Avs in playoffs — 1st time since ’14
Nathan MacKinnon was given a day off from practice, which created a little stir on social media.
Turns out, nothing to fear. The Avalanche merely wanted to give their top scorer and Hart Trophy candidate a little rest Monday before embarking on the postseason.
Not many gave this team much of a chance to make the playoffs at the beginning of the year. Understandably so, considering it was coming off a 48-point season. But here the Avalanche are, about to face the top-seeded Predators in the first round, beginning Thursday in Nashville.
Colorado is rested, rejuvenated and carries a surge of momentum after needing to win its final game to secure its first postseason spot since 2013-14.
“We expect a lot from our group and know we can surprise a lot of people,” said captain Gabriel Landeskog, whose team finished the regular season with 95 points and matched the franchise record for wins at home with 28. “This is when the fun begins.”
The type of turnaround the team has made doesn’t happen that often in the NHL world. The last time it occurred over an 82-game season was when Pittsburgh also improved by 47 points from 2005-06 (58) to 2006-07 (105).
“We didn’t expect this in October, but as the season progressed, our confidence grew and grew,” MacKinnon said recently after finishing with 39 goals and 58 assists to wind up fifth in scoring. “For the last month, we expected to make the playoffs. For it to actually happen is very satisfying.”
The turning point for head coach Jared Bednar was in early December, when his squad wrapped up a 1-4 homestand. A similar stretch happened a year earlier and it sent the team into an unrecoverable downward spiral.
This time, it was different. The Avs found some traction and began a streak of 10 wins at the end of the month.
“The way (the players) handled that and responded there ... starts making you a believer,” Bednar said. “At that point, it became pretty clear we weren’t the same group and we’d push to the end of this thing.”
Still, the Avs needed a 5-2 win over St. Louis in Game No. 82, a winner-take-all affair, to secure their spot. NHL alters All-Star schedule: The NHL is moving up its All-Star skills competition and game next season, when San Jose hosts the All-Star Weekend for the first time since 1997.
After years of holding the skills competition on Saturday night and the All-Star Game on Sunday, the NHL is moving each event up a day for the 2019 weekend hosted by the Sharks.
The skills competition will take place Friday, Jan. 25, and the game Saturday, Jan. 26, at SAP Center.
It’s uncertain if the All-Star Game will take the form of a 3-on-3 tournament as it has the past two years. The 3-on-3 tournament was negotiated beginning in 2017 for five-day bye weeks for each team. Kane to captain U.S.: Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane will be the United States captain at the IIHF World Hockey Championship in Denmark next month. USA Hockey announced Kane as its first player for the tournament after naming Jeff Blashill as head coach. Rangers fire assistants: After firing coach Alain Vigneault, the New York Rangers have also dismissed two of his top assistants: Scott Arniel and Darryl Williams.
General manager Jeff Gorton said Lindy Ruff is still on the staff and he intends to speak with him before deciding on his future. The Rangers finished last in their division and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010.