The Denver Nuggets have been at home for the last two weeks, while the Colorado Avalanche are moving on to the Western Conference Finals. While being owned by the same owner, one team looks out of sorts, while the other is a well-oiled machine. For me, it comes down to one major sports trait that separates the two teams.
It is that simple. The Avalanche are a resilient bunch, and it was on full display in their comeback against the Minnesota Wild. It was arguably one of the greatest finishes I had ever seen in a sports game.
The stage was set for a Game Five showdown between Minnesota and Colorado. The Avs were up 3-1 and were looking to end the series at home, something they had not done since 2008. The Wild, on the other hand, needed an early start on the road to get some momentum to possibly force a Game Six.
That’s exactly what happened. Minnesota came out guns blazing and jumped on the Avalanche 3-0 within the first 12 minutes of the first period. The away team dominated the opening 20 minutes.
The second period is why the Avs are championship contenders. From the opening seconds to the final buzzer in the next 20 minutes, the home team was clearly more aggressive and forced the momentum to turn their way. The team wasted no time making adjustments not only in play style, but in goalie personnel.
The second period was won by Colorado, as they scored with nine minutes to go in the second. The period still ended 3-1, though, as Minnesota still had a good lead. The momentum was clearly with the Avalanche at the moment.
The third period was absolutely incomprehensible to a fan. The Wild seemed to stabilize a bit and kept Colorado from getting a good shot on goal for most of the period. The atmosphere was getting uneasy, and time was running out.
With 3:33 left in the game, Jack Drury redirected the puck into the goal off a long shot from a teammate. That made it 2-3, and all of a sudden, the crowd was back in it. Two minutes later, Nathan MacKinnon has is redemption moment from the infamous shot at the Olympics and tied it at 3-3. It was from the spot on the rink, and this time he delivered.
The game went into overtime, and at that point, it was fate for the Avalanche to win. Four minutes into overtime, Brett Kulak scores, and Colorado moves on to the next round and wins their first close-out game at home in eight years.
The game described above was a true display of resilience. It was something that the Nuggets lacked in their playoff matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The first example of the dichotomy game in coaching.
When the first period went poorly for Colorado, coach Jared Bednar immediately pulled out the goal keeper thata allowed all three. Since that moment, the Wild didn’t score anything.
Denver, on the other hand, stuck with the original game plan. There were no lineup changes or schematic changes from David Adelman. The only changes were made out of necessity; the injury to Aaron Gordon forced Spencer Jones into the starting lineup.
The second example was poise. The lack of poise in the Nuggets was evident in all games in Minnesota. In Game Three, they lost the first quarter 25 to 11 and never recovered. In Game Four, Ayo Dosunmu took over down the stretch, turning a four-point game entering the fourth into a 16-point loss.
Finally, Denver was unable to get a stop clutch when their season was on the line in Game Six and lost 110-98. It felt like everything had to go smoothly for the Nuggets to win a game in that series. That was how Games One and Five went.
The Avalanche, on the other hand, fought tooth and nail till the final buzzer. They were down two with just over three minutes, and they never stopped believing. The energy and effort were consistent throughout, and that was something that you couldn’t say when watching the Nuggets.
The two teams have epitomized the difference between a championship team and a good team. The Nuggets were a good team all year, that was rattled by injuries.
The Avs never left first place in their conference for the entirety of the year. One team has grit and resilience, while the other lacks in the biggest moments. For the Nuggets to get back in the champion’s ring, they need a mindset change more than anything else.
For the Avalanche, eight more to go!
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