Winnipeg signed Hellebuyck, Connor and Scheifel at the start of the season, preventing the team’s core from crumbling. That put them at ease in Winnipeg and he played better than expected. At the turn of the year, he won 8 games in a row. At the end of March, the team went through a crisis when they lost 6 games in a row, but once they managed to end the losing streak, they won the last 8 games of the season.
Colorado entered the season on a 6-game winning streak. After that, the Avalanche were able to continue their good performances. In March, they won 9 games in a row. Nathan Mackinnon had a fantastic season.
Head-to-head matches this season:
Kyle Connor vs Nathan Mackinnon
Connor extended his contract before the season. Due to injury, he played only 65 games and scored 62 points in them. He had 2 goals and 2 assists in 2 games against Colorado.
Mackinnon had the season of his life scoring 144 points. He scored in 35 straight home games. He had 1 goal and 2 assists in 3 games against the Jets.
Other key players:
Connor Hellebuyck, Josh Morrisey, Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers
Colorado: Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichuskin, Jonathan Drouin
Offense: Winnipeg 8/10 Colorado 9/10
Defense: Winnipeg 7.5/10 Colorado 8/10
Goalies: Winnipeg 9/10 Colorado 6/10
Winnipeg’s attack will not only rely on a few players, but on 3 excellent offensive formations.
Colorado’s offense will rely primarily on the first 2 formations, but the 3rd and 4th formations are also very good.
The Jets defense isn’t bad, but it isn’t the best either. The defense is Winnipeg’s biggest weakness.
The Avalanche defense is very good and should be able to keep up with the Jets offense.
In Winnipeg’s goal will be Connor Hellebuyck, who has had a very good season this year and will be among the main favorites for the Vezina Trophy (awarded to the best goaltender).
Alexanadar Georgiyev will be in goal for Colorado. His performances in the season have been quite shaky and if the Avalanche want to advance, they need to perform better than in the regular season.
The important thing will be if Georgiyev performs well, and if he does, the Avalanche should be the favorite.
https://nhl.cz/sezona/player-stats/detailni?stats-filter-season=2023&stats-filter-competition=7101&stats-filter-team=2389&stats-menu-section=info
https://nhl.cz/sezona/player-stats/detailni?stats-filter-season=2023&stats-filter-competition=7101&stats-filter-team=2398&stats-menu-section=info
tps://www.denverpost.com/2024/03/29/avalanche-nathan-mackinnon-gretzky-point-streak-controversy/
