Midwest Mountain Sports Report 2/23/21
Welcome to another Tuesday of what I like to call the “in-between”. Playoff implications are far from set for the NHL and the NBA, which means that teams are settling in to their identities. The Timberwolves have kicked up their feet upon the loser couch, culminated by firing head coach Ryan Saunders after their latest loss to the Knicks. It’s a sad end to the Saunders era, with the fanbase forever grateful for Flip and Ryan for all of the positive impact they’ve had on the franchise. Unfortunately, there is rarely a lot to celebrate with this team, and it’s time to move on in a new direction. It certainly won’t change immediately; this season is lost. The Wolves are wet dogs in the dunk tank at this point, bricking as many baskets as it takes to get another favorable draft pick, while enjoying Anthony Edwards’ consistent appearances in the Sports Center Top 10 highlight reel.
In more competitive news, the Avalanche lost a bummer of a hockey game to the Golden Knights, stymied at every turn by Marc Andre-Fleury. It became clear that it was Fleury’s night after the first period, when he robbed Nazem Kadri and Nathan MacKinnon from certain goals, channeling his inner Martin Brodeur, crappie flopping across the crease. These are the games that chip away at your confidence; no matter how deftly you move the puck and create chances, if a goalie is as switched on as Fleury was last night, it just doesn’t matter. I would give the Avs the benefit of the doubt, returning after their Covid pause, but they’ve beaten the Knights twice already in this same series. Makar gets a little rope, as he still seems to be recovering from his illness and injuries. He felt absent last night, even though he was on the ice for 25 minutes. Devon Toews and Samuel Girard picked up the slack, and stepped into that defensive playmaking role. The box score would discourage an Avalanche fan who missed the game, but take it from me: the Avs stood tall and played the Knights hard. Alex Tuch earned his two goals, and the Knights caught a break from a cheap shot from Jonathan Marchessault which sent Bowen Byram to the box after retaliating. Classic rookie bait-and-switch.
I’m encouraged in spite of their loss, and I loved the third period chippy-ness that began to seep in once it became clear that the Knights would skate off with the victory. Hopefully the Avalanche carry that chip on their shoulders into Wednesday’s matchup with the Wild, who blew out the Sharks and are as of this moment “feeling themselves”, as the kids say. Both teams were out of commission for two weeks as a result of giving each other Covid, and both teams need the goal differential to swing in their favor to boost their playoff odds. At least, I think that’s how it works. Don’t ask me, I’m not a hockey doctor.
Midwest Mountain Sports Report 