The Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes was a five-game series that left us with questions about one team and confidence in the other.
After earning the second seed in the Western Conference, the Colorado Avalanche were set to meet the Arizona Coyotes, a team that eliminated the Nashville Predators in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers.
Coming into the series, the storylines, at least for me, were the stellar play of Arizona goaltender Darcy Kuemper against the Predators and the additions of key depth players in Colorado.
Right off the bat, those both came into play, as Game 1 saw Kuemper shut down the Avs for two and a half periods, only to be cracked by one of the newer Avalanche players, Nazem Kadri. Throughout the series, Kuemper excelled, Colorado’s depth shined, and star players proved to make or break their teams.
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Here are the three biggest takeaways from this series.
1. The Coyotes need one or two more star forwards
Despite acquiring Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall within the last year or so, the Coyotes finished in the bottom third of the league in goals scored this regular season. In the playoffs, the team managed only 22 goals over the course of nine games.
The leading scorer for Arizona this postseason was Clayton Keller, who compiled seven points. Star forwards Hall and Kessel racked up six and four points, respectively. Out of those combined ten points, only two were recorded in the first round series against Colorado, both by Hall.
To be fair, Nick Schmaltz was unable to participate in the playoffs, and he was second in scoring for the Coyotes in the regular season with 45 points. Nevertheless, the offense didn’t get the job done at any point this season.
Kuemper was brilliant and the defense was (mostly) solid, so the focus this offseason must be on acquiring some star power at forward. The first step will be addressing the Taylor Hall contract situation. From there, the Coyotes may want to turn their attention towards top free agents, such as Evgenii Dadonov, Mike Hoffman, or Tyler Toffoli, to name a few.
2. Kadri and Burakovsky were the biggest missing pieces
It was apparent last season that the Avalanche simply didn’t have enough depth behind its top line. As I have mentioned before, and as I will continue to mention for the rest of the playoffs, Colorado did that in a huge way.
The Avs could not have filled out the roster more perfectly, and it starts with Nazem Kadri and Andre Burakovsky. Both players not only fill significant roles at full strength, but they also are big contributors on the power play and are two of the highest point scorers for the Avalanche to this point in the playoffs.
Kadri has been good for 11 points (six goals and five assists), which is second on the team. His six goals are two more than any other Avalanche player and are tied for the most among all players this postseason, coming into Thursday’s action. Burakovsky’s eight points are tied for fourth on the team, and he also carries a plus-6 rating.
The top line for Colorado is almost impossible to defend, and now these two players are playing behind that line doing plenty of damage themselves. They are exactly the type of players that can elevate the Avalanche to the next level.
3. The Avalanche can absolutely win the Stanley Cup in 2020
When I filled out my playoff bracket after the Qualifiers, I looked at this Avalanche team as the one that would come away with the Stanley Cup. What I saw in this series has only convinced me of that even more.
When the series was tight in the first few games, the Avs found a way to win via a shutout, as well as take a game by the slimmest of margins. By the end of the series, overall team dominance was on full display with back to back 7-1 victories.
No player in these playoffs has more points than Nathan MacKinnon, who has 13 (four goals and nine assists). After eight games, he and fellow stars Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, and, of course, Kadri and Burakovsky, are all averaging at least a point per game.
Both goalies appeared in this series, as backup Pavel Francouz has posted a 1.02 goals against average, a .958 save percentage, and one shutout this postseason, and starter Philipp Grubauer owns a 1.46 goals against average, a .937 save percentage, and one shutout.
The team as a whole performed well all series, exceeding 35 shots on goal in three of five games, allowing 15 shots against or fewer on two occasions, going an impressive 7/20 on the power play, and successfully killing 14/15 Arizona power plays. The stats, the speed, the strength, the talent, and the depth of this group makes them serious threats to capture a championship this year.
For Arizona, the focus can now be turned to the offseason. Certainly, these playoffs have given the Coyotes a good look at what they have and an idea of what areas need improvement. Meanwhile, the Avalanche will be able to rest for a few days and wait to learn if their next opponent is the Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, or Vancouver Canucks.