Eurolanche

Avs' Defensemen Lead The Way

You probably hadn’t heard the name Nick Holden before this NHL season and the chances are you still haven’t. He came out of nowhere to become a blue line regular for the Colorado Avalanche this season putting up a surprising 24 points on 10 goals and 14 assists with a +12 rating.

The 26 year-old Holden, who was previously undrafted signed a two-year contract this summer with the Avalanche as a free agent. He had played a total of 7 NHL games with the Columbus Blue Jackets over the last five seasons but failed to register a point. Holden impressed at the Avalanche’s training camp and made the team's opening night roster. After sitting the first 11 games as a healthy scratch, Holden finally got a chance as a forward against the Dallas Stars on November 11. A few nights later he scored his first NHL goal while playing defense against the Washington Capitals. It was the game winner. Since then Holden has steadily been turning heads scoring many timely goals. He's recorded two two-goal games and even the first three point night for an Avalanche defenseman since John-Michael Liles in 2010. On the same game, which was agaisnt the Nashville Predators on January 18, he recorded 9 hits, the most ever by an Avalanche defenseman. The 6'4" Alberta native has been averaging between 19 and 20 minutes per game.

Holden has been just one of many pleasant surprises on the Avs’ back end this season. Another notable one is Tyson Barrie. He was taken in the third round the same year has Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly and Stefan Elliott. That 2009 draft might go down as the best in Avalanche history. Barrie began the season with the Avs but was soon sent down to the AHL. Since being recalled, Barrie has been nothing short of spectacular earning himself the nickname Mr. Clutch and his very own Twitter hashtag #Barried. Barrie has put up 37 points on 12 goals (10th among NHL defensemen) and 25 assists and a +18 rating. The wild part is that 7 of the 12 have come in the 3rd period or overtime. He also has three overtime winners on the year and had another last season.

It’s been an improvement all around though. Credit rookie coach Patrick Roy, credit Adam Foote or credit blind luck, the fact is they’ve been getting the job done and winning hockey games. The Avs’ defensemen have combined for 46 goals and 167. Last year, though it was a shortened season, they only scored 5 goals and 44 points. Former first overall pick Erik Johnson seems to have come into his own and is becoming the top pairing guy the St. Louis Blues were hoping when they drafted him. Veteran Jan Hejda seems to have found some renewed life in his game while other journeymen guys like Andre Benoit and Nate Guenin have also made a strong impact.

At the start of the season nobody pegged the Avs as a playoff team because on paper their defense just wasn’t good enough. But the fact is with three games left in the regular season that same crop of defensemen has the Avs within 2 points of the conference lead. They’ve certainly passed their first test but the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a whole different animal.