The Colorado Avalanche have, once again, juggled the line combinations in an attempt to generate offense due to injuries suffered by Alex Tanguay and John Mitchell. In the latest combinations used in the 4-0 win against the Philadelphia Flyers, one line for the Avalanche stood out and was clearly the most dominating on either team. Peter McNab, Altitude television color analyst, named this line the “1-2-3” line, consisting of Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. Together, they led the Avs to a win in game one of a seven game road trip and could spark the goal production during this pivotal stretch of upcoming games.
The name “1-2-3” comes from the fact that Nathan MacKinnon was the first pick in the 2013 draft, Landeskog was a second overall pick in 2011 and Duchene the third in 2009. Putting all of the Avalanche first-round talent together seems to be such an easy, logical decision, but going into the season the plan was for both Duchene and MacKinnon to center separate lines. The injuries to Tanguay and Mitchell, combined with a need for offensive production, has brought the three faces of the franchise together and in their first game as a unit, they scored two goals.
The early impressions look very, very good. Each member of the line contributes in his own way to compliment the others, as if they have been skating together for years. For Matt Duchene, moving to the right wing takes away the defensive responsibilities that come with the center position. This allows him to focus a little more on the offensive side of the ice, where he is supposed to be making an impact. Duchene was always at his best when he was on a line with former Avalanche center, Ryan O’Reilly. MacKinnon has a similar style to O’Reilly in his ability to make exceptional creative decisions with the puck. He also has the hands to protect possession in the offensive zone allowing for more creativity for all three forwards. MacKinnon takes a lot of focus from the opposing defense and as they get caught watching the puck on MacKinnon’s stick, Duchene can better position himself to score.
Just as MacKinnon is good for Duchene’s game, Duchene is good for MacKinnon. The speed they both display allow them to keep up with each other, and keep the defense on their heels. Having Duchene on the wing can help stretch the ice and allow more room on the breakout or offensive zone entry. More room just gives MacKinnon the space he needs to use his speed to blaze around the defense.
Add in Landeskog on the left side and the Avalanche have themselves an impressive line. MacKinnon has skated with Landeskog for most of the season and it has proved to be a good combination, so it makes sense to keep them together. Landeskog is a power forward that complements the two skill guys on the line, although he is not a power forward in a traditional sense. Along with the gritty, tough plays Landeskog makes around the net and in the corners, he also has a finesse element to his game that allows him to keep up with the high-skill offense, complementing MacKinnon and Duchene perfectly.
Obviously, one game against the struggling Philadelphia Flyers is not a big enough sample size to truly be definitive about, but this line shows promise. The high speed, high skill style of play this combination brings rivals that of any first line in the league. The “1-2-3” line and the Colorado Avalanche will truly be put to the test this week. On Thursday, the Avalanche face the Boston Bruins with a chance for redemption from the last meeting, where Boston outworked Colorado in a 6-2 loss for the Avs. Puck drop is at 5 p.m. MST. The Avalanche then travel to Canada to face the NHL’s best team, the Montreal Canadiens in another 5 o’clock start Saturday evening.
