The Colorado Avalanche kicked off their preseason schedule tonight at Ball Arena. Unlike previous years where key pieces of the roster wouldn’t debut until the later stages of the preseason, both Avs and the visiting Utah Mammoth had several veteran players in their respective lineups tonight. However, it was the kids on the roster which ultimately led to a 4-1 Colorado victory.
First Period
The Avs established possession early in the period, creating several opportunities to take the lead from the start. Several
high-quality chances were present, but there few attempts to put shots on goal. As a result Utah goaltender Sebastian Cossa wasn’t tested as much as he could have (or should have been). Even with all of the possession that the Avs had in the first twenty minutes, they mustered only six shots on goal.
The Avs had two cracks at the power play, and while there was the familiar sight of over-passing during both power play chances, there was significantly more mobility in the Utah zone. This was a welcome sight, and hopefully it’ll be more of a mainstay after the regular season begins. The Avs would get another power play chance later in the game, so stay tuned.
Despite the low shot totals for the Avs, Utah fared even worse: they didn’t register their first shot on goal until the 8:19 mark of the period, and mustered only two more in the remainder of the frame. Blackwood’s best save was off a close range attempt by Utah’s Joshua Roy, who received a great setup pass from near the Utah blue line to give him a lane on Blackwood.
Both teams would head to the locker room tied at zero.
Second Period
Utah came out of the intermission looking to assert their will. They started applying pressure in the Avs zone, and got their first chance on the power play when Avs captain Gabe Landeskog would be sent off for roughing. Utah’s time on the power play wouldn’t last long, as Vincent Trocheck would be sent off for tripping Josh Manson. Shortly after both teams returned to full strength, Martin Nečas stole the puck from Utah’s Maveric Lemoureux in the Utah zone and found Beckett Hamilton in front of the Utah net. Hamilton redirected the puck past Cossa for the 1-0 lead.
Goaltender Ilya Nabokov came in to replace Mackenzie Blackwood near the halfway mark of regulation.
A late giveaway by Josh Manson led to Utah’s Gabe Smith firing a shot on Nabokov that rebounded to an open Yegor Borikov, who was there to collect the loose puck. The Avs put some shots late on Cossa, but to no avail.
Both teams would skate to the locker room tied at one.
Third Period
Now things get interesting! Early in the period, T.J. Hughes disrupts the Utah breakout at center ice, allowing Gavin Brindley to regain possession of the puck. He skated around a couple of Utah skaters and finishes off a give-and-go play with Nazem Kadri with a great shot past goaltender Michael Hrabel, who replaced Cossa at the beginning of the period.
Utah head coach Andre Tourigny challenged the goal for offside, but the goal ultimately stood. With Utah losing the challenge, the Avs returned to the power play. Thirty-five seconds later, an open-ice shot from Brock Nelson would elude Hrabel to give the Avs a 3-1 lead, their first (and only) power play goal of the evening.
Things got a little heated in the later stages of the period. Nikita Prishchepov laid a solid check on Utah’s Nick DeSimone that sent him to the ice. Seconds later, both teams came together, with Prishchepov and Lamoureux in the thick of things. When things finally settled down, the Avs found themselves on the penalty kill, as Prishchepov was served a double-minor for roughing (the second minor was served by Matthew DiMarsico), along with Devon Toews serving his own roughing minor. Lamoureux had a roughing penalty of his own, while Michael Carcone was serving a cross-checking minor. To make things more interesting, Taylor Makar took a high-sticking penalty during the Avs’ penalty kill, leading to a brief two man advantage for Utah.
Thanks to strong goaltending from Nabokov, Utah failed to capitalize on their opportunities. Moments after Makar served his minor, he got a pass from Brindley at center ice, giving him a clear lane and a step on two Utah skaters to break in on Hrabel. His shot beat Hrabel on the short side to cap off the scoring for the Avs. Utah had little left to fight for in the final minutes, and the Avs would run out the clock to defeat Utah for the 4-1 final score.
Takeaways
T.J. Hughes was impressive in his preseason debut. He had a solid steal to create a scoring chance for the Avs in the first period, and his efforts in the third period set up Brindley’s goal that withstood the Utah challenge attempt. While it’s only one game, it’s a great start, and it’ll be interesting to see if he can build on this throughout the rest of the preseason schedule.
Gavin Brindley earned first start honors tonight, and it’s his speed and aggressive forecheck that helped get him there. Some of the plays he made turned what could have been opportunities for Utah into opportunities for the Avs. It was nice to see those flashes of speed and tenacity that he displayed at the NHL level last season; now it’ll be up to him to see how he can be a difference maker at this level going into this season.
Ilya Nabokov was put to the test in the third period, and he passed with flying colors. While the rebound he gave up to Borikov may not have been ideal, he responded admirably, locking things down for the remainder of the game. While score effects can be attributed to some of those third period saves, that doesn’t diminish the fact that he stepped up his game in his first taste of NHL action. It would be nice to see him get a start in one of these remaining games this week to see how he prepares himself for a starting role at this level.
Seeing so many established players right out of the gate took some getting used to, but it was refreshing to see the likes of Kadri, Landeskog, and Nečas treat this game as something meaningful rather than just phoning it in. Leadership has to lead by example, and it was nice to see that happen in this game.
Upcoming
The Avs will visit Winnipeg to take on the Jets at Canada Life Centre tomorrow night September 21st, at 6:00 P.M.
