season into 10-game segments. It gives his players mile markers during a long journey and can provide a little extra motivation if one segment is nearing a conclusion and hasn&#8217;t gone so well.</p>
  153. <p>It also gives him and his coaching staff a chance for regularly scheduled wellness checks.</p>
  154. <p>&#8220;We always have a big meeting about the analytic parts behind (each 10-game segment),&#8221; said Avs forward Ross Colton, who joined the team this past offseason from Tampa Bay. &#8220;I didn’t realize they looked that much into it. We never really did that kind of stuff in Tampa. Obviously, we talked about some things, but not like this.&#8221;</p>
  155. <p>Wood delivers the pre-scouting information to Bednar, and the 10-game progress reports as well. The coaching staff digs into what the team did well in the previous 10 games, what it did poorly and where the changes are from the previous 10 or 20, for better or worse.</p>
  156. <p>Then they find video clips to supplement the data, and the meeting is similar to the pregame ones, just with a more introspective focus.</p>
  157. <p>&#8220;It is kind of cool to see the correlation between when we were having really good stretches &#8212; (Bednar) would read off the numbers we were always top-five, top-10 in those defensive categories,&#8221; Colton said. &#8220;I feel like we were pretty consistent in the top five with offensive numbers. There were times when our defensive play dipped, but we didn’t realize it was so drastic. We’d go from top-five to like 23 when we were on a losing skid. Once we tightened up those little things and knew what we needed to do, it was cool to see it work.&#8221;</p>
  158. <p>Every player on the Avalanche receives the same team-based information, but some like to dig into the numbers a little further. Some seek out help during a personal slump. The numbers and video clips can be helpful. Others don&#8217;t want any part of knowing what their Corsi percentage or expected goals percentage was on a given night.</p>
  159. <p>For the analytics staff, it&#8217;s all about sifting through the data to find what the coaching staff or the front office wants to help the evaluation process. For the coaches, it&#8217;s all about using the information to help the players see what is going well, what isn&#8217;t and what needs to change.</p>
  160. <p>&#8220;We kind of try to stick to just the nuts and bolts of our team,&#8221; Bednar said. &#8220;You’re always fine-tuning details in your game like D-zone coverage, but when you can tie a number to it and say, &#8216;This is where we were when we were 7-3 and here’s where we are now when we’re going through a little something,&#8217; it helps draw attention to that one particular area. Then you can dig in and fix it through practice, video, etc.</p>
  161. <p>&#8220;They want to win and that information can then help them buy into what we&#8217;re trying to sell and get everyone on the same page.&#8221;</p>
  162. <p><em><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/newsletter-signup/avalanche-insider/">Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.</a></em></p>
  163. ]]></content:encoded>
  167. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6044654</post-id><media:content url="https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-CANADIENS_DSC7055.jpg?w=1400px&#038;strip=all" fileSize="336392" type="image/jpeg" height="150" width="150" isDefault="true"><media:description type="html"><![CDATA[ Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar talks with Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews (7) on the bench during the second period at Ball Arena in Denver on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) ]]></media:description></media:content>
  168. <dcterms:created>2024-05-05T05:45:43+00:00</dcterms:created>
  169. <dcterms:modified>2024-05-04T14:55:45+00:00</dcterms:modified>
  170. </item>
  171. <item>
  172. <title>Injured Avs needed break, but healthy ones won&#8217;t get rusty as they await next foe: &#8220;We&#8217;re going to go to work&#8221;</title>
  173. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/05/03/avalanche-injuries-drouin-kiviranta-rest/</link>
  175. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Corey Masisak]]></dc:creator>
  176. <pubDate>Fri, 03 May 2024 20:08:41 +0000</pubDate>
  177. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  178. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  179. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  180. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  181. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche]]></category>
  182. <category><![CDATA[Jared Bednar]]></category>
  183. <category><![CDATA[Jonathan Drouin]]></category>
  184. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  185. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6042232</guid>
  186.  
  187. <description><![CDATA[Jonathan Drouin, Joel Kiviranta are trying to recover from lower-body injuries]]></description>
  188. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There&#8217;s no question who a couple of the Colorado Avalanche players were rooting for Friday night when the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights met in Game 6 of their opening-round series.</p>
  189. <p>The Avs made it out of a first-round win against the Winnipeg Jets relatively healthy. Jonathan Drouin did not play in the series because of a skate-cut on his leg during Game 82 of the regular season against Edmonton. Joel Kiviranta was the only player who began the series but missed games, sitting out Games 4 and 5 with a lower-body injury.</p>
  190. <p>Both players could use as much time as possible before the next round starts, so they were likely rooting for the Golden Knights to push that series to a Game 7.</p>
  191. <p>&#8220;Both are getting better,&#8221; Avs coach Jared Bednar said after practice Friday. &#8220;(Drouin) is not on the ice yet. (Kiviranta) skated this morning on his own before when the goalies went out. Making progress, but nothing significant just yet.&#8221;</p>
  192. <p>Bednar revealed after Game 5 that Drouin&#8217;s timeline was &#8220;four weeks or less&#8221; and the Avs are hoping he can get back a little early. It&#8217;s possible that Drouin could return before the end of the second round, particularly if his recovery time lands in the &#8220;less&#8221; part of that diagnosis.</p>
  193. <p>Kiviranta&#8217;s timeline remains unclear. Nikolai Kovalenko made his NHL debut in Game 4 and took Kiviranta&#8217;s spot on the third line for each of the past two games.</p>
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  255. <p>The Avs had a full practice Friday, more reminiscent of a training-camp workout than one from the middle of the season. Bednar has noted several times this season that he hasn&#8217;t always liked how his team plays after having extra rest.</p>
  256. <p>&#8220;We’re going to go to work,&#8221; Bednar said. &#8220;Depending on when we start and who we play, we’re going to work through this break and try to keep the intensity up when we’re on the ice. Then we’re going to rest the other days and try to get healthy.&#8221;</p>
  257. <p><em><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/newsletter-signup/avalanche-insider/">Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.</a></em></p>
  258. ]]></content:encoded>
  262. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6042232</post-id><media:content url="https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-PENGUINS_DSC2259.jpg?w=1400px&#038;strip=all" fileSize="119677" type="image/jpeg" height="150" width="150" isDefault="true"><media:description type="html"><![CDATA[ Colorado Avalanche left wing Jonathan Drouin (27) in the second period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ball Arena in Denver on Sunday, March 24, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) ]]></media:description></media:content>
  263. <dcterms:created>2024-05-03T14:08:41+00:00</dcterms:created>
  264. <dcterms:modified>2024-05-03T14:17:00+00:00</dcterms:modified>
  265. </item>
  266. <item>
  267. <title>Avalanche shows its championship DNA, offers Jets lessons to ponder for the future</title>
  268. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/05/01/avalanche-championship-dna-stanley-cup-playoffs/</link>
  270. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Corey Masisak]]></dc:creator>
  271. <pubDate>Thu, 02 May 2024 00:48:43 +0000</pubDate>
  272. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  273. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  274. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  275. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  276. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche]]></category>
  277. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  278. <category><![CDATA[Stanley Cup playoffs]]></category>
  279. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6040095</guid>
  280.  
