NHL EDGE stats behind Avalanche-Wild Game 1 thriller

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we break down the advanced stats behind the Colorado Avalanche’s 9-6 win against the Minnesota Wild on Sunday.

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1. Skating speed

Game 1 between the Avalanche and Wild featured 15 goals by 14 different goal-scorers and an uptempo pace throughout. Colorado forward Martin Necas had 13 speed bursts of at least 20 mph in Game 1, the most by any player in a single game this postseason, and Nathan MacKinnon had eight 20-plus mph speed bursts in the game. By comparison, the Wild’s leaders in that category were defenseman Brock Faber and forward Marcus Johansson with five each. As a team, Colorado had 46 speed bursts of at least 20 mph compared to Minnesota’s 28.

Per NHL EDGE IQ, the Avalanche-Wild Game 1 thriller also featured seven goals off the rush: four for Colorado (Sam Malinski, Artturi Lehkonen, Nick Blankenburg, Nazem Kadri) and three for Minnesota (Vladimir Tarasenko, Marcus Foligno, Mats Zuccarello). NHL EDGE IQ defines goals off the rush as goals that occur within five seconds of the puck crossing the offensive blue line.

Foligno’s goal was shorthanded and unassisted to give the Wild a 5-4 lead, before Kadri’s goal on a partial breakaway helped the Avalanche reclaim a two-goal lead at 7-5 and stood as the game-winning goal. Necas and Colorado defenseman Devon Toews each had two assists on the team’s off-the-rush goals.

Nearly 40 percent of the total inferenced shot attempts in Game 1 were off the rush (39.8; 45 of 113); inferenced shot attempts exclude those taken from greater than 60 feet, beyond the goal line or against an empty net. The Avalanche had the top three skaters in terms of shot attempts off the rush in Game 1: forwards Logan O'Connor (six), Kadri (five) and MacKinnon (four).

2. Minnesota’s high-danger goals

After the Avalanche cruised to a four-game sweep against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, the Wild’s offense gave them everything they could handle in Game 1 of the second round. Minnesota, despite missing one of its top centers in Joel Eriksson Ek because of injury, scored on half of its high-danger opportunities in Game 1 with four high-danger goals (Ryan Hartman, Tarasenko, Foligno, Zuccarello) on eight high-danger shots on goal.

Among goalies who played multiple playoff games in the first round, Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood had led the NHL in high-danger save percentage (.935) this postseason prior to the Wild’s strong offensive showing in Game 1. Offensively, the Avalanche had nearly double the high-danger shots on goal (15) but only scored two high-danger goals (by Blankenburg, Jack Drury) on Wild rookie Jesper Wallstedt in the series opener.

3. Defensemen scoring

Avalanche defensemen Toews (one goal, three assists), Cale Makar (two goals, one assist), Malinski (one goal, one assist) and Blankenburg (one goal) combined for 10 points (five goals, five assists) in their Game 1 win. The Avalanche became the fifth team in NHL history with 10 points from defensemen and the third ever with five goals at the position in a single postseason game.

Both of Makar’s goals in Game 1 came on shots from midrange zones, accounting for two of Colorado’s four midrange goals (others by Kadri, Malinski). Minnesota scored one midrange goal (Johansson) in the series opener. Among goalies who played multiple playoff games in the first round, Wallstedt had ranked second in midrange save percentage during the postseason (.964) behind Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes (1.000) prior to the Avalanche’s outburst in Game 1.