ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Avalanche are flourishing in the schedule they once fumed at.
Six months ago, the grim reality of the Avs’ Stanley Cup title defense started to set in. They realized they were dealt a grueling hand with five early back-to-backs. Cale Makar called it “ridiculous.” His teammates agreed.
Nine of Colorado’s 13 scheduled back-to-backs were against teams with a day of rest. But only four times would a rested Avalanche get to face an opponent that played the previous day.
The Avs turned their frustration into fuel, somehow.
With one (unscheduled) back-to-back remaining to end the regular season, the defending champs are 9-2-1 in the second game of a back-to-back, an NHL-best record to stick it to the schedule-makers. Colorado hasn’t lost in regulation on 24 hours’ rest since October.
The latest unlikely example was Sunday in Anaheim, where the Avs scored twice in the last 10 minutes to force overtime and defeat the Ducks 5-4.
Nathan MacKinnon, who potted the tying and winning goals, was at a loss for an explanation.
“We’ve been such a good road team dating back to last season in the playoffs, and following with this season, we’ve been better on the road than home for some reason,” he told The Post. “I don’t know. We just grind. I think we play a simpler style on the road. I don’t know what it is. But everyone’s in good shape, and there’s no excuse not to bring it, even on back-to-backs.”
Avalanche coach Jared Bednar has formed a theory. It’s those darned stationary bikes under visiting arenas that MacKinnon and his teammates religiously use to work out immediately after games.
“It’s the way our guys take care of themselves,” Bednar told The Post before puck drop in Anaheim on Sunday. “Some nights I think we play better in the (second game of a) back-to-back. We have more legs. I didn’t think we had legs last night (in Los Angeles), so I’m hoping we’ve got better legs here today. Sometimes after the day off it seems to take our team a little bit.
“But we leave L.A. last night: We’re the slowest team to get out (of arenas) because guys are working out, riding the bike, making sure their legs are good for the next day. They put a lot of work into it, post-practice, postgame, to make sure they’re feeling better for the next day. I think that has a lot to do with it.”
In all back-to-back contests this season — including the first game — the Avs are 17-5-2. It won’t be an obstacle in the playoffs, where a day of rest is guaranteed between all games. But there’s one more crucial test waiting before then. Colorado was supposed to play in Nashville on Nov. 24, but the team woke up to news of a water main break at Bridgestone Arena. The game was rescheduled for Friday (6 p.m. MT), becoming the regular-season finale one day after the Avs host Winnipeg. It might decide the Central division champion and Colorado’s first-round matchup.
Francouz on his return
Even as recovery took a month longer than Pavel Francouz hoped, the Avalanche backup goalie had one goal in mind.
“That was kind of our plan: Get back to the net right before playoffs,” he told The Post after his return from a lower-body injury. “Get me a couple games at least, so I get the feeling back. And I’m happy it worked out. We have three more games, and then the best part of the season starts, so it’s really exciting.”
His first start since Feb. 7 was a roller-coaster. He held a shutout Sunday until late in the second period, then the Ducks scored multiple bad-bounce goals on him — “It wasn’t like Frankie had a chance,” MacKinnon said — to go ahead 4-2 before the Avs rallied.
“It’s not always easy to come back after two months of not playing,” Francouz told The Post, adding that he had a “frustrating time” with recovery. “But also, you’re kind of excited. You’re happy you can play again. It’s the game you love. The first period was really fun. We built the 2-0 lead.”
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