Avalanche's Defensive Details Shine in Dominant Game 1

The Colorado Avalanche set the tone.
Tuesday night's Game 1 of the First Round series of the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Avalanche and Nashville Predators featured an all-around assertive performance from the top-seeded Avs, who claimed the win by a 7-2 score.

As impressive and explosive Colorado's offensive display as they raced out to a stunning 5-0 start - that was highlighted by a pair of goals just 22 seconds a part scored on their first three shots - the team's defensive details accentuated the win and buoyed the dominant effort.

In the opening frame alone, the Avalanche capitalized on the Predators' costly turnovers and undisciplined play as they capped the 5-0 start with a Nathan MacKinnon power-play goal, a Andrew Cogliano shorthanded goal and three other impressive strikes from Devon Toews, Cale Makar and Artturi Lehkonen.
"We talked about it beforehand, coming out to a fast start and playing our game, that was key," Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog - who returned to the lineup for the first time since March 14 - said postgame. "That was us getting rewarded. Nobody was cheating. We weren't hanging on the wrong side of the puck trying to create scoring chances. We were just sticking to our game hard and playing fast. We ended up getting some scoring chances and we were able to capitalize on a lot of them. Obviously, that led to a big first period for us and that carried us through the rest of the game."
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Not only were the determined Avalanche executing on their chances, but their stalwart defense shined as they held Nashville to single digit shots in the first (6 shots) and third (8 shots) periods and limited them to a total of 25 shots. In the instances that the Predators did generate some looks on Darcy Kuemper, the Colorado netminder came up with timely saves, including a stellar first-period effort where he sprawled out on the crease and denied Michael McCarron when his team held a 4-0 lead.
"We knew one of their strengths was getting pucks to the net and getting traffic there," Makar said. "For us, especially as a d-core, we're just trying to box guys out and make sure that we give [Kumper] the best opportunity to stop the puck. Tonight, our forwards did a really good job of getting in lanes so we didn't have to do much."
And even after unleashing an snowslide of goals through 20 minutes of play, Colorado's focus to start the second period wasn't constructed on how to build or further their lead, but rather on how to protect it and continue controlling possession, especially in the offensive zone.
Despite both teams exchanging power play goals in the middle frame - one from Landeskog and one from a familiar face in former Avalanche forward Matt Duchene - Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar even noted following the game that he didn't feel like Nashville made any adjustments in the second period nor did his squad. The Avs head coach moreso pointed out his team's continuation of their dominant effort.

"The margin for error is that much smaller [in the playoffs]," Landeskog said. "You've got to be very tight with your details and especially with your defending details. In playoff games you don't normally score six or seven goals. Normally, that's not the case. That's not going to be the team focus. The first period we come out playing with pace. The conversation in the room isn't about how we're going to score goals necessarily, but it's about how we're going to defend and how fast we're going to be to make contact in the d-zone. For our team, that translates to good offensive chances. That's the focus and that's the difference."
And as the final period unfolded with Duchene's second goal of the game - that he converted on a breakaway - followed by a powerful slap shot from the blueline to complete MacKinnon's three-point night (2G, 1A) and award him with the First Star of the Game honors, Game 1 featured an absolute effort from the committed Colorado squad. It was a testament to the group's drive and a total execution of the processes they've put in place and standards that they've set for themselves over the last few years.
"It's a fact for our team, the better we play defensively the more offense we create," Bednar said. "We might not finish on all of our chances like we did tonight, but when we're checking the right way, we're getting the puck back quicker and spending less time in our zone and we're able to go on the attack. Part of the makeup of our group is that we've got some talented forwards, some talented D that can hurt you offensively. If we have the puck more it just gives them more time to be able to do that to create."