At the end of November, the Avalanche entered a 13-game stretch in which they played every other day for 25 days. It was both a relief and a burden. The first two months of the season had been wonky. Settling into the true routine of the NHL schedule for the first time was much needed.
But that routine is a grind, and the Avs (18-11-2) experienced the effects of it. They lost five of the first six in that stretch with a minus-14 goal differential and a never-ending conveyor belt of injuries.
Then they straightened out, winning five of the next six. More importantly, Colorado is getting healthier.
As a sendoff to the holiday break, I polled a few Avalanche players for their most memorable gifts of their childhood. Unsurprisingly, most said hockey equipment. And then there’s Mikko Rantanen.
See their answers below after three December takeaways.
1. Martin Kaut is getting another chance, but it’s a result of the team’s decreasing patience with call-ups. When the Avalanche needed to make a roster move Dec. 8, they could’ve reassigned a young player to the AHL without waivers. Instead, Kaut was placed on waivers — at the risk of losing him without getting anyone back. It sent a pretty clear message.
Jared Bednar said at the time. “… The difference with some of the guys that are here and playing here … is once they find that game, it’s very small fluctuations from there. They’re bringing that every night. (Kaut’s) consistency is an issue. Quiet game. Quiet game. Good game.”
Kaut cleared waivers and two weeks later he was back in Denver. Bednar said it was because Charles Hudon and Jean-Luc Foudy struggled. “Itap not ideal to keep changing guys out,” he said. “But we also can’t watch guys play really well in one game and then go on a decline and just accept it.”
2. in which “geographic rivals” play each other more often, as opposed to the current setup where every team plays in every city, every season. I’m not here to share the same cold take that nobody wants to see that. I’m just here to point out this is a dumb proposition for the Avalanche.
Only three other NHL teams are within 800 miles. The Coyotes are closest. The Phoenix airport is 602 miles from Denver’s. Las Vegas is 628. St. Louis is 772. Geographic rivals do not exist here.
3. After the Avs’ fourth overtime game in two weeks, Rantanen described an interesting strategy for 3-on-3 to keep in mind: “Obviously the first draw is really important. Possession, just to keep it. What I would do, I think, the first 30 seconds, just keep the puck and don’t let them change. Because chasing guys around for 30 seconds is going to wear you down. And then maybe make a change in the O-zone, and then you have fresh guys against the guys who’ve been on the ice 40 seconds. It’s a tactic for 3-on-3. I know it sometimes looks boring, but after all, you’re trying to win games.”
Favorite holiday gifts
Cale Makar: “Probably something hockey-related. When I was young, a stick and gloves.”
Erik Johnson: “Hockey stuff. Hockey net.”
Evan Rodrigues: “When I was a kid I got Roller Coaster Tycoon for my computer. It was when I was real young. I used to play that all the time…..That’s kind of one of those childhood ones that I always remember.”
Alex Newhook: “This is going to be a copout answer because I’m a hockey player, but I remember I got this one stick that sticks out to me in particular. It was like an orange Warrior stick. I don’t know why. I think it might have been my first composite stick.”
Logan O’Connor: “A hockey net. And a hockey stick. Those ones are pretty easy to be at the top of the list for me.”
Mikko Rantanen: “Boxers. Every Christmas when I was young, I got new boxers. And socks. … Thick socks from my grandmother.”
