DENVER — What started as a brutal showing for the Avalanche ended with an impressive victory against a really good team. Colorado erased a multi-goal deficit and made two comebacks on its way to a 6-4 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes at Ball Arena. The Canes saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end as the Avs improved to 7-8-0 on the season.
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Carolina flew into town early Saturday morning because of Friday night’s Colorado snowstorm. They didn’t quite look like a sluggish team early but perhaps the less-than-ideal travel conditions caught up to them. The Hurricanes dominated early and scored the first two goals but were unable to keep the Avalanche’s stars off the scoresheet.
“I could feel that they were a little bit tired when we were skating and playing with the pace we played with,” Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen said.
Alexandar Georgiev got the nod in goal and was impressive despite his numbers not quite looking the part. Georgiev stopped 27-of-31 shots but made huge saves at crucial moments to keep the game within reach. And as for the Hurricanes, who are without starter Frederik Andersen, they turned to former Avs goalie Spencer Martin. The 29-year-old didn’t face much action early but found himself on the receiving end of an onslaught of high-danger opportunities as the game continued.
“There were a bunch in the first period,” head coach Jared Bednar said, referring to the key saves Georgiev made. “[The Hurricanes] were playing to the net hard in the first period, and we didn’t do a very good job of picking guys up.”
Bad: The Avs’ Start
It makes sense to start here given it’s exactly how the game began. It took 10:24 for Martin to face a shot — an easy tight-angle save on superstar Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado was outplayed and outclassed by Carolina for more than half a period and gave up the first goal on the ninth shot Georgiev faced. Rod Brind’Amour’s club is known for being one of the best puck possession teams in the league but this was as one-sided as it could get.
“We were not doing good things in the first period,” Bednar said.
Thankfully for the Avs, they only gave up that lone goal to Jack Drury in the first because Georgiev, coming off his best game of the season, was excellent. The Canes tried a backdoor tap-in play on him three times before the first commercial break. But from the first save, Georgiev was locked in and keeping the game within reach. Colorado was outshot 14-6 in the first period.
“You try not to get too in your head,” Georgiev said of his magnificent kick save on the first Carolina shot. “There’s so much hockey left to play, and they’re such a good team. So just try to be in the moment and enjoy the one save. But you have to be ready for the next one.”
Good: Second Period Surge
In less than 10 minutes, the Avs went from trailing 2-0 against a tight-checking Hurricanes team to leading 5-3. It shifted that quickly.
To start the period, Jordan Martinook doubled Carolina’s lead when he scored moments after Colorado rookie Ivan Prishchepov hit the post at the other end. It felt like another one of those games for the Avs. The top line, however, wasn’t having it. They started to find their legs and had a strong shift almost halfway through the second period but were unable to beat Martin. Moments later, Avs defenseman John Ludvig shot the puck out of play from Colorado’s zone and was called for delay of game. Tough break for the Avs.
But then Cale Makar’s shorthanded goal happened. And what a beauty it was. Makar picked off a pass in the Avs’ zone, skated end to end, and blasted a rare slapshot past Martin to get things started for the Avs.
“After that, I feel like it turned a little bit,” Rantanen said.
Colorado’s star defenseman then helped the Avs kill off the remainder of Ludvig’s penalty, thanks in part to Georgiev, who also made two big saves to complete the PK. On the following shift, MacKinnon rushed up the ice and put the puck on Martin which set Malinski up for the rebound goal. Malinski’s first of the year was quickly followed up with a bad holding penalty. And 89 seconds after his tally, Malinski watched from the box as Martin Necas put Carolina back ahead 3-2.
The surge didn’t end there, but I do want to highlight this next part on its own.
Good: Top Line Takeover
It’s not like the top line wasn’t already playing a part in the Avs’ comeback. Despite MacKinnon’s assist being the only point from the trio on the first two goals, all three forwards were starting to take control in the offensive zone. But, then they all decided to score. In precisely three minutes of action, Bednar’s club had goals from MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen, and Rantanen.
MacKinnon one-upped William Carrier in a battle for the puck and darted into the offensive zone before firing a slick wrister past Martin. He had Rantanen to his right but looked off the pass to score his seventh of the season and knot things up at 3-3.
“That guy was strong on his stick, and so was Nate, and it was sort of paused for a second,” Bednar said, highlighting his favorite goal of the evening. “To be able to not lose too much momentum or explode out of that 1-on-1 and then to look off the D a little bit. It was a great shot, obviously, but that was an impressive goal.”
Less than a minute later, Lehkonen tipped home his second of the season after missing a wide-open net on the doorstep seconds earlier. Carolina challenged the play for goalie interference but was unsuccessful. On the ensuing delay of game penalty, which later turned into a two-man advantage, Rantanen fired a wrister of his own past Martin to get Colorado’s fifth goal in 9:36.
Good: Seriously, that Makar goal
The slapshot has become somewhat of a lost art in this sport but I always appreciate a goal like this. Let’s take another moment to admire Makar’s shorthanded tally, his sixth of the season.
Cale Makar steals the puck and rifles home a beauty for a SHORTY!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/25m6YrKOdp
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) November 10, 2024