  281. <description><![CDATA[Winnipeg had a great regular season, but the Jets couldn't match Colorado's intensity in one-sided opening-round series]]></description>
  282. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>WINNIPEG &#8212; Rick Bowness invoked the wisdom from one of hockey&#8217;s most famous playoff tales Tuesday night.</p>
  283. <p>His Winnipeg Jets had just finished a season with 110 points &#8212; fourth-most in the NHL &#8212; but only one postseason victory after the Colorado Avalanche rolled past his club in five games during an opening-round series in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.</p>
  284. <p>&#8220;You get to this stage, at the end of a playoff series, if you’re not putting an ice bag on, you’re not playing hard enough,&#8221; Bowness said. &#8220;Simple as that.&#8221;</p>
  285. <p>As the story goes, the young, up-and-coming Edmonton Oilers had just lost the 1983 Stanley Cup Final to the dynastic New York Islanders. When some of the Oilers went past the Islanders&#8217; dressing room, they saw a subdued celebration with players placing bags of ice on their bodies. Those images drove home a lesson for the Oilers about what it really takes to win the playoffs, and their own dynasty followed.</p>
  286. <p>As the Jets&#8217; offseason began Tuesday night, Bowness reflected on a great regular season for his club but also what he hopes are some lessons to be learned from how the Avalanche controlled this series from the start, save for a shaky defense-and-goaltending performance in Game 1.</p>
  287. <p>&#8220;They’ve won a Stanley Cup and it showed itself this series,&#8221; Bowness said. &#8220;It did. They raised their battle-level more than anything.</p>
  288. <p>&#8220;In the playoffs, that’s what it’s going to come down to. Who’s willing to go to the net harder? Who’s willing to take a hit to make a play? Who’s willing to win battles in the corners on the boards? That’s what it comes down to. And then the other things &#8230; [fall] into place. That’s the best they’ve played and give them credit for that.&#8221;</p>
  289. <figure id="attachment_6038611"  class="wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline"><img decoding="async" class=" lazyautosizes lazyload" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_JAC8759.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1" alt="Colorado Avalanche left wing Miles Wood (28) puts Winnipeg Jets defenseman Colin Miller (6) into the boards behind the net in the first period during game five of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)" width="4304" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_JAC8759.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1" data-attachment-id="6038611" data-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_JAC8759.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_JAC8759.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_JAC8759.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_JAC8759.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_JAC8759.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Colorado Avalanche left wing Miles Wood (28) puts Winnipeg Jets defenseman Colin Miller (6) into the boards behind the net in the first period during game five of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)</figcaption></figure>
  290. <p>It&#8217;s an interesting juxtaposition from where Colorado was just two weeks prior. In a span of eight days, the Avs were outmatched at home by the Dallas Stars in a game with Central Division title implications, were run out of Ball Arena by this same Winnipeg team with home-ice advantage on the line and the collapsed in Las Vegas after taking a three-goal lead into the third period against the Golden Knights.</p>
  291. <p>Avs coach Jared Bednar said the media and fans panicked, but his team did not. He&#8217;s not wrong about the view from the outside &#8212; there were plenty of questions about where this Avalanche group was mentally after a string of potentially damaging losses.</p>
  292. <p>Then the Avs answered all of them, and left little doubt about the championship DNA that&#8217;s baked into this core of world-class stars with a battle-tested supporting cast.</p>
  293. <p>&#8220;There was no panic in our room. It just wasn’t there,&#8221; Bednar said. &#8220;They understood that they didn’t play well. They identified that. We went through things we knew we had to do better. They were bought into it and they were committed to it. It’s kind of where our team is at. It’s a veteran group, a really good team. They know when we play really well what it looks like.</p>
  294. <p>&#8220;I’ve learned this about our room — they’re going to put pressure on themselves when it matters most to play well.&#8221;</p>
  295. <figure id="attachment_6037819"  class="wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline"><img decoding="async" class=" lazyautosizes lazyload" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-PRACTICE_DSC1079.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1" alt="Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, left, talks to players Nikolai Kovalenko (51), Ross Colton, third from left, and Colorado Avalanche left wing Miles Wood (28), right, during practice before game five of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)" width="7100" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-PRACTICE_DSC1079.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1" data-attachment-id="6037819" data-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-PRACTICE_DSC1079.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-PRACTICE_DSC1079.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-PRACTICE_DSC1079.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-PRACTICE_DSC1079.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-PRACTICE_DSC1079.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar, left, talks to players Nikolai Kovalenko (51), Ross Colton, third from left, and Colorado Avalanche left wing Miles Wood (28), right, during practice before game five of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)</figcaption></figure>
  296. <p>The Avs were the better team overall in this series in Game 1, but some of the defensive miscues and Alexandar Georgiev&#8217;s shaky play did bleed into the playoffs from the end of the regular season. Bednar noted that his team got a wake-up call after that.</p>
  297. <p>The forechecking intensity continued. The effort to defend continued. The mistakes were cleaned up. And Georgiev&#8217;s turnaround became a symbol of the mental toughness it takes at times to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.</p>
  298. <p>Colorado scored 24 goals in five games against the best goalie in the league during the regular season, and it was at times as much about the way the Avs played without the puck as the brilliance they displayed with it.</p>
  299. <p>In the process, the Avs proved to people outside the organization that they can win the Stanley Cup for a second time in three years, while also giving the Jets a glimpse at another level still needed to compete with teams like this at this time of year.</p>
  300. <p>&#8220;Everyone&#8217;s on the same page,&#8221; Nathan MacKinnon said. &#8220;A lot of similarities to the year we won. I think we just know everyone in that room is going to give everything they have and that&#8217;s the standard. Whether you score or don&#8217;t, some of that stuff is out of your control, but you can control your effort and how hard you work and we&#8217;ve got everyone on the same page right now battling.</p>
  301. <p>&#8220;We had a great series in that sense.&#8221;</p>
