It’s depth and goaltending vs. elite skill in what should be one of Round 1’s closest series.
The Central Division looked like the league’s best this season, or at least the one with the most top-end teams, which meant two really good squads were destined to meet in the first round. With Dallas Stars securing the division title, that problem falls on the Winnipeg Jets and the Colorado Avalanche .
The Avalanche were also coming off a disappointing playoff exit in the first round, losing in seven games to the Seattle Kraken after hoping that they’d follow up on their 2022 Stanley Cup, failing largely in part due to the lack of depth on the team. They entered 2023-24 with similar problems, including another season with captain Gabriel Landeskog on the shelf, but that didn’t matter this time.
At this point in time, the Colorado Avalanche boast the best offense in the league, with their 3.67 goals per game being the most from any team this season. They can thank the sixth-best power play clicking at 24.5% and a talented roster shooting a bit above its weight for that, as despite ranking second with 2.98 5v5 goals for per 60, their 2.73 5v5 expected goals for per 60 ranks just 11th in the league.
Part of that is because of the play of their top line in Scheifele, Connor and Vilardi, who make up three of the five forwards this season to have a negative defensive goals above replacement. That line is clearly there to create offense and if Bowness ever confuses them for a shutdown unit against a top line, that will be their opposition’s chance to take advantage. But this is where their depth comes into play, because beyond that line, everyone is at least decent defensively.
But even if the Avs can get past Hellebuyck and chase him out of the net, the Jets still have a strong second option. Laurent Brossoit has been just as good in the crease for Winnipeg, as he leads all goalies with at least 20 starts in save percentage with .928%, and he’s ninth in the league in 5v5 GSAx with 13.41. There’s certainly no controversy over who gets the start in the playoffs, but if Hellebuyck has a bad night or gets hurt, the series is far from over with Brossoit in net.
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