HELSINKI – The Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets hope that the air in Finland will be a cure for their problems.
Reigning Stanley Cup champion Avalanche is 4-4-1 but lost two consecutive games – 1-0 to the New Jersey Devils on Friday and 5-4 to the New York Islanders on Saturday – before flying to Finland on Sunday for 2022 NHL Global Series.
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“These are not the results we wanted to achieve in New York and New Jersey,” said the goalkeeper. French Pavel, who stopped 22 of the 23 hits on Friday. “It is a special experience for us, but we also know that four points are up for grabs, so we will do our best to win. “
Both teams will train on Tuesday and Thursday. They will take a sightseeing tour on Wednesday off, then matches will be held at the Nokia Arena in Tampere on Friday (2pm ET; SN, NHLN, ALT, BSOH, SN NOW) and Saturday.
Several members of the Avalanche are originally from Finland, as are the attackers Mikko Rantanen (Nousiainen) et Artturi Lehkonen (Piikkio) and goalkeeping coach Jussi Parkkila (Tampere). They plan to eat at the finest Finnish restaurants and spend some time in the saunas.
The Colorado striker Evan Rodrigues welcomes the week with open arms, while continuing to integrate into the team after signing a free agent contract on 12 September. The Avalanches are on day eight of a 15-game winning streak. Even if the away game will not go as the team would have liked – with a possible one out of six possible points – Rodrigues believes that the work done now will pay off in the future.
“Yes, it’s quite a long journey,” Rodrigues said. We were in New York for a week, and here we are for another week. I know the guys because you are with them almost 24 hours a day, except when you sleep. I think it’s a good time to bond. “
Avalanche can afford to be together and have fun. The team knows what they are capable of after winning the Stanley Cup. They won’t be desperate for a while if they can achieve that status this season.
Confidence isn’t as strong with the Blue Jackets (3-7-0), who held a closed-door match following Sunday’s 7-1 defeat to the Devils. They have lost three in a row with a combined score of 17-4 and four of their last five games. They occupy the last row of the metropolitan section.
“It comes at the right time for us,” said the captain Boone Jenner. “We’ll be together all week. Different meals, a new city… We’ll be able to visit it a little. It’s a good time to get closer. It has already started on the long flight here.”
The Blue Jackets also have two Finnish players: the goalkeeper Joonas Korpisalo (Pores) and attack him Patrick Laine (Tampere). Their CEO, Jarmo Kekalainen, is also from Tampere. They too intend to take advantage of the best that Finland has to offer.
It will allow them to temporarily forget their problems, which unfortunately made the trip to Europe. However, the reality of the situation will not be far off in the minds of the players. The defender Zach Werenski believes it could be a good thing for the Blue Jackets, who were hoping to be in contention for the Stanley Cup playoffs this season after missing the tournament for the past two years.
“You want to go abroad and have such experiences in a different country,” Werenski said. It is a new experience for everyone. It will be very enjoyable and I think it helps the teams to grow, especially at the beginning of the season. It brings together all the players. “
