The Colorado Eagles were hoping to shorten the Pacific Division’s lead down to five points as they battled the Coachella Valley Firebirds. The Eagles are one of the hottest teams in the league at the moment, going 12–3 in their last 15 games. This is even with a laundry list of injuries, including players like Oskar Oausson, Ben Meyers, and Jean-Luc Foudy. It did not take long for the scoring to start as one of the top scorers on the team, Cedric Pare, only took 1:05 to get the first goal for the Eagles. Here are the takeaways from the 5–2 victory over the Firebirds.
Takeaways
— Peter Holland has now played seven games since returning from injury and has five points. That may not seem like much, but he has been a constant offensive threat. He draws the defense towards him, making it so another player is open. Holland has so much experience that he is hardly ever out of position as well. He ended the night with three assists.
Goal has been updated to Brad Hunt coming from Keaton Middleton and Peter Holland #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado https://t.co/80TtY8xDRM
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) February 18, 2024
— Pare has become a dominant force on the Eagles’ offense. Pare scored the first goal of the night for Colorado to set the pace for the team in the game. So far this season he has 24 points, surpassing his AHL career high last season of 21. And Pare has done it in one less game than last season. Colorado still has 25 more games to play this season, where Pare will probably get about 14 more points,
Just 1:05 into the game, Cedric Paré picks up the lose puck to open scoring with the assists coming from Matt Stienburg and Peter Holland. #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/BnYNCcC0jv
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) February 18, 2024
— Riley Tufte scored his first goal since January 21st. He has openly admitted that he has been getting a little frustrated with his lack of production, but has been useful in other ways. Tufte still ranks second on the team in points with 14 goals and 15 assists. But Tufte can power his way to the net, similar to how Valeri Nichushkin can. By doing this, Tufte creates chaos in front of the net and throws the defense off.
Riley Tufte redeems himself with a PP goal right after he exits the box. His 14th goal of the year and 29th point of the season. Holland tallies his 2nd assist of the night and Malinski gets on the board. #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/bvspHXCMEJ
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) February 18, 2024
Conclusion
The Eagles now sit in third place in the Pacific Division and five points out of first place. Their penalty kill ranks ninth in the league, killing 83.9 percent of their penalties. It has been a shining beacon all season for the Eagles when the power play was suffering. Depth scoring has become a key for the team with so many injuries, Pare has stepped up and rookie Ivan Ivan has been producing more than expected. Colorado looks to take their two winning streak to Bakersfield tomorrow night. It will be the third time that they have played each other in eight days and hope to keep a seven point lead in the standings.