The Avs didn’t ice their most-skilled lineup when they faced Winnipeg four nights ago at Canada Life Centre, and it showed. Winnipeg scored a goal in each period, and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck Stuart Skinner turned aside thirty-one of thirty-two shots for a 3-1 victory.
A vastly different lineup welcomed the Jets to Ball Arena this evening, but the execution looked very similar to what we witnessed earlier this week at times.
First Period
In a reversal from what we saw against Utah on Sunday, Winnipeg tested
Mackenzie Blackwood early, having the benefit of a very early power play on a questionable call (even for preseason) against Nazem Kadri for hooking. During a puck battle on the penalty kill, the Avs couldn’t regain possession, allowing one-time Avs forward Vladislav Namestnikov to find defenseman Neal Pionk open near the blue line. Blackwood stopped his initial shot, but the puck rebounded straight to Nino Niederreiter, who was positioned directly in front of him. He banged the rebound past Blackwood to put Winnipeg on the scoreboard first.
That was the first power-play goal surrendered by the penalty kill to this point in the preseason.
The Avs would get their chance to respond on the man advantage halfway through the period. Avs head coach Jared Bednar assembled most of his primary threats in Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Nečas, Cale Makar on the first unit with Gabe Landeskog and T.J. Hughes. The second unit consisted of Artturi Lehkonen, Jaden Schwartz, Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson, and Devon Toews. While each unit employed some different setup schemes in the Winnipeg zone, both of them lapsed into the predictable habits of over-passing and self-inflicted shot suppression that we’ve become quite familiar with over the years.
The physicality ticked upwards in the later stages of the period. Gavin Brindley was assessed an interference penalty on Isak Rosen (despite Rosen seemingly falling on his own), and Niederreiter was called for roughing Sam Malinski seconds later. Both teams engaged in some pushing and shoving after whistles, but the officials deferred to the winding clock to end the period.
The Avs skated to intermission trailing 1-0.
Second Period
The penalty box parade continued for the Avs early, as Brock Nelson would sit for a hooking call against Mark Scheifele. Blackwood was sharp on the shots he faced, and the penalty kill kept Winnipeg from increasing their lead.
The Avs finally broke through on a Jaden Schwartz deflection of T.J. Hughes’ shot from long range. Schwartz redirected the puck between Skinner’s pads. Winnipeg would take back the lead on a turnover as the Avs attempted to break the puck out of their zone. Niederreiter passed to an open Namestnikov, who was all alone in front of Blackwood. He caught Blackwood moving to his right, and fired the puck just above his left pad to put the Jets back ahead.
The Avs put together some good shifts in the Winnipeg zone as the halfway mark of regulation approached, but a bench minor for too many men on the ice sent the Jets back on the power play. Again, Blackwood and the penalty kill were up to the task, preventing Winnipeg from scoring.
As time wound down in the period, Schwartz stripped the puck from Winnipeg’s Dylan Samberg, and he passed the puck to Kadri, who had Hughes a couple of steps ahead of him in the Winnipeg zone. Kadri’s pass caught Hughes perfectly in stride, and he picked his shot just out of Skinner’s reach to tie the game.
Just over a minute later and with time winding down in the period, Hughes lobbed the puck towards Skinner, and the shot found its way between him and the post to put the Avs ahead for the first time in the game.
The Avs went to the locker room ahead 3-2 on two goals scored in 1:21.
Third Period
Winnipeg attempted to apply pressure on Blackwood as the third period started, but he remained sharp, turning aside everything that came his way. Both teams would get chances throughout the final period, although the Avs were more than happy to force Winnipeg into poor shot selections as the period went on.
Blackwood’s biggest moment came after a penalty on Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey expired. After exiting the penalty box, Morrissey received a pass and skated in on Blackwood uncontested, but Blackwood held his ground to preserve the lead.
The Avs found their insurance goal with less than five minutes to play. After carrying the puck into the far face-off circle, Toews sent a cross-ice pass to MacKinnon, who immediately sent the puck to Makar, who had an open lane of ice on Skinner. He finished the sequence with a shot that beat Skinner to put the Avs aheady 4-2.
Skinner was pulled for the extra skater for Winnipeg in the final minute. Hughes got a pass from Kadri in the Avs zone and fired the puck into the open net to complete the hat trick and secure a 5-2 victory.
Takeaways
Finishing with a hat trick and first star honors, it almost seems like a sure thing that T.J. Hughes has secured a roster spot, at least to begin the season. Each goal he scored had an impact, with the first two effectively being literal game-changers for the Avs tonight. That likely earned him the ice time he had late in the game, which gave him the chance to complete the hat trick tonight. While it’s a bit of a downer that his hat trick doesn’t officially count, a night like this can do wonders for his confidence as the regular season approaches.
While Jaden Schwartz didn’t exactly move mountains on Sunday against Utah, he was noticeably more effective tonight. Both of his points were a result of good situational reads that paid off, both individually on his goal tonight, and the play on Samberg that led to the the first Hughes goal. Both of those plays set the wheels in motion for the Avs to take control of the game.
Remember when MacKinnon scolded critics of the power play early last season? This coaching staff had an entire offseason to present some new looks and strategies on the power play, and to this point, everything is looking nearly identical to what we’ve seen these past few seasons. Opportunities to put shots on goal are still taking a backseat to the trademark over-passing and rigidity that has been so prevalent. If this is what we’re seeing in preseason, don’t expect any wholesale changes when the games start to count next week, and beyond.
Upcoming
The Avs wrap up preseason action with a rematch against the Utah Mammoth in Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon.