  302. <figure id="attachment_6027667"  class="wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline"><img decoding="async" class=" lazyautosizes lazyload" src="https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24113005247779.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1" alt="Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets with teammate Zach Parise (9) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Sunday, April 21, 2024. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)" width="3000" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24113005247779.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1" data-attachment-id="6027667" data-srcset="https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24113005247779.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24113005247779.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24113005247779.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24113005247779.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https://i0.wp.com/www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/AP24113005247779.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets with teammate Zach Parise (9) during the first period in Game 1 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Sunday, April 21, 2024. (Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press via AP)</figcaption></figure>
  303. <p>&nbsp;</p>
  304. ]]></content:encoded>
  308. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6040095</post-id><media:content url="https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_DSC3252.jpg?w=1400px&#038;strip=all" fileSize="310429" type="image/jpeg" height="150" width="150" isDefault="true"><media:description type="html"><![CDATA[ Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets with teammate Colorado Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt (37) in the second  period during game five of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) ]]></media:description></media:content>
  309. <dcterms:created>2024-05-01T18:48:43+00:00</dcterms:created>
  310. <dcterms:modified>2024-05-01T19:28:30+00:00</dcterms:modified>
  311. </item>
  312. <item>
  313. <title>Keeler: Avalanche can&#8217;t stop scoring. Alexandar Georgiev can&#8217;t stop winning. Mea culpa, Georgie.</title>
  314. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/05/01/alexandar-georgiev-avalanche-jets-redemption/</link>
  316. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sean Keeler]]></dc:creator>
  317. <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 14:07:27 +0000</pubDate>
  318. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  319. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  320. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  321. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  322. <category><![CDATA[Sports Columnists]]></category>
  323. <category><![CDATA[Winnipeg Jets]]></category>
  324. <category><![CDATA[Alexandar Georgiev]]></category>
  325. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche]]></category>
  326. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche goalies]]></category>
  327. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche takes]]></category>
  328. <category><![CDATA[Ball Arena]]></category>
  329. <category><![CDATA[Bulgaria]]></category>
  330. <category><![CDATA[Canada]]></category>
  331. <category><![CDATA[Chris MacFarland]]></category>
  332. <category><![CDATA[hockey]]></category>
  333. <category><![CDATA[Josh Manson]]></category>
  334. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  335. <category><![CDATA[Nashville]]></category>
  336. <category><![CDATA[Sean Keeler]]></category>
  337. <category><![CDATA[Stanley Cup]]></category>
  338. <category><![CDATA[Union Station]]></category>
  339. <category><![CDATA[Vladislav Namestnikov]]></category>
  340. <category><![CDATA[Western Conference]]></category>
  341. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6038610</guid>
  342.  
  343. <description><![CDATA[Lazarus of Bethany's got nuttin' on Alexandar Georgiev of Bulgaria. Tough times don't last. Tough goalies do.]]></description>
  344. <content:encoded><![CDATA[
  345. <p><a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Lazarus-biblical-figure">Lazarus of Bethany&#8217;s</a> got nuttin&#8217; on <a href="https://www.nhl.com/avalanche/player/alexandar-georgiev-8480382">Alexandar Georgiev of Bulgaria</a>. Tough times don&#8217;t last. Tough goalies do.</p>
  346. <p>&#8220;I think in Game 1, we didn&#8217;t give him a lot of chances to make quality saves,&#8221; Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson told me before Colorado and Georgie wiped out the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-jets-game-five-colorado-whiteout-1.7188993">Whiteoot</a> in Winnipeg with a <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/30/mikko-rantanen-avalanche-jets-game-5-win/">6-3 victory</a> late Tuesday. &#8220;I felt like a lot of (shots) were going in from the backside or (to) his right, which is tough.</p>
  347. <p>&#8220;And then that can rattle your confidence a little bit. But he&#8217;s stepped up and just playing like how he can.&#8221;</p>
  348. <p>He grounded the Jets for four straight games. He won twice in Manitoba. He rose to the moment. He blocked out the jeers. <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/21/alexander-georgive-justus-annunen-avalanche-jets-game-2-start/">He stiffed the haters.</a></p>
  349. <p>Forgive me, Georgie.</p>
  350. <p>This is how <a href="https://www.hhof.com/thecollection/stanleycup_history.html">Lord Stanley</a> comes home.</p>
  351. <p>Down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series Tuesday, Winnipeg threw everything at the crease that wasn&#8217;t nailed down. The Jets blistered Georgiev with 19 shots in the second period alone. They came away with one goal to show for it.</p>
  352. <p>Game 1: Seven goals against. Games 2-5: Eight goals. Combined.</p>
  353. <p>Forgive me, Georgie.</p>
  354. <p>This is starting to look familiar.</p>
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  416. <p>Remember that opening-round <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2022/05/06/cale-makar-nathan-mackinnon-colorado-avalanche-nashville-predators-game-2-nhl-sweep/">whupping of Nashville</a> two years ago? The one where the Avs outscored the Predators 21-9 in four games? The one that got Colorado&#8217;s Stanley Cup party train off the platform<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2022/06/30/bo-byram-mikko-rantanen-colorado-avalanche-stanley-cup-parade/"> and rolling toward Union Station?</a></p>
  417. <p>As first impressions go, this series victory was the<em> more</em> impressive of the two.</p>
  418. <p>Winnipeg had home ice. Winnipeg had momentum. Winnipeg had mojo. Winnipeg had arguably the top team defense in the NHL. Winnipeg had the best goaltender in the Western Conference. The &#8217;22 Preds were forced to roll out rookie backup Connor Ingram to defend the net, effectively ending that fight before it ever really got started.</p>
  419. <p>The Stanley Cup champs two years ago averaged 5.25 goals in mashing Smashville. Against Connor Hellebuyck, the Vezina Trophy finalist who&#8217;d shut them out on April 13 at Ball Arena, they averaged 5.6 goals per game.</p>
  420. <p>Forgive me, Georgie.</p>
  421. <p>This stuff is historic.</p>
  422. <p>The Avs became just the fourth team in NHL history to notch at least five goals in the first five games of a series. The Jets became the first club to ever allow five or more games in each of their opening five playoff tilts.</p>
  423. <p>Hellebuyck had given up five goals or more <a href="https://www.hockey-reference.com/players/h/helleco01/gamelog/2024">just four times during the regular season.</a> Colorado peppered him for five or more three times in 10 days.</p>
  424. <p>Forgive me, Georgie.</p>
  425. <p>This gets better.</p>
  426. <p>Cynics will cite the bloody cut last week that knocked Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon out of the series. They&#8217;ll point to the nasty shot that Winnipeg center Vladislav Namestnikov took to the head, shelving him for Game 5.</p>
