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New York Rangers rivals: Colorado Avalanche season preview

By Andrew Steele-Davis

DENVER, CO - JANUARY 4: Ian Cole #28 of the Colorado Avalanche fights for position against Jesper Fast #17 of the New York Rangers at the Pepsi Center on January 4, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Rangers 6-1. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JANUARY 4: Ian Cole #28 of the Colorado Avalanche fights for position against Jesper Fast #17 of the New York Rangers at the Pepsi Center on January 4, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Rangers 6-1. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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DENVER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 12: Andre Burakovsky #95 of the Colorado Avalanche is swarmed by his teammates after scoring the winning goal against the Arizona Coyotes in overtime at the Pepsi Center on October 12, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 12: Andre Burakovsky #95 of the Colorado Avalanche is swarmed by his teammates after scoring the winning goal against the Arizona Coyotes in overtime at the Pepsi Center on October 12, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /

Questions Facing The Avalanche

Can the Avs take the next step? That is the biggest and most significant question facing the Colorado Avalanche in 2019-20. They reached the Second Round of the Western Conference Playoffs last year, losing to the San Jose Sharks in seven, and they responded by bolstering their roster during the off-season. They have all the pieces in place with a glut of talent in the farm system ready to make the leap, and they will score a plethora of goals with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on the roster. This should be the year that the Avalanche take that next big step.

DENVER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 10: Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche shoots against the Boston Bruins at Pepsi Center on October 10, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Bruins 4-2. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 10: Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche shoots against the Boston Bruins at Pepsi Center on October 10, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Avalanche defeated the Bruins 4-2. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Will Cale Makar win the Calder Trophy? Cale Makar is an absolute stud and he’s currently lighting up the NHL. Selected with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Makar joined the Avs in time for the playoffs last year, where he put up six points (one goal, five assists) in 10 games. And he’s elevated his game to another level so far in 2019-20, recording five assists for five points in four games. He’s a silky two-way defenseman with a high hockey IQ and he could become the first blueliner to win the Calder Trophy since Florida Panthers star Aaron Ekblad won the award in 2015.

DENVER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 10: Goaltender Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Colorado Avalanche eyes the puck against the Boston Bruins at Pepsi Center on October 10, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO – OCTOBER 10: Goaltender Philipp Grubauer #31 of the Colorado Avalanche eyes the puck against the Boston Bruins at Pepsi Center on October 10, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Will the goaltending get it done? The Avs have anointed Philipp Grubauer as their No. 1 goalie after he excelled in 2018-19 following his trade from the Washington Capitals. Grubauer has a 2.33 Goals Against Average and a .931 Save Percentage through four games this year and, with the Czech import Pavel Francouz as his backup, the pressure will be on Grubauer to prove over a larger sample size that he’s good enough to be the number one goalie on a contender.

When You Can See Them

It will be a while until the New York Rangers can pit their wits against a Stanley Cup contender with the first matchup against the Colorado Avalanche not taking place until January 7 at MSG.

Next. Main takeaways from Oilers loss. dark

And the final game of the season series between the two teams will occur late in the year at Pepsi Center on March 11.

It could prove to be an important game for both franchises as far as the playoff race goes, although the Avs will certainly hope to have their postseason berth all but wrapped up by that point.

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