Colorado Avalanche: Everything you need to know before playoffs begin

The Colorado Avalanche are officially back. After struggling at two separate times of the season and being on the outside, looking in at the playoff picture, the Avalanche have played their best hockey in the last two weeks despite major injuries to their team.

The team has won eight of their last nine games and look like a force to win the Central Division and compete for another Stanley Cup.

Here’s a look at where the Colorado Avalanche stands as they contend for the NHL playoffs

Forwards

The old guard is still here for the Colorado Avalanche and it’s beautiful. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog are all as good as they’ve ever been, while Alex Newhook has been a breath of fresh air for the forward group as well.

The Colorado Avalanche even has a boatload of depth scoring veterans that is unmatched across the entire league. Andrew Cogliano and Lars Eller can put the puck in the net and won’t have the same expectations as Anaheim and Washington.

Defensemen

The Colorado Avalanche have perhaps the most effective defensive pair in the league. Cale Makar is a superstar defenseman, currently rewriting how people interpret the position with his scoring prowess and breakneck speed.

Devon Teows is the linemate for Makar, and doesn’t get nearly enough credit as a true top pairing defenseman in the league. Both are in the top 15 in the league in defensive point shares this season.

The rest of the defense is filled with depth. Samuel Girard and Bowen Byram are still young, but have more playoff experience than most players in the entire league. Jack Johnson, Erik Johnson, Kurtis MacDermid and Brad Hunt are all solid depth pieces that give the team a level of bite not brought by the younger, speedier blue-liners.

Goalies

The Avalanche have had two high performing goaltenders this season after the loss of Darcy Kuemper to the Washington Capitals in free agency.

The acquisition of Alexander Georgiev has paid huge dividends for the Avalanche, as Georgiev is among the league leaders in save percentage and goals against average. Georgiev has also been a workhorse for the Avalanche, starting in 51 of the team’s 69 games.

Behind Georgiev are two quality options. Pavel Francouz was performing at a similar clip to Georgiev before he left the season with an injury. The Avalanche turned to Jonas Johansson and he’s been red hot for the Avalanche when he’s played for them.

Neither option should be counted on much in the playoffs, but it’s good to know the Avalanche have options if they need them.