Home might be where the heart is, but the Avalanche would prefer it be where the wins are.
After beating the Kraken by a score of 5-2 on Sunday, they crossed the .500 threshold to move to 9-8 at Ball Arena. Not bad, but not great, either. The traveling fans have gotten a pretty good show, though, as Colorado's 12-7 record on the road is solid.
Are the Avalanche doing anything different on the road that they aren't doing at home?
"No," Jared Bednar said after morning skate.
The numbers don't lie, though.
"We are playing better on the road, there's no question," he said. "Why that is? Why our starts have been a little bit better on the road than home? I don't know. Hopefully things turn around here for us."
For whatever reason, things seem to flip-flop for the Avalanche every year. In 2023-24, the Avalanche were dominant at home, losing just nine games in regulation. On the road, they were OK, not great. The season before, it was the opposite, as only one team won more games away from home than the Avalanche.
Colorado's schedule has been ready-heavy of late, to say the least. They just came off a stretch where they spent 27 of their past 35 days on the road. A little consistency probably helps.
"I think we've just had more games on the road, to be honest," Parker Kelly said.
At least one other person agrees with Kelly's line of thinking.
"I think maybe we got in a bit of a rhythm on the road," Casey Mittelstadt said. "We've been on the road so much that you kind of find your rhythm and find ways to win."
They'll get the opportunity to find a rhythm at home pretty soon. After they play in Salt Lake City on Friday, they'll get the opportunity to sleep in their own beds for a while. From New Year's Eve to Jan. 22, Colorado will play nine of 12 games at Ball Arena.
That's something they're very much looking forward to.
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"I don't mind being on the road, but that was a long, long stretch," Mittelstadt said. "It'll be nice to be home and start to build this thing for the second half."
Avalanche 5, Kraken 2
What happened: Colorado caught a tired Seattle team on the second half of a back-to-back and never let them in the game.
What went right: The Avalanche are loving what they're getting out of the Kiviranta-Kelly-O'Connor line right now. In a perfect world, that would be the fourth line, and Bednar compared them to previous fourth lines this team has had, so he might agree, but they're giving Colorado a bit of everything. Kelly drew two penalties, O'Connor is back to his usual self, and Kiviranta picked up his first career regular-season hat trick.
He has one in the postseason, but Avalanche fans don't like talking about that.
"Their line, really connected as a group," Bednar said after the game. "They've been a difference maker for us."
What went wrong: The fans in the crowd that are always yelling "shoot" might have a case with Mittelstadt. His last goal came on Nov. 18 and, in the 17 games since, he's registered just seven shots on goal. It's not like he hasn't had opportunities to let it rip.
Per sources, you can't score if you don't shoot.
Avalanche goal scorers: Makar (11), Nichushkin (11), Kiviranta (8,9,10)
Kraken goal scorers: McCann (12), Kakko (5)
Between the pipes: MacKenzie Blackwood didn't see a lot of action and didn't love the second goal he gave up, but finished with another win and 17 saves. For long stretches of the game, he didn't have to do much.
"As I've gotten older, it's gotten a little bit easier to find tricks how to stay mentally in tune with the game and not get lost in la-la land," Blackwood said after the game.
What's next: Colorado will get a few days off for Christmas and return to action on Friday in Utah at 7:30 p.m.
