Colorado Avalanche fans knew going in that this wasn’t going to be an easy season. With the Matt Duchene trade hanging over like the Sword of Damocles, a cast of uncertain rookies being thrown to the lions, and coach Jared Bednar being given another chance, things seemed destined to go wrong.
Sometimes you get a happy ending, or at least one that leaves you with a smile. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a season.
For a while it was the surprising chemistry of the still-in-Colorado Duchene with newcomers Nail Yakupov and Alexander Kerfoot, but while the latter two have stood their ground with their linemate gone, they have been displaced by another trio, in the form of Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon, and captain Gabriel Landeskog, one fans have been hoping would ignite some chemistry.