The opportunity has finally come for the Colorado Avalanche to eliminate the Arizona Coyotes and advance to the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now facing elimination, it will be interesting to see what Arizona Coyotes squad the Avalanche will be facing. If they are facing a motivated team, this game could be close. However, if the Avalanche continues to ride the momentum from Game 4, the Avs can very well see themselves strolling into the second round.
Following their 4–2 loss in Game 3, the Avalanche came back for vengeance in Game 4, dismantling the Coyotes 7–1 to take the first 3–1 series lead. The victory would be memorable, as they would chase Coyotes superstar goaltender Darcy Kuemper out of the net for the first time in the series. Now will it continue to be a factor in Game 5? Only time will tell.
One of the most notable players for the Avs during their Game 4 victory was Nazem Kadri, who tallied 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist), who now has 9 points throughout the playoffs, leading the Avs in goals (4) — the best part of this? Kadri has 0 penalty minutes so far. Keep in mind, Kadri missed the past two playoffs with the Toronto Maple Leafs due to suspension.
Kadri had 10 points (3 goals and 7 assists) in his 19 previous playoff games in his career with the Maple Leafs from 2013-2019.
“I just try to come to play and compete every single night,” Kadri said. “That’s what good pros do, and I just felt like I didn’t have my best game last game so I just wanted to give it everything I had. Got a couple of nice breaks early, and obviously that makes the rest of the game a little bit easier.”
Player(s) to watch:
Gabriel Landeskog
While it may come as a shock, the Avs captain is scoreless so far in the first round against the Coyotes. Landeskog has the reputation of finding the back of the net at important times, so keep an eye on him to make a difference in Game 5 as the Avs look to advance to the second round of the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Coyotes Top Line
With their leading scorer in Conor Garland possibly out (not yet confirmed, but did not participate in the Coyotes practice yesterday), the Coyotes will be looking towards their top line of Taylor Hall, Derek Stepan, and Clayton Keller to make a difference and try to force a Game 6.
While most of the league is predicting the Avalanche to advance to the second round today, the Avalanche will be approaching the game just like any other game in the series. They are aware the Coyotes will be coming out out of the game, and only time will tell how they will counter it. We expect to see the same intensity that we saw from the Avs in Game 4 to close out the series.