Watching Nathan MacKinnon Is Still A Privilege | Avalanche Review Game 59

0:00At Langefans get to watch Marty Natus and Nathan McKinnon play together pretty much every single game now, and look, I'll be the first to admit that sometimes their gameplay is frustrating, but that's the vast minority. The majority of the time, they're doing awesome things. Abs win over the LA Kings 4-2. I think it's worth noting that post-Olympic break the abs have been going through a stretch where a lot of breaks have not really gone their way. Now, across the course of an entire season, big numbers, those things tend to balance out, but right now we've seen a lot of frustrating things go against them, whether that be roughing or the no-goal in this game or other things that just bounces seem to go against them. They're kind of going through that right now, and they're still finding ways to win. That's a sign of a good team. The abs had the potential to make this game a comfortable one for themselves. Now that didn't come to fruition, but the abs still did what they needed to do. Yes, some of the goals against, in fact, both of the goals against them in this game were absolutely their own fault. That's on Colorado to play better and do a better job.

1:03But also, for a game that I found frustrating, the abs never trailed in this game. They were never at threat of losing it. They spent about half the game tied and about half the game leading. And I do think this game shows the importance of playing from ahead. The abs score first less than five minutes in. This play starts with an air from LA. They get the offensive zone, but an arant pass allows the abs to jump on it and get going up the ice. Landy nicely finds natious in the middle and the abs are off to the races. This should be a two on two if you're able to get back and defend, but you're not keeping up with Nathan McKinnon. So it becomes a two on one as natious gets the space on his side and forces the defender to him. He's able to hit the nice pass across to McKinnon in space. And McKinnon doesn't hesitate here. I don't think this is a particularly special shot from Nathan McKinnon, but it's one timed and it's good enough to force the goalie to make a save, which Anton Forgeberg does not. This was the first sign that the abs top line was firing on all cylinders in this game and they really were. Yes, it's imperfect. Yes, sometimes they make a bad pass or a turnover. But ultimately, there's some of the highest

2:07skill players in the world and you have to trust them to get the job done. The expectation is they get the job done, which is why when they don't, it can be frustrating. But when they're making plays and finishing and everything looks good, it's some of the funnest hockey you can find. We'll get to McKinnon a little bit more later, but let's talk about the other guy playing on the top line in Gabe Landiscock because he's the guy who gives the abs a two goal lead. It's crazy to think that something like this is pretty routine for Nathan McKinnon fly through the neutral zone, get the zone and put a decent shot on net. Now, the goalie makes the clean save. It's just an offensive zone faceoff, which is not the worst thing in the world. But when the goalie bobbles it, the puck stays loose. It creates chaos for the avalanche. It's why a shooting mentality is important. Do you see the mistake here? The abs have two forwards in behind the net and LA has three players in behind the net. If the abs are able to get this puck out of this area, LA is in trouble with their defensive structure and that's exactly what happens. It just gets thrown out to space, but LA has no one that can contend. In fact, on that side of the ice, they have no one below the bottom of the circles. That's bad defense. What Marty and Aegis and Nathan McKinnon can do together

3:13if you get this. That sets up room. Burns takes his time, gives Landy a puck in the middle, shooting from the middle of the ice ads. Do more of this. It's a really nice shot from Landy and the abs are up to. I think Marty natures is kind of stolen the headlines back from the Olympic break where he's probably been the av's best player, so fair enough. But with a three point night in this game, Gabe Landiscock now has five points in the four games back from the break. He's quietly been very, very effective for Colorado back in that top line role and it's great to see him get one in the back of the net, just his eighth goal of the season. A place where if the abs start getting more goals out of Landy, let's say big pickup for them as far as actual goal production in their top six. So the best the abs have been set up through a first period in a very long time. A two goal lead in your feeling comfortable. Hi, Editing Ruto here. I completely forgot to mention I was very lucky. It got hurt in the first period of this game. That didn't happen. And that's very bad. Obviously, we don't know the extent of the injury yet, but definitely going to be a problem for the abs going forward if looking and misses some significant time. So,

4:16yeah, the abs one, but that definitely hurts. To that point, in the first LA really hadn't even been all that dangerous in the offensive zone. It felt like complete control for the Abelant. And then Josh Manson takes a penalty. Look, was it a bit of a cheap call? Maybe. But the abs have taken far too many penalties since returning from the Olympic break. Now, this would be the only power play they give LA in this game. So a credit for getting a handle on it. But the one power play they give them immediately scores. Not really much to break down here for the abs other than pretty brutal backdrop. Look at that thing skittered all the way over to the side where you think the abs should be able to win it from there. But they don't. Kings get it set up. Honestly, I don't have a problem with the abs defense here. Everyone marks up and takes their guys. It's just a shot that comes from out high. Corey Perry puts a good screen on it. It's going to hit some stuff in front. And that happens. What's the best way to kill a penalty? Say it with me. Don't take one. This still ends up being a winning period for the Abelant, especially on the road. You'd be happy to be up by one after the first, but giving up a late power play goal like that definitely

5:20leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth. The second period was honestly pretty mucky to start. LA was really grinding things up and neither teams were finding a lot of generation on the offensive side to the first portion of the second. The abs should have scored the next goal in made it a 3-1 game. A puck gets shot on net. It comes loose and Marty Nages cleans up the rebound. There was zero doubt about Nages having a free goal here. Unfortunately, the ref thought that Anton Foresberg had sealed up the puck and blew the whistle almost instantly when it touched him. The puck was loose and it does not count because the play was blown dead. Those are the type of tough calls, breaks, bounces, whatever you want to call them that the abs have run into a lot lately. And while the abs would ultimately overcome this thing going against them, in the immediate of the second period it felt like that certainly deflated them a good bit. It created the one portion of the second period where the LA Kings actually played a little bit of offense and that offense turned the game into a tied one. LA getting some extended zone pressure, the abs didn't chase in their own zone much in this game, but on this shift they definitely do.

