After all the scratching and clawing to fight through the National Hockey League’s 82 game regular season, both the Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche did enough to qualify for the post-season and are now set to square off with each other in a best-of-seven clash.
The players can put all the sweat & toil that went into qualifying for the playoffs behind them now, because the only thing that matters is how their teams perform on their chase for the Stanley Cup. So you put up an impressive 140 pts in the regular season? Doesn’t matter now, Nathan MacKinnnon. So you won the William Jennings trophy for least amount of goals against? It doesn’t mean a thing anymore, Connor Hellebuyck & Laurent Brossoit.
The opening game of the NHL playoffs provides a clean sheet for both squads to start writing a brand new tale. Will the story end up being a brief cautionary tale of things falling apart quickly in the post-season? Or will it become an epic tale for the ages like Homer’s Illiad, outlining your team’s long & challenging, but ultimately successful quest? Any outcome is possible before the puck gets dropped to kick things off.
I previously took a fairly in-depth look at the upcoming series between Winnipeg and Colorado in the Western Conference Primer, so if you are looking for a refresher, check out the link below:
Play-Off Primer: Western Conference – Arctic Ice Hockey
It would probably be a safe bet that Jets’ fans are currently bleaching their white clothes in preparation for the massive White Out that is due to hit downtown Winnipeg late this afternoon. The Canada Life Centre will be rocking amidst a sea of white jerseys in the Peg, hoping to spur the True North franchise to victory.
Into that environment comes a Colorado Avalanche squad that hadn’t been playing all that great at the end of the regular season. But that doesn’t matter now, as they have plenty of talent (MacKinnon, Rantanen, Makar, etc) to play an attacking style that can quickly cause problems for opponents. In particular, Winnipeg will need to do their best to limit the Av’s powerplay opportunities if they ultimately want to be successful in the series. The Avalanche had received bad news when word came that Jonathan Drouin would be unavailable for the opening series and that has them using less-than-ideal forward combinations (according to many fans on one of their fansites). Here is how head coach Jared Bednar has Colorado’s starting lineup for Game 1, according to Daily FaceOff:
While there is plenty of talent in that lineup, the biggest thing that jumps out to me is the decision to roll with Alexander Georgiev as the starter. My primer talked about the rough season he is having, but it hasn’t exactly been getting better as the season progressed either. After running off 6 straight wins in March, Georgiev has gone 2-5-2 since then and only had one game with less than 3 goals allowed. The Bulgarian goaltender does have a solid .914 save percentage in 7 playoff starts though, so it’s possible he elevates his game. Justus Annunen is an intriguing option for Colorado’s coaching staff, but will his lack of experience keep the starter on a longer leash?
The highest scoring franchise in the regular season, the Avalanche have so many threats for the Winnipeg Jets to contend with. From the unworldly Nathan MacKinnon, the prototypical power forward in Mikko Rantanen, to the ridiculous talent of young Cale Makar, Colorado can make any team pay for sloppy play. Our players have shown they have it in them to play that shut-down style of hockey that frustrates the Avs and gets them off their games…can they continue to do it when it counts? And for long enough to get the needed 4 wins?
The Winnipeg Jets will be hoping that their record this season in Manitoba (27-11-3) will pay dividends with the assistance of a boisterous White Out crowd. The plan of attack is clear for the True North franchise…continue to play high-intensity hockey with a fast forecheck & good gaps, relying on capitalizing on enough of their own chances to get the needed 3 goals for Connor Hellebuyck to almost ensure a victory. It sounds so nice on paper, however it will be up to players like Adam Lowry, Mason Appleton, & Nino Niederreiter to not only limit Colorado’s top six scoring, but also chip in some of their own. Coach Rick Bowness met with his associates and determined that the best possible Jets’ lineup would look like this, since he didn’t have the injured Morgan Barron as an option:
Winnipeg’s star players are all rested up after watching game #82 from the press-box, so hopefully they will have that extra bounce in their steps to lead their squad to victory in this season’s most important contest to date. The Jets will need all four forward lines going when the puck drops to ensure they all have the stamina to play proper defense when Colorado’s top line inevitably gets some prolonged offensive zone time. Based on their recent play, I am hopeful that Winnipeg will be able to rely on quality minutes from the middle-six and think the addition of David Gustafsson to the 4th line will make them defensively responsible enough for Bowness to give them the necessary 10+ minutes. Mark Scheifele has been playing with determination all season long and hopefully he continues down that path without crossing into unwanted territory (i.e. hit on Jake Evans). Kyle Connor has looked more motivated in the defensive end lately, so let him continue along that vein and keep sniping timely goals for the Jets. All the other forwards have to play their roles for Winnipeg too, with Gabriel Vilardi using his “magic hands” to full effect near the crease, Sean Monahan making our weak PP unit more of a threat from the bumper spot & winning key face-offs, Nikolaj Ehlers flying up the ice to gain the offensive zone and creating chances out of nothing, Tyler Toffoli bringing a much-needed shoot first attitude to the Jets, and Vladislav Namestnikov & Alex Iafallo playing the grindy, hard-nosed hockey every successful playoff team needs.
On the defensive side of things, obviously Josh Morrissey is the key to any offense from the backend. With his smooth skating abilities, Josh is often able to jump into rushes, create some of his own, and get involved in prolonged cycle shifts. He is also a key part of the powerplay, as Winnipeg needs to draw the defenders out to make Vilardi & Monahan more dangerous down-low. His partner in crime, Dylan DeMelo has been fantastic as a stay at home d-man (team leading +46, good for 2nd in the NHL) and allows his more offensively inclined partner to gamble a bit. All the other defensemen bring varying strengths to Winnipeg’s blueline, with Brenden Dillon bringing bruising bodychecks and the occasional goal (8 on the season), Neal Pionk has the ability to throw lovely hipchecks and get involved offensively (though consistency is an issue), Dylan Samberg is just a solid no-worry defenseman that is great on the penalty kill, and Logan Stanley has been playing like the team has always hoped he would. Big Stan needs to keep up his physicality, but also make sure that he doesn’t give Colorado too many powerplay opportunities in the series.
There really isn’t much more to say about how well both Connor Hellebuyck and Laurent Brossoit have played this season. The two tenders have things left to prove, so they won’t be resting on the laurels. Hellebuyck in particular would love to add a statistically dominant post-season to his resume…not as much as he would love a Stanley Cup perhaps, but the two may go hand-in-hand. Brossoit has the ultimate parting gift already (Cup ring), but an injury stopped him from playing the more meaningful parts of the run. So if the worst should happen, I have no doubt that the Bross-wall will be ready to take up baton from Bucky.
Well, that’s all I got. Not going to try to predict the series, though clearly I am pulling for the Winnipeg Jets. Our squad has all the things they need to be successful, especially over a 7 game series. They just need to go out and stick to their game plan….if the Jets do, the Avalanche would have to play an amazing game to beat them. GO JETS GO!!
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