The Colorado Avalanche will try to build on the best start in franchise history when they battle the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night in Denver.
Colorado leads the NHL with 55 points in just 33 games, has lost just twice in regulation and is 13-0-2 on home ice. The Avalanche carry an 11-game home winning streak into Friday night.
Just as impressive is the play of Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the league in goals (28). His 58 points has him in a battle with the Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid (56 through Wednesday) for tops in the NHL.
More importantly for the Avalanche, MacKinnon’s high-level play and intensity have spread to his teammates. The 13-year veteran is on pace to set a career high in goals.
“I mean, he’s just a dominant player,” Colorado defenseman Josh Manson said of MacKinnon. “He creates chances all the time on the ice but makes the guys around him better. And I feel like he’s got that kind of shot mentality this year, like just throwing everything to the net, and it’s working for him.”
MacKinnon has plenty of help, with linemate Martin Necas in the top five in scoring with 45 points (14 goals, 31 assists) through Wednesday, and defenseman Cale Makar leading all defensemen in scoring with 40 points (10 goals, 30 assists).
Colorado has excelled in nearly every category — it leads the NHL in goals per game (4.03) and fewest goals against (2.21). But despite their firepower, the Avalanche have struggled on the power play. They rank 26th in the NHL in power-play percentage at 15.7 but offset that with the best penalty kill in the NHL (85.3%).
Colorado can improve its standing on the power play against Winnipeg, which ranks tied for 19th in killing penalties (79.8%). The Jets are tied for 13th in the NHL in power-play percentage (20.0), but it hasn’t translated into wins.
Winnipeg, the Presidents’ Trophy winners last season with 116 points, is 23 points behind the Avalanche in the standings and enters Friday on a two-game skid. The Jets are 3-9-2 since Nov. 18 and started their three-game road trip with a 1-0 loss at St. Louis on Wednesday night.
The frustration is evident for a team with high expectations.
“To a man, we’ve got to step up and prepare better,” Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor said after the loss to the Blues. “It’s one shift on, one shift off, it kind of seems like here. It’s been going on for like a long time here, almost a month, and it’s not the way we want to play. And it just keeps going on. So we’ve got to find a way to get out of it.”
It does help having back Connor Hellebuyck, the reigning league Most Valuable Player and three-time Vezina Trophy winner as top goaltender, after he missed a month with a knee injury and had arthroscopic surgery. In three starts since his return, Hellebuyck has allowed just four regulation goals but the Jets are 1-1-1 in those games.
Connor leads the team in scoring with 41 points (15 goals, 26 assists), followed by Mark Scheifele with 40 points (16 goals, 24 assists) and Gabriel Vilardi, who has 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists).
–Field Level Media
