"It's the mental attitude of getting on top of people, that's what it comes down to," Montgomery said when asked if they can duplicate that play. "It's our attitude on how we're going to start a game right from the start."
Montgomery said the decision to move Nelson to the pressbox for the first two periods was something the coaching staff decided was needed in order to see if they could do a better job coaching. He said it paid off in a big way.
"All credit to Todd Nelson," Montgomery said. "We put him upstairs to change things and give us an eye in the sky. He came down and we made some tweaks to how we were going to play in the third period, so what a great job by Todd Nelson."
Asked if that was a difficult decision or if it could be interpreted as a demotion, because the power play was struggling, Montgomery said it was a change that was made to help the team get better.
"Todd Nelson is an incredible team-first guy, and if we're going to ask the players to sacrifice, it's no different for our coaching staff," Montgomery said. "Todd Nelson, I've played with him and he's won championships as a player and a coach for a reason. You ask anyone who has played with him, and the first thing they're going to say is what a great teammate. That's what he is on the coaching staff."
As for the third point, the Avalanche have bolted out of the gate, despite missing Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen with lower body injuries. Colorado is 8-2-2 and ranks second in the NHL in scoring at 3.92 goals per game. The Avalanche also is fourth in goal differential at plus-1.08
"They're an explosive team that not only plays fast, but is probably physically the fastest team in the league," Montgomery said.
