After sweeping the St. Louis Blues and the 7-1 victory in Game 1 of Round 2 vs. the Vegas Golden Knights, the Avs appeared unstoppable. However, after the first period of Game 2, Vegas has dominated the Avs. The Avs were able to skate away with the overtime win in Game 2 thanks to the superior netminding of Philipp Grubauer, where Vegas outshot the Avs 41-25. A hot goaltender can steal a game, but it is harder for him to steal the series. The Avs entered Game 3 with a commanding 2-0 series lead but put up an even poorer performance than Game 2, generating three shots in the entire first period. In the last three games, Vegas outshot the Avs 119-63. A goaltender can only do so much, and the Avs are now returning to Denver with the series tied 2-2.
The Avs and Vegas ended the season tied for the most points in the league at 82; with the Avs winning the tiebreaker of regulation wins of 35 to Vegas’s 30, the Avs secured the number one. In the eight regular-season contests between the two clubs, the Avs won 4-3-1. Due to the fluidity of the playoffs, it is rare to have the one, and two seeds face off at all, but due to the divisional re-alignments this year, having the matchup of the playoffs occur in the Second Round is even more unusual. Despite the excitement of a 2-0 series lead, we knew that this would be a hard-fought series. Going down 3-0 was not a situation that Vegas wanted to face and played with more urgency than the Avs. They have been able to virtually shut down the topline, aside from Rantanen’s OT winner in Game 2: the Natty Mac, Landy, and Mikko trio have been dormant.
After Vegas’s humiliating loss of Game 1, they have not allowed the Avs to play their game centered on speed and skill and have stopped the Avs from putting shots on net. They have outplayed, outskated, and outshoot the Avs. We have hardly seen this type of continual domination all season. The Avs are the team that outshoots and outscores their competition. During the regular season, they outscored their opponents 197-133. Of course, after seeing your team manhandled for three games in a row, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This is not the team that we have watched all season. Vegas has been the better club of late, but that doesn’t mean they are ultimately the better team. When the Avs were up 6-1, Vegas’s coach double shifted his goon of a player, Ryan Reaves, resulting in a two-game suspension for his roughing against Ryan Graves. You don’t double shift an enforcer with the intent for him to score. The game was over, and his poor sportsmanship could have seriously injured a player. DeBoer should be thankful Roy wasn’t our coach; he would have jumped over the glass and taken him on himself.
The Avs lost 5-1 last night, but no nine-minute penalties were assigned to one of our players. The Avs are a cleaner team. They are like the preppy, pretty boys in high school wearing Bermuda shorts and flip-flops. The Knights are the cool kids drinking in the parking lot. Unfortunately, being the cleaner team doesn’t always translate to winning playoff games. The Avs are going to need to make serious adjustments if they want to win this series. The last time the Avs blew a 2-0 series lead was vs. Minnesota in 2014, where they fell to them in 7 games. This is not the type of history worth repeating.
The good news is, the series is only tied. In the last three playoff seasons, the Avs have had to face an uphill battle. They were down 2-0 vs. Nashville (lost in 6), down 3-2 vs. San Jose (lost in 7), and down 3-1 vs. Dallas (lost in 7). Despite being down in those series, the Avs were still able to push the series. Despite the eventual loses, the Avs have learned from those series. This is the first time that the Avs have had control of the second round in recent Avalanche history.
The Vegas Golden Knights entered the NHL in 2017 and took the league by storm in reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in their expansion season. They have been a dominant force in the league ever since. Their jerseys sparkle, and their fans cheer with the enthusiasm of a well-veteran club. In only four seasons, they have created a franchise worth rooting for. Vegas is the shinny new club that has showgirls for entertainment and Derek Carr to pump up the crowd, but Shakespeare had it right when he penned:
All that glisters is not gold—
Often have you heard that told.
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold.
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgment old,
Your answer had not been inscrolled
Fare you well. Your suit is cold—
Because everyone needs SparkNotes to understand Shakespeare (you’re lying if you say otherwise), appearances aren’t everything. The Knights might be coming into Denver on Tuesday with the apparent advantage. But that doesn’t mean they will win. The Avs are 20-0-1 in their last 21 home games and didn’t win the President’s Trophy by accident. It is a best of three series now, and the Avs are not done. If this were an 80’s movie, it is time to queue up music (I hear Larry Greene’s “Through the Fire”) for the montage of the preppy guy transforming into the rabble-rouser that the the most popular girl in school wants. Only the popular girl in school happens to be called Stanley.
Let’s Go Avs!