  427. <p>Yet they were both good to go in Game 1. The Avs scored six.</p>
  428. <p>They looked fine in Game 2 and Game 3. The Avs scored five. Then six again.</p>
  429. <p>Forgive me, Georgie.</p>
  430. <p>This is deep.</p>
  431. <p>Every line brought the heat. And a mean streak. Precedent says Colorado&#8217;s Stanley Cup run will probably go as far as the bottom-six forwards can carry it. If Tuesday was any harbinger of what&#8217;s to come, best find a comfy chair.</p>
  432. <p>About five-and-a-half minutes into the second period, the score tied at 1-all, fourth-line center Yakov Trenin put down a marker and laid down the law. Trenin was one of GM Chris MacFarland&#8217;s under-the-radar deadline pickups, a banger from Nashville, a 6-foot-2 grinder who got swept away by the Avs two years ago.</p>
  433. <p>The Russian pretty much single-handedly badgered his way <a href="https://twitter.com/Avalanche/status/1785515936490913829">from behind the net to the corner of Hellebuyck&#8217;s left eye</a>, out-hustling at least two Jets defenders to a loose puck, staying with the play through contact, and whipping the biscuit past Bucky for a 2-1 Colorado lead.</p>
  434. <p>Forgive me, Georgie.</p>
  435. <p>This is how you flip the script.</p>
  436. <p>Steel between the ears.</p>
  437. <p>Stone between the pipes.</p>
  438. <p>&#8220;Have you ever seen a guy flip a switch in just a few days the way Georgiev has?&#8221; a reporter asked Manson after Game 4.</p>
  439. <p>He pondered for a second.</p>
  440. <p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think so.&#8221; Manson replied. &#8220;I think that&#8217;s a really tough job for goalies to have to do that. And kudos to him.&#8221;</p>
  441. <p>Forgive me, Georgie.</p>
  442. <p>This is gonna be fun.</p>
  443. <p><em><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/newsletter-signup/avalanche-insider/">Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.</a></em></p>
  444. ]]></content:encoded>
  448. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6038610</post-id><media:content url="https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_DSC5401.jpg?w=1400px&#038;strip=all" fileSize="216195" type="image/jpeg" height="150" width="150" isDefault="true"><media:description type="html"><![CDATA[ Colorado Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (40) greets Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) in the handshake line after the Avalanche defeated the Jets 6-3 in game five and winning the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) ]]></media:description></media:content>
  449. <dcterms:created>2024-05-01T08:07:27+00:00</dcterms:created>
  450. <dcterms:modified>2024-05-01T09:05:00+00:00</dcterms:modified>
  451. </item>
  452. <item>
  453. <title>PHOTOS: Colorado Avalanche best Winnipeg Jets 6-3 to advance to the second round of NHL playoffs</title>
  454. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/30/photos-colorado-avalanche-best-winnipeg-jets-6-3-to-advance-to-the-second-round-of-nhl-playoffs/</link>
  456. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Andy Cross]]></dc:creator>
  457. <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 05:23:43 +0000</pubDate>
  458. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  459. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  460. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  461. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  462. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  463. <category><![CDATA[Photos and Videos]]></category>
  464. <category><![CDATA[sports photos]]></category>
  465. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6038558</guid>
  466.  
  467. <description><![CDATA[The Colorado Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 in Game 5 of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday night, April 30, 2024, at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada. With the win, the Avalanche won the series 4-1, and advance to the second round of the playoffs. Read the [&#8230;]]]></description>
  468. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Colorado Avalanche beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-3 in Game 5 of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday night, April 30, 2024, at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada. With the win, the Avalanche won the series 4-1, and advance to the second round of the playoffs.</p>
  469. <p><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/30/mikko-rantanen-avalanche-jets-game-5-win/">Read the full game story here</a></p>
  470. <p><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/newsletter-signup/avalanche-insider/">Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.</a></p>
  471. ]]></content:encoded>
  475. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6038558</post-id><media:content url="https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_DSC3266.jpg?w=1400px&#038;strip=all" fileSize="253814" type="image/jpeg" height="150" width="150" isDefault="true"><media:description type="html"><![CDATA[ Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets with teammate Colorado Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt (37) in the second  period during game five of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) ]]></media:description></media:content>
  476. <dcterms:created>2024-04-30T23:23:43+00:00</dcterms:created>
  477. <dcterms:modified>2024-04-30T23:59:54+00:00</dcterms:modified>
  478. </item>
  479. <item>
  480. <title>Avalanche-Jets Game 5 Quick Hits: Mikko Rantanen&#8217;s second stick did the trick, wiping out Winnipeg</title>
  481. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/30/mikko-rantanen-avalanche-jets-game-5-quick-hits/</link>
  483. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Sean Keeler]]></dc:creator>
  484. <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 04:47:34 +0000</pubDate>
  485. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  486. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  487. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  488. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  489. <category><![CDATA[Winnipeg Jets]]></category>
  490. <category><![CDATA[Alexandar Georgiev]]></category>
  491. <category><![CDATA[Artturi Lehkonen]]></category>
  492. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche]]></category>
  493. <category><![CDATA[Boston]]></category>
  494. <category><![CDATA[Cale Makar]]></category>
  495. <category><![CDATA[Devon Toews]]></category>
  496. <category><![CDATA[hockey]]></category>
  497. <category><![CDATA[Joe Sakic]]></category>
  498. <category><![CDATA[Josh Manson]]></category>
  499. <category><![CDATA[Mikko Rantanen]]></category>
  500. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  501. <category><![CDATA[Nathan MacKinnon]]></category>
  502. <category><![CDATA[Stanley Cup]]></category>
  503. <category><![CDATA[Stanley Cup playoffs]]></category>
  504. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6038551</guid>
  505.  
  506. <description><![CDATA[With 10:41 left in the Avalanche's series-wrapping win at Winnipeg on Tuesday night, Mikko Rantanen was so cheesed off he went all Bo Jackson on his stick.]]></description>
  507. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Instant reaction from the Avalanche’s 6-3 win over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 5 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs series.</p>
  508. <aside class="related right"><h2 class="widget-title" data-curated-ids="" data-relation-type="automatic-primary-tag">Related Articles</h2><ul><li>
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  524. <span class="dfm-title metered">
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  529. </a>
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  533.  
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  544. </li><li>
  545.  
