Colorado Avalanche top Arizona Coyotes to take two game lead in series

Andre Burakovsky #95 of the Colorado Avalanche (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)
Andre Burakovsky #95 of the Colorado Avalanche (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)

After a lopsided affair in Game 1, the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes played a fast, back-and-forth Game 2.

The Arizona Coyotes were thoroughly outplayed in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal series against the Colorado Avalanche. To start Game 2, though, the Coyotes came out sharper and with more purpose than in the first game.

Arizona recorded the first three shots of the contest, and it took only three minutes for them to exceed their first period shot total from Wednesday. The Avalanche, though, did not allow that to go on for very long, as Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring less than four minutes into the game.

After a Coyotes penalty gave the Avalanche a chance to increase their zone time and shot volume, things evened out and the period had a fast-paced, back-and-forth feel to it. Then, late in the frame, Arizona struck for the first time in the series.

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The goal was officially scored by Clayton Keller, though the puck was put into the net by Avs defenseman Samuel Girard. Derek Stepan was waiting in the paint to put the puck in himself, so one way or another it was going in, but no matter how it was scored, it evened the game. At the end of the first, shots were 10-8 in favor of Colorado, and the score remained 1-1.

As the second period began, the energy remained high, and each team got its fair share of opportunities. It looked like the tie was going to be broken early on a play by Michael Grabner, but he was stifled by the crossbar.

Soon after, Tyson Jost put home a beautiful redirection, and what looked as though it would be a Coyotes lead turned out to be a 2-1 Avalanche advantage. Minutes later, however, Grabner got another good look at the net, and put the puck past both Philipp Grubauer and the crossbar to tie the game at two.

The rest of the period featured a fast pace and five penalties, but no goals. The Coyotes had an edge in power play opportunities and shots, putting more pucks on net in the second period of Game 2 (16) than in all of Game 1 (14). The score, however, stayed even at two apiece.

Both teams clamped down a bit as the third period got underway, but eventually, things opened up again, and that was when Andre Burakovsky stepped up and made the score 3-2. Nazem Kadri, who broke a third period tie in the first game of the series, had the primary assist on the goal, which turned out to be the game-winner.

It was interesting to see a game where there was a balanced attack and a score that represented that. So many games this postseason have been dominated by one team while the other found a way to score. This game was one where the scoreboard was actually representative of the play throughout the contest.

Darcy Kuemper was quiet in this game, not because he didn’t play well, but because he didn’t steal the show. Late in the third period I started to think about who would be the hero for Arizona, or if the Coyotes would simply come up short if it wasn’t Kuemper in that role. As it turned out, no one stepped up offensively.

The top line of Colorado also did not seem to play with the same dominance as it did in Game 1, with a couple strong shifts by MacKinnon being the exceptions. Last year, that would have been the Avs’ downfall, but not this season.

The Burakovsky goal to give Colorado the win tells me a lot about this series. The strengths of these clubs are Kuemper in goal for the Coyotes and the play of the top line for the Avalanche. In a game where neither was at its best, which team saw someone step up? The Avalanche. I expect more of that going forward.

2-0 is not an insurmountable deficit to overcome, but through two games the Avs have found different ways to win, while the Yotes have struggled to score. If Arizona wants to claw its way back into the series, it will need a better performance tomorrow afternoon in Game 3.