1. Finish-off mentality
The Avalanche is in position to sweep a series for the third time since moving to Denver and first time in 20 years. Sweeping a first-round opponent is tough stuff; in the 80 series from 2011-20, it has happened only 11 times (13.8%). St. Louis is on the ropes, outscored 15-5 in Games 1-3, minus leading scorer David Perron and potentially without defensemen Justin Faulk and Robert Bortuzzo. The Avs need to keep the pressure on in Game 4, scoring first (again) and generating power-play chances (again) to close out the Blues and get valuable time off while Minnesota and Vegas continue to clash heads.
2. First-line rebound
It speaks to the high standard set by the Gabe Landeskog-Nathan MacKinnon-Mikko Rantanen line that itap notable when they don’t light up the score sheet. Game 1: Three goals, five assists and 16 shots. Game 2: Three goals, five assists and 10 shots. Game 3: Two assists and six shots. The Avalanche still scored five goals Friday night, including two by defenseman Ryan Graves. But with a chance for a sweep, coach Jared Bednar should lean on his top line to seize the early momentum. Does that mean shortening the bench to three lines? That makes sense early on to see if it is beneficial.
3. Power-play face-offs
A correlation to the Avalanche getting skunked on the power play in Game 3? Face-offs. In Game 1, the Avs went 7 of 8 on power-play face-offs, helping it go 1 of 3 with the advantage. In Game 2, it had only two face-off chances (1-1) while quickly scoring on both power play opportunities. On Friday, the Avs won only two of seven power-play draws and were 0 of 4. Winning those offensive draws will allow defenseman Cale Makar to set up the power play from the point instead of chasing the puck down the ice to re-set the attack.
