On January 24, 2014, the Colorado Avalanche saw Alex Tanguay’s second major return to the team in a year. He has been out since November 2nd with both knee and hip injuries. The return was a success with Tanguay picking up an assist and helping the Avalanche to a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers.
Many were excited about his first return, conjuring up memories of the 2001 Stanley Cup finals when he scored the first two goals in a 3-1 win for the Colorado Avalanche, earning them the Stanley Cup in front of the home crowd. It brought a sense of desperate hope the to the remaining fans from yesteryear, wondering if his presence could help bring back the magic that surrounded the franchise for the first ten years in Colorado.
However, his second return brings with it more than just vain hope. When he stepped out on the ice to face the Florida Panthers, fan were anticipating a repeat performance of the first thirteen games of the season, when the Avalanche started a dazzling 12-1, and Tanguay had nine points. Of course no one expects them to go on such a streak in the next thirteen with Tanguay back, but they have good reason to believe the Avalanche will become even more offensively dangerous than they already are, and comparable to the early season team that had its destiny written in self proclaimed mottos like “Why Not Us” and “Stanley Cup Attitude”.
When Tanguay disappeared from the line-up, it became clearly evident that the Avalanche needed his playmaking abilities. According to Nadia Archuleta of Yahoo Sports, Colorado lacked his experience, as well as his skillset, which Nadia described his eyes as “binoculars”, and acknowledged his amazing passing ability where he “moves the puck tape-to-tape with insane accuracy”.
Such a skillset is invaluable when you are playing alongside trigger-happy forwards like Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, and Nathan MacKinnon.
In practice on Thursday, January 23rd, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reported that Tanguay practiced on line with Gabriel Landeskog (left), and Paul Stastny (center), the exact same make-up of his line in the first thirteen games. It was also this line that started against the Panthers, with Tanguay and Landeskog assisting on a goal by Stastny. This line was constructed right after the 2013 NHL Draft when head coach Patrick Roy announced his training camp lines. Alongside these players, Tanguay posted a +8, as well as seven assists in fourteen games. Before last night, according to stats.hockeyanalysis.com, he also had the 3rd highest points per sixty minutes on the entire team, averaging 2.14.
Tanguay is also a weapon on the power play, where his passing ability opens up the ice to cleaner shots, a bonus to a team that is already 10th in the league in power play percentage, at 19.6%. He also wields a right-handed shot which is an asset to a team that only has two other players who can shoot from the right side.
Perhaps the biggest asset his presence brings, is the ability to place center Nathan MacKinnon back on the 3rd line, where he began the year. While Tanguay was recovering, MacKinnon was forced to play out of his position at right wing, also condensing the speed of the team from three exceptionally fast lines to just two. With MacKinnon centering the 3rd line, the Avalanche now can have playmakers and speedsters three lines deep, as well as have skilled center John Mitchell on 4th line with bruisers Patrick Bordeleau and Cody McLeod.
With thirty-three games left in the season, Colorado’s fans are hoping Tanguay can bring back the magic to the team that he brought in the first thirteen. Fortunately for them, his skill and leadership is more than magic, it’s the real deal.
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