Avalanche Take Northwest Division, NHL by Storm

(AP Photo/Eric Jamison)

It may not have looked like it a couple weeks ago, but the Colorado Avalanche is a team to take notice of in the Northwest Division. By Tucker Warner

       “They have perhaps the bleakest outlook of any team in the NHL.”  “The goaltending situation is a mess.”  “Denver will struggle to make it out of the basement of the Western Conference this year.”
 
       These are all things that I wrote in my Preseason Power Rankings column two weeks ago about the Colorado Avalanche.  I’m sorry, that should say “tied for first place in the NHL Colorado Avalanche.”  Somehow, through the first five games, this team has managed to tie for first place in the league with eight points, place second in the NHL in goal differential (trailing only the Detroit Red Wings), and lead the Northwest Division in Hockey-Reference’s Simple Rating System.
 
       So at this point, it’s fair to say that they are exceeding expectations by a considerable margin.  And while it’s true that Colorado has taken advantage of a below-average strength of schedule, it would be too easy to sum up their success so far to simply playing some weak teams.

       The Avalanche have been getting significant production from sniper David Jones and veteran scorer Milan Hejduk, who have both racked up four points this season.  Defensemen Erik Johnson and Ryan Wilson have been key as well, particularly Wilson, who has shown improvement at both ends of the ice.  Twenty-year-old C Ryan O’Reilly and rookie LW Gabriel Landeskog have also been important players to the Avs so far, providing energy and scoring ability.  Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny, the most proven players on the team, have been solid, but have not yet displayed the ability that earned them their star status.
 
       That “goaltending mess” I mentioned in my preseason column?  Forget it.  Off-season acquisition Semyon Varlamov has played more like the “Varly” that the Capitals trusted with their playoff chances in 2009 than the Varlamov who was benched last year in favor of a rookie.  He currently has a .938 save percentage and a 2.17 GAA in four starts.  In his one start, backup Jean-Sebastien Giguere gave up only one goal in an away win against the Ottawa Senators.
 
       All in all, this team has played just like that--a team--in their first five games.  While no player has racked up more than four points, eight players have scored at least three.  This team has shown solid all-around defense, and the only lack of offense comes from the fourth line of Jay McClement, T.J. Galiardi, and Cody McLeod.  Although I think they will regress a bit over the next few weeks, with the way this team has played so far--especially given their undefeated record on the road--there is no reason to expect them not to contend for a playoff spot.