The Colorado Avalanche hosted the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night (Nov. 11) as both teams entered the game with winning streaks. The Avalanche were looking for their fourth straight win, the Ducks were looking for their eighth. It was two top teams in the league squaring off in a huge game early in the season. After the final horn, the Avalanche won 4-1 over the Ducks.
Game Recap
The first period saw a pair of goals, one from each side. The Avalanche got the scoring started early, 28 seconds into the game. After a deep forecheck that caused a turnover by Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon fed it out front to Artturi Lehkonen, who ripped it on net to get it past Lukas Dostal. It was Lehkonen’s seventh of the season, and the assist from MacKinnon pushed his point streak up to 10 games. Furthermore, it made MacKinnon the first player to reach 30 points.
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The Ducks did end up tying the game with under two minutes left in the opening frame, while on a 4-on-4 following matching roughing minors. Leo Carlsson, with a feed from Jacob Trouba, beat Scott Wedgewood to score his 11th goal of the season. The goal pushed his point streak up to 11 games, keeping his hot start to the season alive.
Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog celebrates after his goal against the Anaheim Ducks (Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)
The second period saw only one goal, but it was a special one. After 1,347 days, Gabriel Landeskog scored his first regular-season goal since March 5, 2022. He picked up the rebound after a Valeri Nichushkin shot. He flipped the puck over the pad and glove of Dostal and gave the Avalanche their second lead of the game. It was a clutch moment for the captain as this one finally counted after two goals he previously scored were taken off the board for different reasons. Ball Arena erupted as they finally got to see their captain score his first goal in over three years, not including the playoffs.
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The third period saw two goals from the Avalanche over the final 20 minutes of the game. A double deflection on the power play saw Martin Necas score his 10th of the season off a MacKinnon shot. Parker Kelly put the game further out of reach after he scored an empty net goal. A great play by Brock Nelson in the neutral zone found MacKinnon streaking into the Ducks’ zone. He passed it to Kelly, who scored his fifth of the season. The primary assist gave MacKinnon his third assist of the game and put him at 32 points on the season.
The Avalanche are 11-1-5 after their 4-1 win over the Ducks, and are on a four-game winning streak. Their next game is on Thursday, Nov. 13, against the Buffalo Sabres in game two of their four-game homestand at Ball Arena. Regarding the Ducks, their seven-game win streak was snapped, and they are now 11-4-1. Their next game is on Thursday, Nov. 13, as they head to Michigan to take on the Detroit Red Wings.
