Well, that was a beatdown.
The Colorado Avalanche destroyed the Detroit Red Wings in a 7-2 win against their bitter rivals at Ball Arena Wednesday night, on national TV of all things.
First Period
The Red Wings took an early lead when Robby Fabbri converted on the power play on the first shot of the game. This was the second time in five games that Alexandar Georgiev has given up a goal on the first shot of the game. However, Colorado has managed to win both of those matchups.
The Avs responded with fury when Cale Makar fired through traffic from the blue line to tie the game up.
Artturi Lehkonen, Josh Manson, Mikko Rantanen, and Nathan MacKinnon all had their chances but were denied by some brilliant goaltending by Alex Lyon. But Detroit ended up taking their second lead of the game when David Perron pounced on a rebound that Georgiev was unable to contain to make it a 2-1 score. Unfortunately for the Wings, that was the last time they would taste the lead, let alone smell it.
Mortiz Seider was sent to the box for delay of game after flipping the puck over the glass, and MacKinnon tied the game up just seconds later off the subsequent face-off.
Georgiev had been very shaky to this point, but with 19 seconds remaining in the frame, he made perhaps his biggest save of the season when he straight-up robbed Fabbri with a scintillating glove save to keep the game even going into the second.
Second Period
Seider flipped another puck over the glass to give Colorado another power play, and just like the last time, they cashed in. This time, Lehkonen scored after receiving an all-time great pass from Rantanen to put it in the net.
Shades of Darren McCarty and David Lemieux ensued as both teams got in their fair share of tussles going forward. Ross Colton was suckered punched by Olli Maata after taking a cross-checking penalty. After both men came out of the box, Colton collided with Lyon, which started another fracas.
After four minor penalties were handed out, things calmed down, other than the Avalanche offense. Makar turned on his killer instinct X-Factor capability after locking in on a rebound, which he finished on the backhand to double the lead.
The Avs power play got another chance late in the period when Manson drew a holding penalty on Jake Walman. Once again, it was Makar delivering the goods for his first career hat trick. It was the first three-goal performance by an Avalanche defenseman since 1999 when Sandis Ozoliņš accomplished the feat – the fourth in franchise history.
The lethal Avs man advantage would get another shot late in the period when Manson drew a holding penalty on Jake Walman. Once again, it would be Makar getting the puck through traffic and in to complete his hat trick. At the end of two, the Avalanche were up 5-2.
Third Period
During the intermission, the Wings decided to bench Lyon to give James Reimer a shot between the pipes. It didn’t make a difference. Jonathan Drouin extended the lead when he fired a wrist shot into the top corner to make it a 6-2 game.
To top off the night, Jean-Luc Foudy got his first career NHL goal on a rebound in front, with a slick backhander to finish the game with six unanswered goals, a resounding 7-2 win, and a season-high 54 shots on net.
Yeti Takeaways
It’s generally a bad sign when Georgiev gives up an early goal like that, but the offense fills the void every time. And with Sean Walker and Casey Mittelstadt on their way to Colorado, this team appears to be in prime form to make another run for the Stanley Cup. What an incredible performance and a great sign for things to come.
Next on the Mountain
Colorado takes on the Minnesota Wild on Friday night at Ball Arena. It’s expected that Walker and Mittelstadt will make their highly-anticipated Avs debuts. The game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. MT.