Here are three quick hits from the Colorado Avalanche's 4-0 victory against the Edmonton Oilers to go up 2-0 in the Western Conference finals.
1. Power outage
The Avalanche had two prime opportunities to start quickly in what ended up as a scoreless first period. An offensive zone penalty on the Oilers’ Kailer Yamamoto produced the first power play, but the Avs failed to record so much as a shot on goalie Mike Smith. Later in the period, the Oilers committed minors 29 seconds apart (Leon Draisaitl slashed Nicolas Aube-Kubel and Bret Kulak recklessly elbowed Nathan MacKinnon). Staked with a 91-second 5-on-3, the Avalanche was again punchless. There was simply too much puck-watching and not enough urgency to play at a pace that would tire out the Oilers’ penalty killers. During the combined 5-on-3/5-on-4, the Avs had only four shots on goal, none of the Grade-A variety.