  546. <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/sports/nhl/colorado-avalanche/">Colorado Avalanche | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/05/01/alexandar-georgiev-avalanche-jets-redemption/" title="Keeler: Avalanche can&#8217;t stop scoring. Alexandar Georgiev can&#8217;t stop winning. Mea culpa, Georgie.">
  548. <span class="dfm-title premium">
  549. Keeler: Avalanche can&#8217;t stop scoring. Alexandar Georgiev can&#8217;t stop winning. Mea culpa, Georgie. </span>
  550.  
  551.  
  552.  
  553. </a>
  556. </li><li>
  557.  
  558. <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/sports/nhl/colorado-avalanche/">Colorado Avalanche | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/30/photos-colorado-avalanche-best-winnipeg-jets-6-3-to-advance-to-the-second-round-of-nhl-playoffs/" title="PHOTOS: Colorado Avalanche best Winnipeg Jets 6-3 to advance to the second round of NHL playoffs">
  560. <span class="dfm-title premium">
  561. PHOTOS: Colorado Avalanche best Winnipeg Jets 6-3 to advance to the second round of NHL playoffs </span>
  562.  
  563.  
  564.  
  565. </a>
  568. </li></ul></aside>
  569. <p><strong>1. Mikko&#8217;s second stick worked:</strong> Ya know, sometimes, it&#8217;s the equipment&#8217;s fault, right? With 10:41 left in the Avalanche&#8217;s series-wrapping win at Winnipeg on Tuesday night, Mikko Rantanen was so cheesed off he went all Bo Jackson on his stick. The Moose missed a great look at the net off a killer set-up from Cale Makar and was so enraged, he turned his sword to kindling. It did the trick. The Avs&#8217; underrated winger rebounded for two goals in the third period, breaking a 3-3 tie off a tip 4:11 into the final stanza, then putting the game &#8212; and series — away on a classic breakaway wrister for a fifth Colorado goal from the left faceoff circle via a feed from a streaking Nathan MacKinnon. It proved to be the first two goals of the series for Rantanen, who more than made up for lost time. And capped a remarkable four-game win streak.</p>
  570. <p><strong>2. Puck luck taketh, then given back:</strong> Say this for the hockey gods: For at least 40 minutes, they didn&#8217;t play favorites. Granted, the karma looked ugly early when Avalanche defender Josh Manson fired it off his own guy and past Alexandar Georgiev for a 1-0 Winnipeg lead after 75 seconds. Fortunately for the burgundy and blue, the own-goal karma evened out. With 6:15 left in the second stanza, Artturi Lehkonen fired a knuckler from the left faceoff circle toward the opposite side of the crease. Cue the puck luck, as Jets defender Neal Pionk jabbed at the loose biscuit with his stick and knocked it past a stunned Connor Hellebuyck in goal, giving the Avs an unusual route to a 3-2 lead.</p>
  571. <p><strong>3. Big Val ties big record:</strong> Valeri Nichushkin&#8217;s laser-like wrister off a sweet Devon Toews feed 3:18 into the game didn&#8217;t just get the Avs on the board &#8212; it got Big Val into the franchise record books. The goal was his seventh of the series, which ties a team mark for the most goals in one playoff series, shared by four players in the annals of the Nordiques/Avs. Linemate Mikko Rantanen was the last Colorado skater to hit that threshold, with seven last year in the first round against Seattle. Joe Sakic (1996 vs. Vancouver) and Real Cloutier (1982 vs. Boston with Quebec) also hit on seven in a series.</p>
  572. <p> </p>
  573. <p><em><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/newsletter-signup/avalanche-insider/">Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.</a></em></p>
  574. ]]></content:encoded>
  578. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6038551</post-id><media:content url="https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_DSC1907.jpg?w=1400px&#038;strip=all" fileSize="245979" type="image/jpeg" height="150" width="150" isDefault="true"><media:description type="html"><![CDATA[ Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) is defended by Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) and Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) in the first second during game five of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) ]]></media:description></media:content>
  579. <dcterms:created>2024-04-30T22:47:34+00:00</dcterms:created>
  580. <dcterms:modified>2024-04-30T23:04:38+00:00</dcterms:modified>
  581. </item>
  582. <item>
  583. <title>Mikko Rantanen scores twice, Avalanche grounds Jets in Game 5 to advance to second round</title>
  584. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/30/mikko-rantanen-avalanche-jets-game-5-win/</link>
  586. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Corey Masisak]]></dc:creator>
  587. <pubDate>Wed, 01 May 2024 04:37:34 +0000</pubDate>
  588. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  589. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  590. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  591. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  592. <category><![CDATA[Alexandar Georgiev]]></category>
  593. <category><![CDATA[Artturi Lehkonen]]></category>
  594. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche]]></category>
  595. <category><![CDATA[Cale Makar]]></category>
  596. <category><![CDATA[Devon Toews]]></category>
  597. <category><![CDATA[Josh Manson]]></category>
  598. <category><![CDATA[Mikko Rantanen]]></category>
  599. <category><![CDATA[Miles Wood]]></category>
  600. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  601. <category><![CDATA[Nathan MacKinnon]]></category>
  602. <category><![CDATA[Stanley Cup playoffs]]></category>
  603. <category><![CDATA[Valeri Nichushkin]]></category>
  604. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6038514</guid>
  605.  
