In sickness and in health, the Colorado Avalanche are scoring like a team from the 1980s.
The NHL season is more than one-third completed and the Avs are still averaging 4.22 goals per game. The team closest to the Avalanche are the Minnesota Wild. They are averaging 3.63 goals per game. That's almost six-tenths of a goal per game. Over an 82-game schedule, the Avs advantage would be 48 goals if those rates held.
Only nine NHL teams are within a goal of the Avalanche's scoring average. That means 22 teams in this league are at a one-goal disadvantage, or more, every time they play the Avalanche.
This Avalanche group is entertaining to watch. They can attack with speed in waves. Trailing defensemen are as dangerous as the forwards.
How offensively dominant are the Avs this season?
* They have scored five or more goals 10 times in 27 games
* The Avs have only scored two or fewer goals five times.
* Defensemen have 28 goals in 27 games for the Avalanche
* Prize defenseman Cale Makar has 13 goals in 23 games. He's on a pace to became the first NHL defenseman to score 30 or more since Mike Green did it in 2008-09.
* The Avs have been beat up by Covid and injuries and still lead the NHL in team scoring.
* Because of injury and illness Nathan MacKinnon has only played 17 games. He's their most dynamic offensive force. Several players have missed games and yet the Avalanche keep scoring.
* Valeri Nichuskin has netted 10 goals in 18 games.
* Nazem Kadri is fourth in the NHL scoring race with 38 goals in 24 games.
* The Avs have won five of their last six, and scored seven goals in half of those games.
This is not to suggest that the Colorado Avalanche are a runaway favorite to win the Stanley Cup, although DraftKings does have them favored at +550.
This focus on their offense is merely to point out how dangerous this team will be if they can stay healthy and figure out how to keep the puck out of their own net. The latter challenge has been stunningly difficult. It's almost January and the Avalanche have a 3.37 goals-against average. That ranks them 27th in the NHL.
The Avs' offense is dangerous enough to humble many teams in this league. Their offense will give them a distinct advantage in all but a couple of potential NHL playoff series.
If there was ever a time for the Avalanche to push their chips all in for a Cup chase it is this season. Colorado hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 2001.
Defenseman Bowen Byram has been out since Dec. 1 and there seems to be uncertainty about when he will be back. And even without him, the Avalanche were one or two defensemen short.
This is a franchise that should be looking at the rental defensemen such as Mark Giordano, Ben Chiarot, Nick Leddy, etc. They should be in the no-stone-unturned phase of team development.
More importantly, they should consider trading for a goalie. That probably means Marc-Andre Fleury.
Darcy Kuemper has had mixed results this season. He went into the break with three consecutive quality starts. But that followed five games in which he was not at his best. His .907 save percentage is below the league's .911 average.
In Arizona, he showed he was a quality goalie. Maybe you would see consistency if the Avalanche tightened down its defensive play and added another top-notch defenseman. You can hope he will be the goalie you want him to be.
But when you have a super-charged offense like the Avalanche command, do you really want to be on the hope plan?
Join the Discussion:
»