If the Colorado Avalanche are to improve the way their fans hope they will, one player that’s going to have to make a big leap is Mikhail Grigorenko. After a solid—if statistically unspectacular—first year in Burgundy & Blue, the 22-year-old looks primed to take not just onestep forward, but perhaps two.
Grigorenko scored two goals tonight in route to a 3-1 Avalanche victory, and won 72% of his face-offs tonight as the team’s No. 2 center to boot. The win moves Colorado to 3-0 in the preseason standings, already a better showing than in recent seasons.