Two months remain in the NHL regular season, but the Avalanche already appears postseason prepared.
The Avs enter Tuesday’s game against the visiting New York Islanders 12-0-4 in one-goal games — the only team in the league without a regulation loss in tight games. And Colorado has 17 comeback wins, including nine in the third period. Both are tied for the league-high.
Forging comebacks and winning tight games are the staple of a Stanley Cup champion.
“We have a lot of belief in our room. It doesn’t really matter what the score is going into the third period, down one, up one. We believe that we can win,” Avs forward J.T. Compher said. “A lot of the group has been together and we’ve found ways to win those games. So there’s confidence that if we continue to play the way we need to play, or up our level for the third period, that we have a chance to win the game.”
Colorado (39-10-3) leads the Presidents Trophy race and could finish with the NHL’s best record for a second-consecutive season. The Avs were 39-13-3 in the shortened 56-game regular season of 2021, matching the 82 points they currently carry into Tuesday’s game against New York.
Winning close games and forging comebacks has been an acquired skill over time, defenseman Sam Girard said. The Avs rallied from 3-0 and 2-1 deficits to win their last two games — defeating Winnipeg 6-3 and Vegas 3-2, respectively.
“That’s something that we’re better at every year,” Girard said. “Even when we’re losing like with 10 minutes left, we’ll just keep pushing. It’s never done until the clock is at zero. So I think that’s something that we do better this year. We just don’t give up. We just keep going keep, pushing right away. And I think that’s what we did against Vegas. We didn’t force anything. We’re just waiting, waiting until something opens and I think that’s what we did against Vegas.”
Tazer vs. Isles. Second-year Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews leads the NHL with a plus-42 rating — a gaudy stat heading into his first game against his former team. Toews, who plays with Norris Trophy favorite Cale Makar on Colorado’s top pairing, spent his first five professional seasons with the Islanders organization.
The former three-year Quinnipiac University standout played in 116 regular-season games with New York but spent just one full season with the NHL club before being traded to the Avalanche for two second-round draft picks. Toews and the Avalanche face the Islanders twice in seven days, with the rematch on Monday in Elmont, N.Y.
