Business is booming.
The Colorado Avalanche finally slayed some road demons with an outstanding 5-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. While it is Chicago, this win is a good one to get the Avs back on track particularly away from Ball Arena with history being made up and down the lineup – with nine players recording points in this game.
Justus Annunen recorded his first career shutout with his performance, making some good saves when he was called upon. It only helps them climb up the standings in an ever-so-tight Central Division. The win, plus the Winnipeg Jets’ loss against the Dallas Stars evens up the Avs and Jets with 79 points. Let’s see how it all went down, shall we?
First Period
Colorado had to hold off Chicago with some early pressure. The Avs kept getting caught in their zone, finding it difficult to create many chances. Luckily, the Hawks couldn’t create many chances themselves.
Eventually, the Avs found some more chances as the game went on. Nathan MacKinnon had a great look at an empty net but fumbled the puck. Miles Wood had a great chance with a tip in front which missed the net. Finally, Mikko Rantanen also hit the post off the faceoff.
The chances would eventually pay off for Colorado. Jack Johnson would steal the puck off the stick of Connor Bedard, and lead a 2-on-1 rush with Zach Parise. He found the new Avs’ No. 9 to beat Petr Mrazek and give the Avs the lead heading into the intermission.
Second Period
Starboy Bedard would be called for interference in the opening minutes, and the Avs made sure to make him and the Hawks pay. With a great two minutes, they managed to convert in the final seconds thanks to Ross Colton scoring on his rebound to double the lead.
Soon after, Ryan Johansen got in on the scoring fun as well. He got the pass from Jonathan Drouin off the faceoff and faked out Mrazek to tuck it home for a 3-0 lead. The goal would then be credited to Parise, who got a touch on it at the back post for his second of the game.
Even with the three-goal advantage, the Hawks remained dangerous with Bedard on the ice. Particularly on their first power play thanks to a Bowen Byram holding penalty, they hit the post twice. But luckily for the Avs, the donut remained on the board. Hence, Reese Johnson did his best to rile up his team by fighting Chris Wagner.
But, it seemed to swing momentum in Colorado’s favor. They were unlucky not to score when the puck was bouncing in the crease, but could not find the stick of Wood or Logan O’Connor to get it in. They would have to wait until the 19:59 mark of the period to strike again, thanks to Devon Toews to make it 4-0 heading into the room.
Third Period
The Avs didn’t slow down heading into the third. But they did get lucky when Josh Manson slashed Bedard away from the puck, and no call was made. The rookie would be okay and continue on.
Continuing forward was the excellent third line, with Parise looking for a hat trick. He had a great chance from the far circle on a one-timer, but Mrazek did enough to just fight it off with his shoulder.
With the bottom six getting lots of playing time in the final frame, they took advantage of it with some nice stretches of play. But, they wouldn’t be the ones to add a fifth on the board. It would be none other than MacKinnon with a nice rush into the zone.
The clock ran down, with Chicago going quietly into the night. Hence, no pucks were getting behind Annunen for his first career shutout in a great 5-0 win.
Yeti Takeaways
The third line, particularly with Parise was stellar in this game with his two goals. They did everything right by forcing the Hawks back in their zone and tacking on a couple of goals as well. This was Parise’s 12th game in an Avs uniform after being signed before the NHL All-Star Break and has taken some time for the 39-year-old to settle in. While he is far from the player he used to be, his difference on the ice is measurable as of late. Just a shame he couldn’t quite find the hat trick.
History continues to follow MacKinnon this season. He now has points in 51 of the Avs’ 61 games this season with an assist on the Colton goal. With the assist, he also passed Avalanche legend Peter Forsberg for third in assists in franchise history, now at 539 total. He’s got some time to catch Peter Stastny and 668, and then an even bigger gap to Joe Sakic’s 1,016 career assists. His third-period goal got him to 100 points this season, the second player to eclipse the century mark this season. He is also the first Avalanche player to record consecutive 100-point seasons, with two Quebec Nordiques recording the feat before the relocation.
At one end, Mrazek struggled in the net and showed his anger and frustration specifically on the second goal towards Jaycob Megna. Meanwhile, Annunen was rarely called into action with only 25 saves in the game, en route to the shutout, the first of his career. Head coach Jared Bednar had said he would play at least one game on this road trip, and with the Preds up next, it’s understandable why he played tonight alongside giving Alexandar Georgiev some rest. He showed his worth in this game and looks more comfortable as the home stretch of the season approaches, with the backup goaltender perhaps being answered between both him and Ivan Prosvetov, who is dominating the AHL at the moment with the Colorado Eagles.
Next on the Mountain
This short two-game road trip for the Avs wraps up Saturday afternoon against the Nashville Predators. Puck drop is at 4:00 p.m. MT.