Connor Hellebuyck’s Devils debut on Tuesday makes it tough to imagine him back in net Wednesday against the Avalanche.
Hellebuyck owns an 18-9-4 career record against Colorado, but the timing works against him here. Since he is set to start for New Jersey against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, asking him to go right back out there on consecutive nights seems unlikely. It is possible, just not very likely.
That leaves Jake Allen as the likelier option for New Jersey’s second game. Allen is no stranger to Colorado, with a 12-8-3 career mark against the Avalanche. He also handled the assignment when these teams met a week ago, and New Jersey came away with a 4-3 win while Allen posted a .912 save percentage.
That previous meeting gave a pretty clear snapshot of what Colorado is dealing with right now. The Avalanche can score, and that part of the profile is not in question.
The problem is on the other end. Their defensive play has been shaky all season, and breakdowns keep popping up.
It is not panic mode yet, but if that pattern sticks around, it will get there eventually.
Allen’s numbers from NHL.com help explain why Colorado may have chances if it attacks the right way. His save charts show 39 high-danger saves, but he has only a .841 save percentage on shots from right in front of him.
If Nathan MacKinnon gets a couple of those looks, especially by driving hard at Allen, Colorado would be wise to let him fire. The Avalanche have already shown this season that they can pass up openings they should probably take.
Timo Meier was the busiest Devils shooter in that first matchup, finishing with eight shots. If Colorado wants to limit that kind of volume, it needs cleaner defensive work.
Right now, though, there is not much to suggest the Avalanche have that part solved. They may still need more time to sort it out.
And if Hellebuyck were available Wednesday, that would have added another layer to the matchup. Facing an old rival goaltender in his second Devils start would have been an interesting twist for Colorado. Still, even if Tuesday against Dallas goes well for Hellebuyck, it is hard to see New Jersey pushing him again immediately.
At the end of the day, Colorado’s focus is less about who is in the other crease and more about how it responds after Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Nashville Predators. The Avalanche need to come out with energy and reset quickly. They cannot afford to let that result bleed into another rough night.
It is one game at a time in the NHL, and the season is long. Wednesday will not decide everything. But a strong start to the week would sure help.
In Other News...
Avalanche May Be Heading Toward A Brent Burns Decision
Brent Burns has settled into a third-pairing role for the Avalanche, but the fit has not looked especially smooth. His recent game showed a negative Wins Above Replacement rating, and the underlying numbers have not helped his case either, with a negative relative expected goals for mark adding to the concern around his impact at even strength.
Still, Colorado does not appear eager to take him out of the lineup, and the reason is bigger than one rough night or even a short stretch of limited ice time. Burns Ironman streak remains a factor the Avalanche have to weigh as they try to sort out their blue-line rotation and manage fatigue, leaving the team with a delicate balancing act every time it sets its pairings. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Forward Shakeup After Ugly Loss Raises A Bigger Lineup Question
After an ugly loss, the Avalanche wasted little time changing up their forward group, and the most notable shift came with Nazem Kadri sliding down to third-line center while Fedor Svechkov was bumped to the fourth line. The move gave Colorado a different look in the middle of the lineup, while Nic Roy also returned to practice and appeared on track to be available for the next game after dealing with an upper-body injury. Roy said he is healthy and was a full participant, which at least gives Jared Bednar another option as he searches for a better blend up front.
The reshuffle speaks to a bigger question the Avalanche have been circling for a while: how to find the right combination through the middle without sacrificing balance elsewhere. Bednar has been willing to tinker after rough nights, and this one felt like a clear sign that nothing is being treated as fixed. With Roy back in the mix and Kadri moved to a different role, Colorado now has to see whether the new alignment can steady a group that needs a cleaner answer soon. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Suddenly Have A Parker Kelly Problem To Watch
Parker Kelly was one of the more useful surprises in Colorados depth mix last season, when his 21-goal breakout gave the Avalanche an unexpected scoring boost and raised the bar for what he might bring in a full follow-up year. Through 12 games this season, though, the production has been far quieter, with one goal and five points leaving the Avalanche to wonder whether last year was the start of a new level or a peak that may be hard to revisit.
For a team that leans on depth scoring to make the rest of its attack work, Kellys line becomes a small but important watch point. If his output settles back closer to the level he had shown earlier in his career, Colorado loses a layer of offense it was hoping to count on, and that puts a little more pressure on the rest of the supporting cast to pick up the slack. [Read more 🡒]