Colorado Avalanche earn big win over Boston Bruins before the All-Star break
By Andrew Dill
The Colorado Avalanche have a tough road ahead, but a shootout win over the Boston Bruins Wednesday night was a step in the right direction. Colorado enters the NHL’s All-Star break sporting a record of 20-18-10, 50 points, which is good for fifth place in the Central Division.
Colorado trails the current division leader Nashville Predators by 15 points, yet Nashville still has three games in hand to collect more points. Colorado has a chance to gain ground once the break is over, as they play the Predators in back-to-back games; Tuesday night at Nashville and Friday night in Denver (Jan. 27 and Jan. 30th).
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The Avs’ have been an up-and-down team so far this season and have dealt with injury issues to top goaltender Semyon Varlamov. One year removed from a Central Division Title, the Avs’ are battling for playoff positioning in a tough Western Conference, let alone tough Central Division.
The win over the Boston Bruins via shootout, will give Colorado some momentum moving forward. Both Ryan O’Reilly and Jarome Iginla collected goals in the victory while Nathan MacKinnon scored the lone shootout goals. Varlamov was solid like usual. Varly stopped 22-of-24 shots, earning his 12th victory of the 2014-15′ campaign.
Once Colorado returns from the All-Star break, they know they have business to take care of. Six of their next eight games are against Central Division teams (2-Nashville, 2-Dallas, Minnesota, Winnipeg. It’s a good opportunity for this young Colorado team to gain some ground in a rough division. The non-Central Division teams Colorado will play are the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers.
Enjoy the break, Avs’ fans. The second-half will be just as interesting as the first with a lot on the line. Will the Avalanche make a playoff push, or will they falter? Looking forward to the next eight games at hand to see where the Avalanche stand.