'We were connected,' Avs consistency important part of winning mentality
Colorado played a full 60 minutes with the team's chemistry on point last game — which it looks to continue into the matchup against the reigning Stanley Cup Champs.
The most important lesson the Colorado Avalanche gained from their 5-4 shootout win over the Boston Bruins was that a consistent game will get them wins. They are looking to continue that going agains the Vegas Golden Knights.
"I think the big start was huge for us. The Panthers we were down 3-0 off the get-go sort of thing whereas last game we had a little bit more hunger through 60 minutes, a little more consistency within that," Logan O'Connor told The Hockey News' Colleen Flynn. "The Panthers game we were here and there but against good teams within the league you're going to have find more consistency throughout 60 minutes. As the year goes on, that's more and more crucial — the games get tighter. We're at half way mark now so for us its rounding that game out in different areas and starts with a complete 60."
Cale Makar said after the victory over the Bruins that the team's chemistry was on all game and that contributed to its success. That cohesion was missing the last time the Avs faced the Golden Knights — a 7-0 loss at T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 4.
"Boston was probably the best 60 minutes we played all year ...," Mikko Rantanen said. "I feel like we were connected. All the lines on the forecheck, really hungry on the forecheck, connected group. We were three forwards close to each other and if we do that then our D can stay up on their forwards and we can just keep them playing defense. I think that's why we were really good against Boston."
Using the Bruins game as a baseline on how to earn two points, head coach Jared Bednar said the team will need to continue that kind of play. Every opponent is different but the Avalanche are primed for this challenge.
"Go repeat what we did last game. All these top teams are very similar in the makeup — their ability to both create offense and defend," head coach Jared Bednar said. "We got to play a complete 200-foot game and no better example that for our team then last game against Boston. It was a hard fought game, but we were consistent all the way through the game. We competed hard, executed well, and we defended the right way. So I mean, that's a recipe for success and doesn't matter who you're playing. You want to try and have that same sort of mentality."
Projected lineup
Bednar said Josh Manson will not play due to a lower-body injury he's been battling. Miles Wood will also not play due to a continued illness.
Jonathan Drouin — Nathan MacKinnon — Mikko Rantanen
Valeri Nichushkin — Ross Colton — Logan O’Connor
Andrew Cogliano — Ryan Johansen — Joel Kiviranta
Kurtis MacDermid — Fredrik Olofsson — Jason Polin
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Sam Malinski
Caleb Jones — Jack Johnson
Alexandar Georgiev
Ivan Prosvetov
It's a late puck drop with an estimated exact time of 8:22 p.m. MT.