Yes, everyone knows Bowen Byram is off to a roaring start with his new team out in Buffalo, but the guy the Colorado Avalanche got in return for him is a pretty good player himself.
And in period two against the Calgary Flames, Casey Mittelstadt burst through the defense and picked up his first as a member of the Avalanche.
Everyone is getting into the scoring out in Calgary. Brandon Duhaime is the guy who made the beautiful one-touch pass to Mittelstadt for the goal, and Sean Walker has, quite frankly, been everywhere. Through two periods, Walker leads the team with six shots on goal and picked up an assist on Josh Manson’s second period goal.
Oh yes, and the top line has been dominant. Valeri Nichushkin, moved back to the wing with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, has been incredible in the absence of Artturi Lehkonen, and it might be difficult for Jared Bednar to remove him from that spot. The Avalanche are rolling in this game and look like a team to be reckoned with.
Let’s get back to Mittelstadt, though. He had a glorious opportunity in the first period to pick up his first goal with the team, but was stopped by Dan Vladar on a two-on-one. Vladar looked like a superstar in the first period, but turned into a pumpkin in period two. In fairness to him, he’s not getting much help from the rest of his team, as the Avalanche are peppering him with shots left and right.
A huge goal for Mittelstadt, and maybe for Colorado fans as well, who seem to be freaking out a bit with Byram’s strong start out in Buffalo, as evidenced by the dozens that have sent me videos of Byram’s goals. There’s no reason to freak out. They call it a hockey trade for a reason, as both teams had to give up something they really didn’t want to in order to improve in an area of weakness.
Both teams are supposed to benefit, and that’s what’s happening less than a week after the deal took place.
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