Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy has been pretty stubborn about that whole “getting massively out-shot but relying on your skill players and goalie to bail you out” thing.
Er, scratch that, Roy probably describes it as “shot quality over quantity” or something like that.
Either way, the Avalanche are suddenly starting to look like that 2013-14 team that surprised the NHL (or at least a squad that might flirt with a playoff berth). They edged the Dallas Stars 4-3 on Saturday while enjoying the type of advantages they leveraged last season:
Semyon Varlamov leading the way: Varlamov and the Avalanche are on a three-game winning streak. If you just looked at his save totals (37, 36 and 54), you’d wonder if you stepped into a time machine to early 2014.
Matt Duchene blowing some minds: It’s been a rough season for quite a few of Colorado’s top scorers, but Duchene also reminded us of how dangerous he can be. Just look at this nutty goal from today:
The best sign is that Colorado is always getting dominated in the sheer volume of shots department, though. The Avalanche won seven of 10 games, and equaled or exceeded their opponents’ shot totals four times in that span. (Hey, baby steps.)
Will Colorado keep up the good work? The road is still bumpy ahead, but it looks like many celebrated the Avalanche’s demise a bit early.