  606. <description><![CDATA[Mikko Rantanen found a stick he liked, and shot the Colorado Avalanche into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.]]></description>
  607. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>WINNIPEG &#8212; Mikko Rantanen found a stick he liked, and shot the Colorado Avalanche into the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.</p>
  608. <p>The Winnipeg Jets played their best game of the series facing elimination, but the Avs continued to put pucks past the pending Vezina Trophy winner and advanced with a 6-3 victory Tuesday night in Game 5 at Canada Life Centre.</p>
  609. <p>Colorado won four straight in this series after dropping Game 1, and will now awaits the winner of Dallas-Vegas in the second round.</p>
  610. <p>&#8220;How hard we worked and how hard we battled this series was amazing,&#8221; Nathan MacKinnon said. &#8220;Before the series, I think we came in really humble. We weren&#8217;t playing well. These guys just beat us 7-0 (on April 13), so it was a big wake up call &#8230; super proud of the guys.&#8221;</p>
  611. <p>A little more than two minutes after Tyler Toffoli had brought the Jets even early in the third period, Rantanen scored for the first time in this series to put Colorado in front. Rantanen had been so frustrated earlier in this game that he had snapped a stick in two pieces.</p>
  612. <p>The new stick worked out. Rantanen tipped a shot from the top of the zone by Devon Toews past Connor Hellebuyck to put Colorado in front 4:11 into the third period.</p>
  613. <p>Rantanen scored again to make it 5-3 on a one-timer from Nathan MacKinnon during a 2-on-1 with 11:59 remaining in the third. MacKinnon and Cale Makar finished with nine points in this series, while Rantanen and Artturi Lehkonen had eight.</p>
  614. <p>&#8220;Luck wasn&#8217;t really bouncing at times our way, but that&#8217;s what happens sometimes,&#8221; Rantanen said. &#8220;You get frustrated. I was going to try avoid doing that. Overall, the series was really, really good for us. I think we got better after every game.&#8221;</p>
  615. <p>Colorado scored 24 times in five games on Hellebuyck, and four more into an empty net, the last from Josh Manson on Tuesday night. Winnipeg finished the regular season tied for the fewest goals allowed. The Avs scored the most, and great offense beat great defense repeatedly in this series.</p>
  616. <p>Winnipeg finished with 110 points, three more than Colorado, to earn home-ice advantage in this series, but it&#8217;s another early playoff exit for the Jets and a question-filled offseason beckons in Southern Manitoba.</p>
  617. <p>The Avs scored first, but into the wrong net. Kyle Connor&#8217;s shot trickled behind Alexandar Georgiev and when Manson tried to sweep it out of danger. It hit Lehkonen and the edge of the crease and caromed back into the Colorado net instead.</p>
  618. <p>Colorado got that one back a little more than two minutes later. Right after the fourth line had a great shift, the top trio went to work. MacKinnon carried the puck into the zone, and Valeri Nichushkin finished a tic-tac-toe play from Rantanen and Toews to make it 1-1 just 3:18 in.</p>
  619. <p>Yakov Trenin capped another strong shift from the fourth line with Colorado&#8217;s second goal 5:42 into the second period. Trenin fell in the neutral zone early in the shift, which earned a Bronx cheer from the crowd.</p>
  620. <p>Then he worked over Neal Pionk behind the net for an initial shot and beat the defenseman to the rebound for his first goal of the series. Trenin cupped his ear to the suddenly silent crowd, then egged them on before jumping into the glass.</p>
  621. <p>&#8220;All series long, (the fourth line&#8217;s) forechecking through the course of this series was outstanding,&#8221; Avs coach Jared Bednar said. &#8220;The work that they put in, to not only put pressure on their (defense), but to come up with pucks, the physicality. Playing to their identity as a line was outstanding and they got rewarded for their hard work.&#8221;</p>
  622. <aside class="related right"><h2 class="widget-title" data-curated-ids="" data-relation-type="automatic-primary-tag">Related Articles</h2><ul><li>
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  638. <span class="dfm-title metered">
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  650. <span class="dfm-title premium">
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  660. <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/sports/nhl/colorado-avalanche/">Colorado Avalanche | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/05/01/alexandar-georgiev-avalanche-jets-redemption/" title="Keeler: Avalanche can&#8217;t stop scoring. Alexandar Georgiev can&#8217;t stop winning. Mea culpa, Georgie.">
  662. <span class="dfm-title premium">
  663. Keeler: Avalanche can&#8217;t stop scoring. Alexandar Georgiev can&#8217;t stop winning. Mea culpa, Georgie. </span>
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  671.  
  672. <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/sports/nhl/colorado-avalanche/">Colorado Avalanche | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/30/photos-colorado-avalanche-best-winnipeg-jets-6-3-to-advance-to-the-second-round-of-nhl-playoffs/" title="PHOTOS: Colorado Avalanche best Winnipeg Jets 6-3 to advance to the second round of NHL playoffs">
  674. <span class="dfm-title premium">
  675. PHOTOS: Colorado Avalanche best Winnipeg Jets 6-3 to advance to the second round of NHL playoffs </span>
  676.  
  677.  
  678.  
  679. </a>
  682. </li></ul></aside>
  683. <p>Just like the first period, the team that went down answered quickly. Miles Wood took a penalty trying to get past Colin Miller. Fourteen seconds later, Josh Morrissey scored his third goal of the series on a one-timer from above the right circle.</p>
  684. <p>The hockey gods evened the fluke bounces out later in the second. Lehkonen sent the puck in the general direction of the Winnipeg net, but it was going well wide &#8230; until it hit Pionk&#8217;s stick and went in the net at 13:45 of the second.</p>
  685. <p>It was Lehkonen&#8217;s fifth goal of the series. He and Nichushkin both scored in every game.</p>
  686. <p>Georgiev finished with 33 saves. He allowed seven goals on 23 shots in the opening game of this series, but then proceeded to outplay Hellebuyck the rest of the way.</p>
  687. <p>&#8220;(Georgiev) was outstanding all series,&#8221; Trenin said. &#8220;Very proud of how he came back and just shut up all the haters.&#8221;</p>
  688. <p><em><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/newsletter-signup/avalanche-insider/">Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.</a></em></p>
  689. ]]></content:encoded>
  693. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6038514</post-id><media:content url="https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-JETS_DSC3266.jpg?w=1400px&#038;strip=all" fileSize="253814" type="image/jpeg" height="150" width="150" isDefault="true"><media:description type="html"><![CDATA[ Colorado Avalanche left wing Artturi Lehkonen (62) celebrates his goal against the Winnipeg Jets with teammate Colorado Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt (37) in the second  period during game five of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) ]]></media:description></media:content>
  694. <dcterms:created>2024-04-30T22:37:34+00:00</dcterms:created>
  695. <dcterms:modified>2024-05-01T00:18:55+00:00</dcterms:modified>
  696. </item>
  697. <item>
  698. <title>Alexandar Georgiev&#8217;s ability to make &#8220;Big Save&#8221; at key moments changed Avalanche&#8217;s fortunes</title>
  699. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/30/alexandar-georgiev-avalanche-jets-reset-redemption/</link>
  701. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Corey Masisak]]></dc:creator>
  702. <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 22:49:52 +0000</pubDate>
  703. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  704. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  705. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  706. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  707. <category><![CDATA[Alexandar Georgiev]]></category>
  708. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche]]></category>
  709. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche goalies]]></category>
  710. <category><![CDATA[Jack Johnson]]></category>
  711. <category><![CDATA[Jared Bednar]]></category>
  712. <category><![CDATA[Justus Annunen]]></category>
  713. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  714. <category><![CDATA[Stanley Cup playoffs]]></category>
  715. <category><![CDATA[Vladislav Namestnikov]]></category>
  716. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6038070</guid>
  717.  
