Nathan MacKinnon keeping Colorado Avalanche afloat
This past summer, the Colorado Avalanche added several quality pieces – Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, Joonas Donskoi, etc. – to a team that was already good enough to trample the Western Conference-winning Calgary Flames in a playoff series.
As such, many expected the Avalanche to be one of the NHL’s best teams this year. They certainly looked the part in the early going, jumping out to an 8-2-1 start.
Somewhat lengthy injuries to Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog seemed destined to knock things off the rails. That’s what you’d expect from a team losing two of their very best players.
The Avalanche have managed to stay afloat, though, going 5-4-1 in 10 games without that duo. They’re still within three points of 1st place in the West as a result.
Perhaps the biggest reason why is the play of Nathan MacKinnon. It would have been fair to assume his production would fall off without a pair of elite wingers by his side.
It hasn’t, though. Quite the opposite.
In fact, MacKinnon has actually recorded more points – and drastically more shots – in 10 games without his regular running mates than 11 games with them by his side.
The Avalanche have asked their superstar to carry even more of the workload than usual. He’s delivered tenfold, averaging 1.6 points per game and picking up a point on 50%(!) of their goals scored during this stretch.
I know it is early but MacKinnon sure seems well on the way to his second Hart Trophy finalist in three years.
Golden Knights should be searching for a backup
The Vegas Golden Knights are off to a somewhat underwhelming start.
Projected by many to compete for the Stanley Cup, they have won just 11 of 23 games to date. They sit 14th in total points and 18th in points percentage. Not bad, but hardly what you’d expect from a team expected to be playing hockey into May and, perhaps, June.
While part of their ‘struggles’ pertains to a lack of luck – they lead the league in chances yet sit 24th in shooting percentage – there are other factors at play here.
One of the big ones: goaltending. Backup goaltending, that is.
Marc-Andre Fleury owns a rock-solid .921 save percentage and has won 11 times in 18 appearances. He’s been great.
His backup(s)? Not so much.
Malcolm Subban (5), Garret Sparks (1), and Oscar Dansk (1) have combined to play in seven games. Neither of the three has a win to their credit, and Subban leads the bunch with a .888 save percentage.
This isn’t a new problem for the Golden Knights, either. They’ve never had a capable backup.
Dating back to the first season of their existence, they’ve gotten .895 goaltending across 72 appearances from goaltenders not named Marc-Andre Fleury.
The good news is their primary backup has the highest save percentage of the non-Fleury bunch. The bad news: it’s still well below league average.
Having a solid backup on the roster is more important than ever before, especially when your starter is in his mid-30s.
Expecting and/or relying on Fleury to play 60-65+ games in the regular season and not miss a beat during, ideally, an extended playoff run is risky, to say the least.
At some point, the Golden Knights are going to have to properly address the position.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com