6:23It feels like they're a little discombobulated and just a step behind the play, and things get a little bit chaotic in front with the switch out high. The abs need to mark up some guys, but no one's covering the puck carrier. So you see you would understand these two players taking each other, but sprinting out to take the puck carrier leaves Parker Kelly on the backside of this play and he's just not able to get engaged with the defense and put himself in a good position. So the backdoor pass is able to get through him and connect perfectly. Okay, this is really funny while I was looking up to who scored this goal because it's Angus Booth's first NHL goal. If you click and try to go to his player page, it literally breaks. If something went wrong, they don't have his player page set up. That's how brand new this goal is. Perhaps unjust, but now you're in a 2-2 tied game. You have to erase everything that's happened from this game and start over and go win it in the second half. Despite that small push from LA, the abs out shoot them 14-5 in the second period and generate six high-danger scoring chances. They just don't seem to be going in. The abs hit multiple posts. They beat Anton Forzberg multiple

7:27times, but it either got called back or squibbed through him and didn't go in the net. Feels like the abs were doing a lot right and the frustration was they weren't getting rewarded for it. Some nights this season, that has been a case of maybe the abs aren't creating enough high danger. Maybe the abs aren't doing the little details. But this game, it felt like they were doing all of those things and it still wasn't going their way. I bet the third period was the best period of this game. A good bit of back and forth, the abs were still better at 5-on-5. But the kings were throwing punches and mucking up the defensive zone and making the abs life hard to get this win. I will say at times it felt like LA was playing with a lead in a 2-2 game, maybe sagging off defensively a little bit too much. But hey, that's something the abs should be able to punish. In stretches like this, where things aren't going a team's way, it becomes even more important that it's their super stars that are able to step up and get the job done. Of course you would take it from anywhere, but the super stars are there for a reason, and with 5 minutes left to go in the game, it's super star time. At this point, the abs top line has already been buzzing in the offensive zone, and you can see how the abs have taken over the

8:32possession metrics of this game. Thaves is able to go across to McCarr, McCarr, times across as the zone and creates a ton of space before I leave for Thaves, which is really just to set it up for McKinnon to go with speed, and you step through this offensive zone, and you watch guard McKinnon? I mean, I don't know. You don't want to just give him that lane, a little discombobulation from the Kings in the middle of the zone, and that's enough. McKinnon immediately takes the space, really good read from Thaves to go to the back side, where you have all this open room to work with, and trust that McKinnon will get the job done. This lane is closing in a hurry, but McKinnon is able to slip the puck through, and Thaves finally finishes one. That right there is Nathan McKinnon. He is entirely capable of making that play. Yes, it's great work from Thaves on the back side of it, and yes, the entire setup of the shift was good from all of the abs top guys. And yes, sometimes McKinnon likes to make that play too often, sometimes he tries to force it. A lot of times it doesn't work, but it works often enough, and it works in the big situations, and that's why he's Nathan McKinnon, and nobody

9:36else is. Also great that Devon Thaves is the one scoring the goal, just his second goal of the season, and his first real goal of the season. The cohesion of the abs top five was the special stuff, the night between McKinnon, Nature's Landy, McCarr, and Thaves. Those are the type of guys that will take the avalanche anywhere they want to go. It's easy to forget. I certainly forget sometimes that watching these players is a privilege, and incredibly fun, most of the time, even if there are annoyances and frustrations, you gotta remember, that's the stuff I love about hockey. The abs would pick up an empty netter with just a few seconds left in the game that felt like a balancing of the scales. Nature's was the man who should have got the goal that did not count earlier in the game. He's the guy who picks up the empty netter, and it just so happens to come on the power play. Look, does an empty net goal save the power play and fix all of their problems? No, but I also think it's safe to say the abs probably deserve a couple of cheeky power play goals. The goal they scored the other night just after a power play expired for one, but also

10:36some quality play that hasn't been rewarded. I'm not here to tell you that the abs power play has been good, it hasn't, but statistically speaking, it has to get better by some fluky or lucky or just easy stuff. They're just due in certain ways. The abs moved three in one on the post-elympic break schedule going through a grueling one, and let's be honest, tomorrow's going to be tough for them, but they've done a really good job across a really tough stretch here. Guys like Nature's in McKinnon leading the way is the reason they're getting through this successfully and it's enjoyable. I'll leave it at that. That is the end of this game video review. Thank you for watching. I am Rudo, and the abs are still really good.