There was something truly special about the Avalanche’s come-from-behind 5-4 shootout victory over the Dallas Stars.
Colorado trailed 3-1 and 4-2. Its starting goalie, Mackenzie Blackwood, was yanked after the fourth goal, and it felt like yet another loss was on the way in the dreaded American Airlines Center.
But then the urgency kicked in. The Avs fought back, tied it up, and won in a shootout. What was an already exciting Friday on the heels of the Nazem Kadri acquisition turned into probably the most exhilarating day of the season to date.
Without Kadri in the lineup, the Avalanche beat their biggest rival. They ended Dallas’ 10-game winning streak, built a seven-point cushion for the all-important No. 1 seed in the Central Division, and they did it because the two things that have struggled all year — the power play and the shootout — were excellent.
And because their top guys led the way.
10 Takeaways
1. For most of the season, including the first meeting between these two clubs, the Avalanche often won games or stayed in them because of their dominance at 5-on-5. This was the polar opposite. Colorado struggled at even strength for pretty much the entire first half of regulation.
Had it not been for the power play, which went 2-for-5, then the Avs would’ve never had a chance to claw back.
2. Scoring two PP goals isn’t a huge deal. It’s nice, especially against Dallas, but it’s not the type of dominant special teams performance that would shock you. Especially when you consider that the Stars scored once on the PP, too.
It wasn’t the two goals that made the difference. It was how the team played on the man-advantage overall. They were moving the puck, and the players weren’t standing still. For the first time all year, it felt like they were confident with what they were trying to accomplish. They managed to throw the puck on net more times on the PP than they have in months. And most of the shots weren’t forced; they had genuine golden opportunities.
3. Scott Wedgewood was also key in this game. He made an insane amount of big saves, which is funny to save when you realize that he only faced 10 shots in more than 41 minutes of ice time. Kudos to the Avs’ overall team defense. Once they got through the rough patch of turnovers, they completely shut the Stars down.
Read that again. The Stars, who have one of the strongest offenses in the NHL, only had 10 shots in 41:27 against Wedgewood.
4. Everyone in the locker room must be beyond excited for what the front office was able to do at the deadline. But is there anyone more pumped than Ross Colton? His name started to surface in rumors over the past 72 hours. Not only did he not get traded away from the No. 1 team in the league, but the Avs acquired two key pieces in Nazem Kadri and Nic Roy that could very well be his new linemates when everyone is healthy.
Colton had 10 hits. Nobody else on either team finished with more than three.
5. Roy made his debut, playing just 8:46. It was never going to be easy for him to step right in and make an impact right away. In fact, the Stars traded for Tyler Myers and Michael Bunting and scratched both of them to ensure they have time to get adjusted to their new team before being thrown to the fire.
Even in limited ice time, in an emotional game against a tough opponent, the early signs of what the Avs are getting are all positive. I really like the size he brings and his aggressiveness on the forecheck.
6. How about that for a statement game from Valeri Nichushkin? He had been struggling for weeks, but chose the perfect time to break out of that slump. Just moments after hitting a double doink of posts that wold’ve tied it up, Nichushkin ended up getting the all-important fourth goal with just 13.2 seconds remaining. The shootout tally was a nice cherry on top.
If Nichushkin also gets going here in the next six weeks, then look out.
7. That was goal No. 13 for No. 13 with 13 seconds remaining.
8. Martin Necas with a casual goal and three assists, as well as a shootout tally. He’s up to 14 points in six games since the Olympic break, which paces the NHL. In the matter of one game, he jumped from 11th to sixth in the league in points. He trails Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, Leon Draisaitl, and Macklin Celebrini. That’s it.
9. Cale Makar had three goals in 19 games. Now he’s got four (and four assists) in three games. Like Nichushkin, this was a player who was snakebit for quite some time. It’s great to see him find that scoring touch. He’s shooting the puck with confidence again.
10. You can’t score on a tighter angle on the power play than MacKinnon did with less than two seconds remaining in the first period. And how about his lack of a proper celly when it went in? He had his game face on the entire way.
