Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar said having the confidence and compete help the team win back-to-back games.
DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche only lost two games in regulation and one in overtime in the second game of a back-to-back series this season. The team has had 11 back-to-back matchups, which has been challenging with the rotating and long-term injuries that have plagued the club all season long.
The Avs are 8-2-1 in the second game of a back-to-back this season and 15-5-2 overall. They lost to the Calgary Flames in the second game of the season after raising the Stanley Cup banner at Ball Arena the night before. The other regulation loss was to the New York Islanders in a game played without Valeri Nichushkin. The team’s overtime loss came against the Seattle Kraken in March when Josh Manson was out of the lineup.
Colorado’s most notable sweep in a back-to-back was in Tampere, Finland in the beginning of November. Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick and two assists in the series in his home country.
Makar says it's about confidence
What was the secret to the team’s success? Perseverance, just the same as all its other victories.
Defenseman Cale Makar said that there wasn’t really anything different the team does on the second of a back-to-back. Just having that confidence and compete to grab a win makes the feat that much more enjoyable.
“I just feel like we’re a team. Think our mindset shifts a little bit, just in terms of obviously it’s a grind,” Makar said. “You just feel that much better when you pull out that second night if you’re able to pull out that win.”
Two games in a row can be draining on defense as the top pair typically puts in more than 25 minutes on the ice. Coach Jared Bednar managed to even out that load the last couple of back-to-backs by shifting power-play units that he said came about due to injuries during the season.
“We started thinking about like Taser (Devon Toews) has run the top for us a lot, (Samuel) Girard on that flank a lot, when Girard was out we had Bo (Byram) on the other flank a lot. And we just feel like we’re putting our best players out there on that unit in spots that they’re familiar with regardless of if they are forwards or D. We feel like those guys have the patience and poise and smarts to make those plays, and ability to make the plays they we need them to make on that unit.”
Bednar said the team is one of the slowest to leave road arenas because the guys are working out after the game to stay prepared for the next game and keep that energy focused.
“Being around this team for as long as I have, I think it’s just the way our guys take care of themselves. So it just feels like another game. I think they’ve conditioned themselves to a point where back-to-backs aren’t a big deal. They do some extra things around here, that’s led by Nate, and a bunch of other guys have followed suit.”
Byram likes to keep it simple
Defenseman Bowen Byram attributed the team’s success to simplifying its game in back-to-backs.
“I think sometimes we just know we have to simplify a little bit and maybe you’re not going to have the legs you want or the energy levels that you want, but I think we do a good job of just simplifying a little bit and making sure that our defensive details are in check,” Byram said following the win at the Honda Center in Anaheim on March 27.
The Avalanche are in the home stretch of the regular season, and ironically, the team will end the season the same way it started with a back-to-back series at home against the Winnipeg Jets then in Nashville against the Predators.