There is a very, very real chance that the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars will meet in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
That is not lost on some of the veterans in the Colorado locker room.
The Avalanche moved to 3-0 against the Stars, who they’re currently chasing in the Central Division standings, in a convincing 5-1 win at home. An “excellent” performance from Alexandar Georgiev went a long way, as he held off the Stars until the Avalanche could pad their lead.
Take a look at what Georgiev, Andrew Cogliano, and Devon Toews had to say after the win, as well as head coach Jared Bednar.
Alexandar Georgiev
Andrew Cogliano
Cogliano on the Avalanche playing the Stars well this season and if it matters:
“Yeah, well, I think you could see them in the first round. Any time you have good games against them and bring your best foot and put it forward, I think it’s a bonus. You want to feel confident playing whoever you’re playing in the playoffs, and they could be a first round matchup. I think we just need to get back on track after the last two games, and now go on the road for a big two, and go from there.”
Toews on the 3-0 record against the Stars for the Avalanche:
“It’s a divisional opponent that we’re trying to catch in the standings, so it matters to us. Hopefully next time we play them we can start with the lead instead of getting down like we have in every game so far against them.”
Bednar on if that’s a blueprint to win for the Avalanche:
“Lots to like. Checked a bunch of boxes when it comes to our competitiveness and the hard defending was good. We tried to get above pucks. Most of the scoring chances, I think we had some turnovers, lack of execution, especially early and into the second, but we defended hard. We were committed to our defending game. Won the special teams battle. Goaltender was fantastic.”
Bednar on Georgiev’s game:
“I just thought he was excellent tonight. That’s one of the best games I’ve seen him play in a long time. I don’t know how many chances we gave up but the ones we gave up were really good chances.”
Bednar on the fourth line chipping in:
“I’d have to look at the stats on it, but when our fourth line produces and they even chip in one goal, I’m sure our record’s really good. Tonight they got two. That line, right out of the gate, they get us two big goals.”
Bednar on Cogliano’s success:
“He understands the importance of the structure of our game and the habits that you have to play with in order to have success and have longevity with that success. He’s going to make mistakes here and there, but he rarely messes up on the structure of your game and tactical play of your game.”
Bednar on MacKinnon…again:
“I’ll say this, he was incredible tonight. I thought his checking game tonight, the detail in which he played with on the defensive side of the puck, led to a lot of offense. This is a team that throws a lot of pucks into the mixer, into the net front, and they’re really successful in doing it. We had numbers in there all night. Even when we had a breakdown, we came up with a lot of rebounds tonight, so there wasn’t secondary opportunities. MacK was a big part of that, arriving down in d-zone coverage.”
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