The Colorado Avalanche do love to tease us don’t they? Down 3-0 with less than 10 seconds remaining in the second period, Avalanche fans were as ready for bed as the team seemed ready for the flight to Edmonton.
Then, Mikko Rantanen got loose and scored off a pretty cross-crease pass from Devon Teows to tally the first Avalanche goal with 2.8 seconds remaining in the period. From there, everything changed, as the Avalanche would go on to win 4-3 in overtime.
Here are the key takeaways from Wednesday’s comeback in Vancouver that saw the Avalanche sweep the season series with the Canucks:
Endangered Orchas
Before we gush about the gutsy effort from the Avalanche, we need to talk about Vancouver: Do they have a glass jaw? This game is starting to look eerily like a microcosm of the Canucks season, wherein they start red hot (3-0 / first in the league through the deadline) and suddenly can’t get out of their own way.
Vancouver plays a very stingy defensive game and credit where credit is due. It had the Avalanche stifled through most of two periods, in addition to threatening to put Avalanche fans to sleep after a late puck drop. Once the dam broke, however, Vancouver never regained their mojo. Colorado flew out for the third and outshot the Canucks 18-4 in the period, and it didn’t look that close.
One has to wonder if, much like they ran out of steam and could not adjust tonight, the Canucks season is losing momentum at a time that the Edmonton Oilers are hot on their heels for the Pacific Division title.
Canuckleheads
One last note on the Canucks, sometimes the other team is your best friend. Special teams were a huge factor in this game even before Carson Soucy perplexingly threw the puck over the glass in the dying seconds of the third with minimal pressure on the forecheck.
The Canucks defender easily had time to avoid Avalanche forward Yakov Trenin but instead put his team down on the penalty kill in overtime, which proved fatal.
Using your head
Valeri Nichushkin was credited with the game-winning goal, but really, credit should go to Nathan MacKinnon for wiring a wicked one-timer off Big Val’s visor and in.
After registering a one-timer goal on the earlier 5-on-3 powerplay to pull within one, MacKinnon recorded his second point of the night when it mattered most. I’m sure Nichushkin does not mind getting one right between the eyes in this case.
Fishing For Consistency In Goal
It was a very tough start for netminder Alexander Georgiev, as he let in two goals on his first three shots faced. While it’s hard to necessarily blame him given how high-danger the first-minute goals were, you also would love a save from your No. 1 goaltender heading into the playoffs (on that second one particularly.)
Then again, the third goal he let in was an all-time stinker: a weak shot from old friend Nikita Zadorov at the point that was unscreened and not redirected, beating Georgiev’s glove side clean. All of that is to say that the Georgiev we saw in the second and third periods was simply an entirely different player than the one who started the game.
He made memorable saves, particularly on a one-timer from the crease that came right to an attacker from a whacky board bounce. Credit goes to the team in front of him, as well as Georgiev, for continuing his hot and cold variance, so we do not have to talk about a goalie controversy tonight.
Deep ice fishing
With Jonathan Drouin sidelined for Wednesday’s game after testing his ankle in warmups, Artturi Lehkonen being ill, and Zach Parise recovering from his lower-body injury—to say nothing of Logan O’Connor being done for the year—this was a huge game for the depth acquisitions at the trade deadline.
While kept off the score sheet, the second line of Duhaime-Middlestadt-Trenin was incredibly noticeable and largely deserves the credit for shifting the momentum at the end of the second period before Rantanen scored. All night, those three made high-danger chances from high-IQ playmaking and were an absolute menace to the Canucks defense.
Looking ahead
After conquering four points on a back-to-back, the Avalanche get a much-needed breather until Saturday for a matchup at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The Oilers (39-21-3) are on an absolute tear through the league after starting the season so badly that they needed a change of coach. Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. MT.
(Featured Image Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports)
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