  718. <description><![CDATA[Not only has Alexandar Georgiev stopped 74 of the past 78 shots he's faced since an early goal in Game 2, he's made a critical "Big Save" in each victory.]]></description>
  719. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>WINNIPEG &#8212; The narrative of the &#8220;Big Save&#8221; can often be rooted in mythology more than fact during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.</p>
  720. <p>After Alexandar Georgiev allowed <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/21/avalanche-lose-jets-game-1-playoffs/">seven goals on 23 shots in Game 1</a> of this opening-round series, the Avalanche needed its goaltender to start making some, even if it was just one key stop per game.</p>
  721. <p>Georgiev has delivered.</p>
  722. <p>Not only did he only allow a total of five goals across the next three games, he came up a huge stop at critical times in each of them and the Avs have taken control of this series against the Winnipeg Jets in part because of it.</p>
  723. <p>&#8220;You know it’s in him. You just have a belief in him,&#8221; Avs defenseman Jack Johnson said. &#8220;If you’re an athlete, you wouldn’t be at this level if you couldn’t reset yourself. If you’ve never seen it in someone, that’s different, but we’ve seen it with him and we’ve seen it a lot. We had total belief in him.&#8221;</p>
  724. <p>Colorado&#8217;s players and coach Jared Bednar put on a united front in support of Georgiev after Game 1. Whether or not Justus Annunen would have gotten a chance, either in relief during a 7-6 loss or to start Game 2 had he been healthy, is a what-if lost to history now.</p>
  725. <p>Georgiev <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/23/alexandar-georgiev-rebounds-avalanche-beat-jets-game-2/">slammed the door in Game 2</a> with a huge save on Nikolaj Ehlers when he was all alone late in the third period with Colorado leading 4-2. That was likely a big one for his confidence, and for the team to see him erase a breakdown.</p>
  726. <p>His &#8220;Big Save&#8221; in <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/26/avalanche-routs-jets-game-3-third-period/">Games 3</a> and 4 were even bigger, given the context of the contests. Georgiev stoned Tyler Toffoli on a breakaway in the second period when the Jets led 2-1 in Game 3. If Toffoli scores there, it&#8217;s possible that the third-period avalanche of goals never happens and Winnipeg takes control of the series. Instead, the Avs roared back for a 6-2 win.</p>
  727. <p>Then late in the first period in <a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/28/avalanche-cale-makar-jets-game-4-win/">Game 4</a>, Georgiev again made a massive save, this time on Vladislav Namestnikov to keep it a 1-1 score when the Jets were flying and controlling play the best they had in several games.</p>
  728. <p>Georgiev said no, and the Avs responded with a dominant second period en route to a 3-1 series lead.</p>
  729. <p>&#8220;Yeah, just trying to play a full 60 (minutes) no matter when the shots are coming. Trying to be there and play the game right and whatever is needed,&#8221; Georgiev said after Game 4. &#8220;It just happened that they got a couple of good pushes at the end of the first and managed to make some good saves.&#8221;</p>
  730. <p>There were certainly calls from outside the organization to use a different goaltender after Game 1. When Annunen wasn&#8217;t available, the idea of starting a guy who hadn&#8217;t played an NHL game since January (Ivan Prosvetov) seemed less palatable, but another wobbly performance might have forced Bednar&#8217;s hand.</p>
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  791. </li></ul></aside>
  792. <p>Georgiev did give up a goal on the third shot of Game 2, but he&#8217;s been rock solid. He stopped 74 of the next 78 he faced en route to three straight victories.</p>
  793. <p>He had earned the opportunity to reset and rebound, according to his coach. And Georgiev delivered.</p>
  794. <p>&#8220;I think that&#8217;s the trust that the players build with you as individuals and as a group,&#8221; Bednar said. &#8220;When you challenge them with something that needs to improve and they respond, they earn trust.</p>
  795. <p>&#8220;I mean, he led the NHL in wins, so it wasn&#8217;t like we were trying to make enormous changes. We just needed to get him back to where it was multiple times during the season, and he did that. He put in the work to do that, he changed his mindset and so it looks good on him.&#8221;</p>
  796. <p><em><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/newsletter-signup/avalanche-insider/">Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.</a></em></p>
  797. ]]></content:encoded>
  801. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6038070</post-id><media:content url="https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TDP-L-AVALANCHE-PRACTICE_DSC0074.jpg?w=1400px&#038;strip=all" fileSize="332263" type="image/jpeg" height="150" width="150" isDefault="true"><media:description type="html"><![CDATA[ Colorado Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (40) during practice before game five of the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg, Canada on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post) ]]></media:description></media:content>
  802. <dcterms:created>2024-04-30T16:49:52+00:00</dcterms:created>
  803. <dcterms:modified>2024-04-30T17:10:26+00:00</dcterms:modified>
  804. </item>
  805. <item>
  806. <title>Namestnikov and Dillon out for Game 5 against Avs due to injuries as Jets face playoff elimination</title>
  807. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/30/namestnikov-and-dillon-out-for-game-5-against-avs-due-to-injuries-as-jets-face-playoff-elimination/</link>
  809. <dc:creator><![CDATA[The Associated Press]]></dc:creator>
  810. <pubDate>Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:42:31 +0000</pubDate>
  811. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  812. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  813. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  814. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  815. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  816. <category><![CDATA[NHL playoffs]]></category>
  817. <category><![CDATA[Vladislav Namestnikov]]></category>
  818. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6037879&#038;preview=true&#038;preview_id=6037879</guid>
  819.  
