Avalanche Game 49 Recap: Preparing for the Break

The Colorado Avalanche were coming off a very big win against the Washington Capitals, where Nathan MacKinnon, well, did it again. Another four-goal game for the man leading the way in the Hart Trophy race, and five points over all in the Avs' 6-2 win. MacKinnon left that night as the points leader, but entering this night, he was behind Nikita Kucherov by one point. Seriously, this will be one hell of a race.

Regarding Game #49, this was another home outing, this time against the struggling Los Angeles Kings. Though the NHL's All-Star Break was next week, this game is the Avs' last of the first half, meaning that we're in for a long hiatus. Also, one important note. It was Pride Night for the Avalanche, hence my reason for the logo above. Actually, that's one reason. Another is because I support Pride Nights in the NHL, and sadly, I've seen certain players bitch and moan that Pride Nights are "forced" (they're not), and even the league actually backed away from doing these nights, but they changed their minds very quickly after realizing that Pride Nights are immensely necessary.

One thing I'm proud of as an Avs fan: my team is full of allies. I'm a firm believer in good karma, and I say that Cup we won is good karma for being on the right side of this. The Avs truly know that hockey is for everyone. The teams who were pissing and moaning and speaking against Pride Nights need to take notes from the Avs.

It was Alexandar Georgiev against Cam Talbot in net, and the Kings had the slight shot advantage early. I'm going to be honest, I wasn't expecting a goal in the first period. I thought we'd see a goalie stalemate in the first frame, and then Logan O'Connor's shots somehow went in. I don't know how it did, but it did. So it's 1-0 Avs. O'Connor is really enjoying this whole goal scoring thing, and at even strength, too; his first three goals of this season were shorties. He decided to do this puck in the net thing once more in the period, and just like that, it was 2-0 for Colorado. As for LA, well, the struggles continued. I read earlier that Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty were upset with how things have been going for LA, and the dam continued to burst for the Kings, as Nathan MacKinnon made it 3-0 for his 83rd point of the season.

3-0 was the score after the first period, and Talbot's night was done. David Rittich, who had been getting more playing time after Pheonix Copley's injury. The second period did see LA get off the schnide, as Kevin Fiala put one in during the Kings' power play. However, Fiala would be in the box himself, but the PP was killed off. The Avs would still strike afterwards, as Josh Manson put one in and made it 4-1. Amazing; it was only Manson's sixth goal of the season, but it would be his second one against LA this year. So that was the score after two periods, and it was over by then. Both teams knew it. The Avs added one more in the third on the power play; Cale Makar from Nathan MacKinnon and Ross Colton, with MacKinnon regaining the points lead with 84 points. So that was that.

So with that, the first half of the Avalanche's season is done. At the moment, the Avs are in first place in the Central Division at 32-14-3 and 67 points. Overall, only the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks have better records. As for Nathan MacKinnon, he's one point ahead of Nikita Kucherov in the points race, though both that and the Avs' placement could change right before the break. After one more big Saturday of games, the games will be few and far in between until the break happens. The Avs' placement in the standings show that we are worthy of being considered as Cup favorites this season, and the second half will continue to prove that.

Regarding Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Alexandar Georgiev, we will see them again next Saturday, as they will be part of this year's All-Star Game in Toronto. As for the regular season, the Avs will start the second half in the East Coast, as we will go on a six game road trip. From February 5-15, the Avs will be in MSG, New Jersey, Raleigh, Sunrise, DC, and the very place where we won the Cup, Tampa Bay.

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