(Marilyn Indahl-USA TODAY Sports)
Here’s what we learned in the Western Conference quarterfinals matchup between the Wild and Avalanche: Both teams are even at two in the series, and both teams won their home games.
Tomorrow night will be the best-of -three as the series shifts to Denver. The Avs are coming home shell-shocked that they struggled to score in their two games at St. Paul this week. They are wondering how they can generate scoring chances against Wild goaltender Darcy Kuemper in light of their 2-1 loss to the Wild last night in Game 4 of the first round.
Here’s what we should expect: This series is going seven, and it’s going to come down to home ice. The Avs have home-ice advantage for Game 5 and 7. Those two games are pivotal, and that’s why the Avs have the advantage in this series.
From watching the four games, it’s clear teams feed off from the fans. They play with energy and confidence. They take control of the game by dictating the tempo.
In the first two games in Denver, it was all Avalanche. They were able to be in the Wild zone often, and they peppered shots after shots while Wild goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov did all he could to make saves after saves. Nathan MacKinnon was a highlight reel in setting up goals to Gabriel Landeskog and Paul Statsny.
The thought was this was going to be an Avalanche sweep. Why not? They were scoring, and Semyon Varlamov was doing a good job.
Everything changed at St. Paul. It started with Wild coach Mike Yeo changing goaltenders in a desperate attempt to change the series. It worked by inserting Kuemper in for the struggling Bryzgalov. He also inserted his goons on the ice in Matt Cooke and Nino Niederreiter to hurt Avalanche stars, which paid off as the Avs were tentative with the puck in Games 3 and 4.
The Wild outplayed and outworked the Avalanche in Games 3 and 4, and that’s why they even the series.
Last night was distressing for the Avalanche after throwing 12 shots at Kuemper. They had a hard time getting past the neutral zone, and that was why they only scored one goal in the last two playoff games. The only time the Avs generated scoring chances was in the final minute of regulation. Ryan O’Reilly did all he could to tie the game, but Mikael Granlund blocked his shots.
There’s no question the Wild received a nice boost playing in front of their home crowd. The boisterous crowd had the Avs off-balance often when it came with skating with the puck, and the Wild were able to pick up their play with the fans cheering on. Plus, Yeo had the opportunity to make the final line changes
Now, it’s the Avalanche turn to get home ice tomorrow night. Their stars should get the benefit of calls and be more comfortable to use their speed and shoot on their ice. The Pepsi Center appears tailored made for their skate to skate and score. Plus, Roy can make final line changes. That’s why it’s foolish to overreact about the Avs’ last two playoff losses.
It will be interesting how Kuemper handles playing a road playoff game. A mark of a great goaltender is to win a game or steal a game on the road. This is where we find out how good he really is.
The Avs are banking their fans will have them ready to go by responding to the energy the crowd creates. That type of support can feed off on the players very well. It would give them an adrenaline rush that they missed when they were at St. Paul.
Don’t discount what fans’ passion and energy can do to a player in a Game 7 magnitude. It’s something that is forgotten in the age of analytics.
As good as the Avs are, they are not mature enough to play a road playoff game. It was obvious by them not going past the neutral zone often and not being aggressive enough. This is part of the learning process they have to endure.
It’s hard to believe the Avalanche and Wild are losing their playoff home games with the way everything is aligning. It will come down to seven games.
That’s where the Avs have the edge being that they will host Game 7.
Contact or follow Leslie Monteiro at @LightRodWriter
Leslie Monteiro
Leslie is a contributor for Lightning Rod Sports. He covered high school sports in Bergen County out in North Jersey, and has written op-ed columns on sports such as Bleacher Report and NY Sports Digest.
