A little more than half of the teams in the NHL (16-of-31) are allowing fans in their arena or plan on doing so this month.
The Avalanche is currently not one of them. But count Jared Bednar among those hoping the Avs join the club with limited fans inside Ball Arena before its club-record nine-game homestand ends March 20.
The Avs head coach mentioned that desire multiple times last week without being directly asked about it.
“Love to see some fans get in the stands here like some of the other teams are doing,” Bednar said Friday.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is trying. But the company that owns Ball Arena, the Avalanche and the Nuggets doesn’t have the final say.
In a KSE statement released at the end of February, the company said it is “unable to submit this type of variance request for fans due to the fact that Denver County remains at Level Yellow on the Colorado Covid Dial, which precludes the Colorado Department of Health & Environment (CDPHE) from issuing games with fans variance for indoor venues. KSE and CDPHE have had continued ongoing discussions regarding a variance request for fans at Ball Arena for this basketball and hockey season.”
There is hope for blue skies ahead. Jefferson County moved from yellow to blue late last month. If Denver County follows, we might hear more than just fake fan noise at Ball Arena.
I was at the Avalanche’s game at Arizona on Feb. 27, when 3,224 mostly Avs fans made it feel like the real thing. Colorado forwards Gabe Landeskog and Tyson Jost both said it was loud and felt like a regular game.
It would be nice to get back to the real thing, obviously, and the Avs surely hope the COVID dial turns left and fans return to Ball Arena before the record-long homestand ends. The Avs also have four home games at the end of the month to conclude a stretch of 13-of-15 games at Ball Arena.
Make no mistake, there can be a significant home-ice advantage with limited fans. And because of the strict COVID travel protocol, playing at home is a much better experience than on the road.
Unlike previous years, NHL teams don’t have much away from home. They have to be alone in their hotel rooms and all meals are order-in or a team meal in a secure room at the hotel.
“This is a big one for us,” Bednar said of the homestand. “I think it’s nice because I feel like we have a little more freedom at home to not just be in a hotel room and then go straight to the rink. You can be with family and kind of get your minds off hockey a little bit and stay refreshed mentally.”
Plus-minus confusion. Avalanche center Nazem Kadri logged a season-high 22:14 in Friday’s 3-2 win over Anaheim, after moving up to the first line in place of the injured Nathan MacKinnon.
Kadri made a great play on a disallowed goal, created multiple other scoring chances and, behind Valeri Nichushkin (two goals) and Brandon Saad (goal, two assists), was among the few Colorado forwards that had a great game.
Yet, he was zero in plus-minus and remained a team-worst minus-12 for the season. Only six other NHL players have a worse plus-minus, and they each play for a sub-.500 team.
“I honestly think plus-minus is a deceiving stat, but at the end of the day you want to score more than you get scored on,” Kadri told me.
Avs defenseman Ryan Graves led the NHL with a plus-4 rating last season. This year, he is minus-4.
“Sometimes you just catch bad breaks,” Kadri said. “Honestly, I think you’ve been playing well and you step on the ice for a few bad breaks and they end up in the back of your net.”
Kadri is a solid player. Let’s keep it at that.
"up" - Google News
March 07, 2021 at 06:47AM
https://ift.tt/3ef6TLC
Chambers: Avalanche fans in Ball Arena stands still up in the air - The Denver Post
"up" - Google News
https://ift.tt/350tWlq
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Chambers: Avalanche fans in Ball Arena stands still up in the air - The Denver Post"
Post a Comment