Avalanche dominate again to defeat Coyotes and advance in playoffs

After dismantling the Arizona Coyotes in Game 4 of the Western Conference Quarterfinal, the Colorado Avalanche kept the pressure on and advanced to the next round.

Game 4 was embarrassing for the Arizona Coyotes, so a fast start to Game 5 was going to be a critical step towards redemption and an extended series. However, the Colorado Avalanche had a different idea.

The first goal of the game came early on a perfectly executed power play for Colorado. Once again, Nazem Kadri was the man who put the Avs ahead. Less than four minutes later, Samuel Girard made the Avalanche two-for-two with the man advantage, increasing the lead to 2-0.

Not only did the Coyotes not come out ready to play at the start of the game, they did not respond to the early deficit. There was a too many men on the ice penalty, a lack of offensive pressure, and breakaway allowed to Kadri, which led to another goal for the Avalanche.

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Arizona escaped the first period with no further damage, and the early stages of the second yielded some balanced play. The issue is that balanced play doesn’t cut it when the deficit is three and the season is on the line.

Sure enough, the Coyotes’ inability to do anything productive ultimately led to more opportunities for the Avalanche, and in turn, a larger margin on the scoreboard. A pair of Nathan MacKinnon one-timers 58 seconds apart extended the Colorado lead to 5-0.

Darcy Kuemper, who carried Arizona through the team’s first six games of the playoffs, was left hanging out to dry in both the fourth and fifth games of this series. Even after making a few tremendous saves in this contest, Kuemper was unable to succeed, as his team had apparently lost all interest in keeping up with the Avs.

That only continued throughout the period as the Avalanche tacked on a sixth goal from Nikita Zadorov on a deflected shot by MacKinnon. The shot totals to accompany the lopsided score were 30 for Colorado and only 18 for the Yotes.

The third period brought a more laid back tone, which makes sense given the 6-0 score. The Coyotes inserted Antti Raanta into the contest and did manage to spoil the Colorado shutout bid, thanks to Clayton Keller. J.T. Compher also scored in the period to restore the six goal advantage. That 7-1 score would be the final for the second consecutive game.

MacKinnon (two goals and two assists), Kadri (two goals), Gabriel Landeskog, Andre Burakovsky, and Mikko Rantanen (two assists each) led the Avalanche in Game 5. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer recorded 23 saves.

Kuemper attempted to lead the way for Arizona, but the subpar play in front of him inhibited his ability to do so. No other player for the Coyotes really made any significant positive impact on this game.

When this series began, I was excited to see how far Kuemper and his star teammates could take the Coyotes. As the games went by, however, much of that excitement faded and turned squarely to the Colorado Avalanche. Coyotes players became nonexistent, and Avalanche players, both stars and depth players, put on a clinic.

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Colorado is clearly the team that deserved to emerge victorious in this series, and it has the potential to plow its way through the Western Conference. Coming into the playoffs, the Avalanche were my pick to win the Stanley Cup, and this series only solidified that belief. The Avs will now await a second round opponent.

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