Five years ago, the Colorado Avalanche were the worst team in the NHL, a whopping 21 points behind the next closest team, and it led to selecting defenseman Cale Makar fourth overall in 2017 draft.
Colorado is now the hottest team in the league thanks to the play from Makar and sits atop the Western Conference riding a 10-game winning streak. The Arizona Coyotes can look at the Avalanche and know rough times don’t have to last forever.
Arizona sits last in the Central Division and will play the Avalanche in Denver on Tuesday night in the third game between the teams in the last three weeks.
The Avalanche won the previous two meetings on consecutive nights to kick start their winning streak. The Avs also have won 18 straight in Colorado, the fifth-longest home winning streak in NHL history. The Detroit Red Wings hold the record with 23 straight home victories from Nov. 5, 2011, to Feb. 19, 2012.
Two more victories would tie Boston and Philadelphia for the second-longest home winning streak.
“It’s fun winning for sure. It’s pretty exceptional once you look at the history of the Avs, and they’ve had some pretty good teams, so of course we’re humbled by that,” said Colorado’s Nazem Kadri, who leads the team in scoring with 59 points. “But with that being said, there’s not really too many complacent guys in the dressing room.
“I feel like everyone feels that we can still be a little bit better, so we’re finding our game. Obviously, momentum’s a huge key, and we’re going to look to continue that.”
When the Avalanche were in their lean seasons, the talented young roster they put together were getting valuable experience. Now that rebuild is paying off, and a few key additions through free agency and trades have solidified the lineup.
That is a blueprint for Arizona to follow with some young talent of its own, including 23-year-old Clayton Keller, who is signed through the 2027-28 season.
“Every player that plays this game wants to win,” Keller said, according to NHL.com. “But you have to think of the bright side, focus on today and how you can become a better player and how we can create a winning culture here with what we have right now and prepare for the next couple years down the road when we do have a year that’s not in a rebuild. You focus on the things you can do and not worry about the outside noise.”
Colorado has continued to win despite the absence of All-Star Nathan MacKinnon. A nose fracture against Boston on Wednesday required surgery, and he is expected to be out until after the All-Star Game. Others have stepped up their play to make up for MacKinnon’s injury.
The Avalanche also are getting strong goaltending from Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francouz, who have combined to allow 11 goals in the last seven games.
“Winning a ton of hockey games has been fun, but like Naz said, I think as a group, we’ve done a great job of staying even-keel, humble about it and still trying to improve our game, each game,” Kuemper said.
–Field Level Media