There are two things that cover up mistakes really well for a hockey team.

One is playing with a lead and two is goal tending.

Avs win over the Seattle Cracken, 5 to 1. It's the NHL. Any team can win on any day, but let's be real.

These teams do not match up equally. Even with the abs missing enough forwards to force them to run 11 forwards and 7 defensemen,

the top end of this team for the aves was just unmatched when it comes to what Seattle had.

When the top guys wanted to, they kind of just did whatever they wanted in the offensive zone.

To the point where, even when the abs kind of turned the switch off,

if they felt like it, they could have a shift in the O-zone and just

score again. Close to it will. This was about as close to a one-period game as you could get,

at least for the Aves not named Scott Wedgwood. The Aves completely dominated the first

period and then pretty much crews controlled their way through the second and third,

which is fine. The schedule is absolutely brutal this year and you have to find some games where you can maybe cruise a little bit. Certainly set yourself up for things like that, and that's exactly what the aves do. The first period, the abs were just better. It does not take long for the top line to get on the board. An initial shot out high is going to come from Cadry here, which isn't that great of a shot, but it's really good work by the aves. Look at multiple bodies fighting in front, Natchez coming in down low. The a abs are able to recover the shot and get a second chance opportunity. And then they just continue to work down low. Natchez finds space, a decent little streak play from Cadry to get in deep, and they continue to work in the zone, forcing Seattle to come back deep in their own zone and creating holes in the ice. That means eventually when this puck comes across to Nathan McKinnon, he's going to look to get it through the seam and find Marty Natchez. Now, to a certain extent, this is a crazy nonsense pass that McKinnon loves to make. But this one works maybe with the little assistance from Taves.

This one might be getting through anyway.

Nate just finds it, and it's not the immediate shot, but he does a good job of having enough patience

to wait for the collapse completely of Decord, and then it's an open net for him to shoot into.

Now, obviously, the finish is nice, and that McKinnon pass getting through is all good. You love that type of stuff and it's stuff we see regularly from the abs top line. But what I really like more than that is the hard work, the working the puck in behind the goal line, getting pucks off of the walls and into the middle areas. That's the type of grindy stuff that if you're getting that from the

Aves top line, they kind of just become unstoppable at a certain point. I do think Cadry has

helped them in that regard very rapidly in the few games he's played in now. And I don't want to be

hasty to make any decisions, but as the Aves start to get some forwards back, there is going to be a

conversation on whether you just leave Cadry up there, or you play him at C. The abs are flexible enough with a guy like Nick Waugh and Jack Jury down their lineup that Cadry does not have to play C if they don't want him to. Honestly, I can't ultimately say what would be the best option for the abs, but in this moment, it's clearly working on the top line.

So the abs get the early lead, something we've seen them get a lot, but not always convert effectively in the first period.

This first period, they do more than just convert it. They extend it.

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