After sitting out four of seven games in the first round of the playoffs last year with the New Jersey Devils, Miles Wood made sure to make his presence felt in his first postseason game with the Colorado Avalanche. Wood scored a goal, nearly had another, and played the second-most ice time of his career in a 60-minute playoff game as the Avalanche fell 7-6 to the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of their opening-round series.
“I thought he was great,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Yep, physical, involved, hard at the net. I thought that line was really effective. They were involved right from the drop of the puck. Their details were good. They checked hard. The physicality is part of their game.
“Those guys, they’ve got a little grit and sandpaper. I thought they played their game to the best of their abilities the other night. I’d love to see them repeat that performance.”
Wood played with his new linemate Ross Colton, who grew up a Devils fan and has been “inseparable” from Wood since they joined the Avalanche this offseason. The two have been carpool mates and linemates, and they bring a lot of chaotic energy to the team.
“Ross has more playoff experience than me,” Wood said. “He’s thrived in this situation. He knows what it takes to win.
“I thought we played well. (Joel Kiviranta) hasn’t played in a while and I thought he stepped in and did a great job out there.”
Despite finishing the final 25 games of the regular season in a slump, Wood was an impactful player in Game 1. The Avalanche signed him to a surprising six-year contract in July, and Bednar has consistently praised Wood for his defensive responsibility, energy, and physicality. After barely playing on the penalty kill during his more than 400 games with New Jersey, Wood has become a fixture on the unit in Colorado.
It was a physical Game 1, with the two clubs combining for 101 hits. Wood and Colton were in the middle of plenty of altercations, both before and after the whistles. They combined for six shots on goal and seven hits. The Avs had a 27-10 advantage in shot attempts when Wood was on the ice at even strength. They also created 76.28% of the expected goals when Wood was out there, which was tops on the team among guys who reached double digits in minutes.
“I feel like the hit count is always more in the playoffs. It fits with how we want to play,” Wood said. “It can help other lines like (Nathan MacKinnon’s) line to go out there and play with a little more space. We’ve just gotta stay on it.
“My first playoffs, you’re on edge a little bit more. Now I feel like I know what to expect. The Jets fans were great and we kind of fed off of them. It was a great start for us, but it’s time to win some games here.”
