BUFFALO, N.Y. — In what became an elongated four-game road trip during a stretch originally reserved for the Olympic break, the NHL-leading Avalanche spent an extra day in Las Vegas following a 2-0 victory over the Golden Knights on Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.
That victory, coupled with Sunday’s 4-0 triumph at Dallas, highlighted an extraordinary six-game road winning streak that gave Colorado a deserved Thursday off in Sin City. The Avs traveled directly to Buffalo on Friday for Saturday’s game against the Sabres, and extended their road success to seven straight and nine consecutive with points (8-0-1).
The Avs will have another day off in a cool city Tuesday, when they will remain in Boston after Monday’s matinee tilt against the Bruins.
This is a team that knows how to win outside Denver after beginning 0-2 on the road — and the combined 6-0 score over the Stars and Knights certainly supports that. (Dallas did end the Avs’ club-record 19-game home points streak Tuesday).
Winning on the road is usually important for playoff positioning, but this team is now beyond that. The President’s Trophy-leading Avs entered Saturday with 34 remaining games, and a whopping 19-point lead over the Kings and Ducks, who shared the last wild-card spot heading into the weekend.
The Avalanche began 2022 a sizzling 17-0-2 — a 19-game points streak that stands third-best for any NHL team to begin a new year. Only the 2012-13 Blackhawks (24 games) and 1977-78 Canadiens (22) had longer points streaks coming out of Jan. 1 — and both went on to win the Stanley Cup.
Most teams are concerned about making the 16-team Stanley Cup playoffs. The Avs, though, are preparing for the postseason in a rent-free manner. They are destined to make a postseason run for the fifth consecutive year and, based on their improved mental and physical toughness, most experts expect them to advance at least to the Western Conference finals.
General manager Joe Sakic recently spoke about the Avs’ collective toughness, and beyond all the talent, that could become the most important quality in the postseason, regardless of whether defenseman/heavyweight enforcer Kurtis MacDermid is in the lineup.
Colorado is a tougher team wherever MacDermid is inside the arena.
“That’s one thing with this group — they stick up for one another. They don’t back down,” Sakic said. “We played some physical games and we’ve come right back, being just as physical as anybody else. So whether this year (has been) a flowing game, or a tight-checking game and physical game, our guys have responded.”
And Sakic is likely to acquire more grit before the March 21 trade deadline. A third-line, no-nonsense proven playoff-tough, every-day forward is probably in Sakic’s trade cards. Cap space is tight — Colorado on Saturday was just a projected $280,000 under the $81.5 million ceiling — but landing a big pending unrestricted free-agent forward is possible if the club gets creative in the Cup-or-bust window it’s in.
“We’re going to have to get creative, for sure, unless it’s just a straight-on hockey trade (player-for-player), but yeah, you’re going to have to have some creativity to try and help the team,” Sakic said. “We love the group we have here but we’re trying to win a Stanley Cup and we feel are one of the teams that can compete for it.”
One of? Yes. But they are clearly the favorite.