  820. <description><![CDATA[Winnipeg forward Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman Brenden Dillon are recovering from injuries and won&#8217;t be available in Game 5 against Colorado on Tuesday night. Namestnikov fractured his cheekbone in Game 4 when he was hit by a deflected puck on a shot. Dillon suffered a deep laceration on his hand in a scrum after the final horn of Game 3 when he appeared to be cut by a skate blade. The Jets trail 3-1 in the first-round, best-of-seven series.]]></description>
  821. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>WINNIPEG, Manitoba &#8212; Winnipeg forward <a href="https://apnews.com/article/jets-avalanche-namestnikov-671a98e2d25434ef645f0cc1b02a0c49">Vladislav Namestnikov</a> and defenseman Brenden Dillon are recovering from injuries and won’t be available for Game 5 against Colorado on Tuesday night as the Jets try to avoid playoff elimination.</p>
  822. <p>Namestnikov fractured his cheekbone <a href="https://twitter.com/spittinchiclets/status/1784687565091606535">in Game 4</a> on Sunday when he was hit by a deflected puck on a shot. Dillon suffered a deep laceration on his hand in a scrum after the final horn of Game 3 when he appeared to be cut by a skate blade. The Jets trail 3-1 in the first-round, best-of-seven series.</p>
  823. <p>Jets coach Rick Bowness said Tuesday following the morning skate in Winnipeg that he checked in with Namestnikov the night before. Namestnikov stayed an extra day in Denver to recover. </p>
  824. <p>“He’s nauseous. He hasn’t eaten. So he’s not feeling great,” Bowness said. “Dilly, of course, you know him &#8212; two broken hands and he’d still want to play, but we’ll give him a couple days.”</p>
  825. <p>Forward Cole Perfetti, a first-round pick in 2020, is expected to make his NHL playoff debut. It’s a difficult moment for the 22-year-old after seeing the injury to Namestnikov. </p>
  826. <p>“He’s one of our brothers and such a great guy. He plays his heart out every single game,” Perfetti said. “To see that happen, I mean, for the people that were there in the rink it was silent. You could hear a pin drop. It was tough to watch, to see one of your really good friends and teammate and brother go down like that and kind of not know really what was happening.”</p>
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  888. <p>The 31-year-old Namestnikov <a href="https://twitter.com/Sportsnet/status/1784687025288835562">was trying to jump out of the way</a> of a shot from teammate Nate Schmidt when the puck hit a stick and struck him. Namestnikov stayed down on the ice as trainers rushed out. He went to the hospital for further evaluation.</p>
  889. <p>“It was great to see him after he saw the doctors and what-not, and he was doing relatively OK,” Perfetti said. “That was a big relief for us.”</p>
  890. <p>___</p>
  891. <p>AP NHL playoffs: <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup">https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup</a> and <a href="https://www.apnews.com/hub/nhl">https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL</a></p>
  892. <p><em><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/newsletter-signup/avalanche-insider/">Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.</a></em></p>
  893. ]]></content:encoded>
  897. <post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">6037879</post-id><media:content url="https://www.denverpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Jets_Avalanche_Hockey_27675_776e57.jpg?w=1400px&#038;strip=all" fileSize="184319" type="image/jpeg" height="150" width="150" isDefault="true"><media:description type="html"><![CDATA[ Winnipeg Jets center Vladislav Namestnikov, center, is helped off the ice after taking a slap shot in the face in the third period of Game 4 of an NHL Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
  898. ]]></media:description></media:content>
  899. <dcterms:created>2024-04-30T12:42:31+00:00</dcterms:created>
  900. <dcterms:modified>2024-04-30T13:17:55+00:00</dcterms:modified>
  901. </item>
  902. <item>
  903. <title>Avalanche vs. Jets Game 5: Three keys for Colorado to close out series in Winnipeg</title>
  904. <link>https://www.denverpost.com/2024/04/29/avalanche-jets-game-5-keys/</link>
  906. <dc:creator><![CDATA[Corey Masisak]]></dc:creator>
  907. <pubDate>Mon, 29 Apr 2024 23:57:53 +0000</pubDate>
  908. <category><![CDATA[Colorado Avalanche]]></category>
  909. <category><![CDATA[Latest Headlines]]></category>
  910. <category><![CDATA[NHL]]></category>
  911. <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category>
  912. <category><![CDATA[Avalanche]]></category>
  913. <category><![CDATA[Miles Wood]]></category>
  914. <category><![CDATA[More Avalanche News]]></category>
  915. <category><![CDATA[Ross Colton]]></category>
  916. <category><![CDATA[Zach Parise]]></category>
  917. <guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.denverpost.com/?p=6036442</guid>
  918.  
  919. <description><![CDATA[Here are the three keys for Colorado to win Game 5 and send Winnipeg into the offseason before just about anyone might have predicted.]]></description>
  920. <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Colorado Avalanche have flipped the script on the Winnipeg Jets in this opening-round playoff series, and now it’s time to finish the job.</p>
  921. <p>After losing all three matchups in the regular season, two in decisive fashion, the Avs have roared to three consecutive victories and grabbed a 3-1 lead in the series. They’ve outplayed the Jets in every game, though turnovers and a rough night from their goalie prevented a sweep.</p>
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  983. <p>Here are the three keys for Colorado to win Game 5 and send Winnipeg into the offseason before just about anyone might have predicted:</p>
  984. <h4>1. Weather the storm</h4>
  985. <p>All of the clichés about an elimination game in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are relevant here. The Jets will be backed by one of the best home crowds in the NHL, and should come out flying at the start of Game 5. There didn’t seem to be a ton of pushback from Winnipeg after Colorado grabbed a 4-1 lead in Game 4 &#8212; the Jets had one high-danger scoring chance in the third period, per Natural Stat Trick.</p>
  986. <p>There <em>should</em> be (at least) one last push from the Jets, though. If the Avs let up after four great games, it will give Winnipeg an opening to get back into this series.</p>
  987. <h4>2. Take away the hope</h4>
  988. <p>Jets coach Rick Bowness pointed repeatedly to the last 10 minutes of the first period in Game 4. That&#8217;s when the Jets played the way they want, and it&#8217;s when the contest looked most in Winnipeg&#8217;s favor. The Jets have had a half period here or there where they have slowed the Avs down, but turnovers and penalty trouble have overwhelmed them.</p>
  989. <p>Winnipeg players know Colorado is a faster team. The Avs have shown over and over in this series that they can take the play to the Jets. Doing so early in Game 5 and for long enough might be enough for the home side to come to a collective realization that a miracle comeback, given the way the first four games have gone, just isn&#8217;t going to happen. If it is will-breaking time in Winnipeg, the Avs will be waiting for their second-round opponent on Wednesday morning.</p>
  990. <h4><strong>3. Get the third line going</strong></h4>
  991. <p>There’s not a lot of nits to pick after the past three games. The third line started this series on fire, with Miles Wood scoring in the first two games, and the trio of Wood, Ross Colton and Zach Parise or Joel Kiviranta titled the ice on the Jets. Nikolai Kovalenko joined Wood and Colton for Game 4. While they had some nice defensive moments in their own end, the trio did very little at the other end of the ice, even while the Avs were creating plenty of chances.</p>
  992. <p>That line doesn’t need to score goals to be effective, but winning the possession battle and keeping the Jets from setting up consistently in the offensive zone &#8212; where Winnipeg has looked comfortable at times &#8212; would be helpful. It will be interesting to see if Kovalenko looks more comfortable now that his NHL debut is out of the way.</p>
  993. <p><em><a href="https://www.denverpost.com/newsletter-signup/avalanche-insider/">Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.</a></em></p>
  994. ]]></content:encoded>
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