The Avalanche headed to Canada to kick off a five-game road trip at the center of the hockey universe against Austin Mathews and the Toronto Maple Leafs. This was one of the best games of the season as an injured Avs squad found a way to battle back against a talented Maple Leafs team.
First Period
The first period went just about as badly as a period of hockey can go for the Avs. After an even first five minutes, the Maple Leafs scored on a strange bounce off Josh Manson’s chest directly over Alexander Georgiev’s shoulder to the back of the net. Max Domi officially was credited with the goal.
This goal zapped Colorado of any momentum they had for the remainder of the period. Five minutes later Devon Toews had an uncharacteristically sloppy turnover in the neutral zone that led to a breakaway by Morgan Reilly that he put past Georgiev.
With five minutes remaining in the period, the Avs started their makeshift fourth line on a defensive zone draw. They failed to clear the zone multiple times which ultimately led to a goalmouth scramble. An unlucky bounce sent a puck right to the tape of Timothy Liljegren who fired it past the sprawling Avs netminder for the third goal of the period.
This period was statistically rather even but Colorado failed to capitalize on any of their opportunities while Toronto scored at will at every opportunity. Outside of Colorado’s top players, no one was able to generate any offensive opportunities. With the combination of injuries and illness, the Avs depth was almost nonexistent in this period leading to inconsistent offensive output.
Second Period
Entering the period down three the Avs needed a quick goal to give themselves a chance to come back in this hockey game. Five minutes into the period the top line which had been flying all night drew a penalty in the offensive zone. The Avs scored almost immediately on the power play off a beautiful touch pass from Ross Colton to Jonathan Drouin.
On the previous play, Ross Colton was high-sticked so the Avs were immediately back on the power play. They generated 4 shots on goal but failed to capitalize. Halfway through the period, Logan O’Connor took a tripping penalty sending the Avalanche to the penalty kill. They were able to kill the penalty. The Maple Leafs generated some quality opportunities on the power play but couldn’t score.
With seven minutes remaining in the period, the Avs top line generated a rush chance that they couldn’t quite connect on. But the Leafs were scrambling to get back into position in their end and failed to clear the puck. Sam Girard fired a puck on net and Mikko Rantanen found the rebound which he put past Martin Jones to cut the Leafs’ lead to one goal.
The remainder of the period was fast-paced with scoring chances from both teams but neither was able to score on any of them. The Avs went to the second intermission miraculously trailing by only one.
Third Period
Entering the third the Avs were down just one goal after fighting their way back into the game in the second period. Immediately the team showed that they weren’t out of gas quite yet as Mikko rang a puck off the pipe 15 seconds into the period. The Avs outplayed and outworked the Leafs for the first five minutes until John Tavares took a hooking penalty against Cale Makar on what would have been a glorious scoring chance.
On the subsequent powerplay, the Avs had four shots on net but once again they were unable to find the back of the net. Shortly after the penalty expired the Avs depth scored when Andrew Cogliano buried the puck on an excellent wrist shot. The hard-working forecheck on that shift led to multiple turnovers resulting in a goal for the bottom six. With the game tied the Avs had completed the comeback and eliminated the first-period deficit.
Halfway through the period, Josh Manson laid a big cross-check on Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews who remained in the game but appeared to be hurting the rest of the way. This hit galvanized the sleepy Leafs fans as well as their team and they began to throw the body around. The increased hitting eventually culminated in an interference penalty on Jake McCabe as he pushed down Mikko Rantanen away from the play. Despite another good power play the Avs could not find the back of the net.
The frenetic pace of play continued until the Avs found pay dirt again on an odd-man rush with just under 3 and a half minutes remaining in the game. Nathan MacKinnon got a great feed from Rantanen and patiently waited for the Leafs defenders to fly past the play and then buried the puck past Jones to give the Avs a one-goal lead.
The Leafs were unable to respond in the dying seconds of the game even as they pulled the goalie. Ross Colton sealed the game with an empty net goal in the final 10 seconds to give Colorado a 5-3 victory in Toronto.
Yeti Takeaways
The Avs found themselves behind the eight ball once again after an unlucky chain of events in the first period led to a three-goal lead for the Maple Leafs. It didn’t feel like a terrible period from the Avs but a bad bounce and several horrible turnovers gave the Leafs a lead that seemed almost insurmountable with a depleted lineup. The Avs continued to fight and the top line absolutely dominated in the final two periods. That combined with excellent goaltending helped to create a miraculous comeback victory for a very injured Avalanche squad.
The Avs played tonight’s game without both Val Nichushkin and Miles Wood who are both sick. These losses were apparent throughout the game with multiple players in over their heads. Through the course of the game, the Avs top line carried the team back into the game scoring three of the five goals. More than just the goal scoring they also dominated play every time they touched the ice throughout the game. The stark contrast between the Avs’ top players and the Leafs’ big four (Matthews, Marner, Tavares, and Nylander) was striking. For large stretches, they seemed to disappear and had little impact on the outcome of the game. They combined for zero points tonight.
The Avs’s depth held their own in the second and third periods and contributed offensively with a key game-tying goal in the third period. Considering how depleted the bottom of the lineup is right now, that’s a gutsy effort from the bottom six, who found ways to contribute.
Alexandar Georgiev had a solid performance not allowing a single goal in the final 40 minutes of hockey. He has been inconsistent this year but kept the Avs in the game with some big saves which made the comeback possible. He can’t really be blamed for any of the first three goals but you’d like to see him make one of those saves nonetheless. To his credit, he battled back and had a strong finish to the game.
Next on the Mountain
The Avs continue their road trip on Monday night when they face the Montreal Canadians. Puck drop is at 5:00 p.m. MT.