DENVER — Gavin Brindley wasted little time making the most of his opportunity on the second line. The 21-year-old rookie forward scored the go-ahead goal in the second period after assisting on an earlier tally from Brock Nelson.
Brindley replaced the injured Valeri Nichushkin in that spot and played a career-high 13:31 after spending the majority of the season in a completely different role on the fourth line.
The Avalanche defeated the Buffalo Sabres 6-3 at Ball Arena.
“If you’re gonna play those minutes, there’s a reason that you are. And I feel like you keep your game the same way,” Gavin Brindley said after scoring his second game-winner of the season. “I feel like that progresses a lot.”
The Avs wasted little time getting on the scoreboard. Before the game was a minute old, Cale Makar sprung Martin Necas all alone, and he put it past Alex Lyon for his 11th of the season. Necas has three goals in the first minute of a game this season.
He also scored two goals and added two assists in this one to lead the team’s offense.
They continued to control play and eventually got another. This time, it was Artturi Lehkonen, who put Colorado up 2-0 at 6:10 on the team’s third shot. Sabres coach Lindy Ruff decided to make a goalie change. Lyon’s night was over, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen entered the game in relief.
The Sabres responded quickly. Bowen Byram beat Mackenzie Blackwood to the loose puck on the rebound and scored his second of the season from in close.
Lukkonen’s first save was on Nathan MacKinnon, but the second shot he faced came from Brock Nelson off a beautiful setup from Ross Colton to make it 3-1.
The goal-filled first period didn’t end there. Jordan Greenway beat Blackwood five-hole. The Sabres got within a goal and it stayed that way until the break.
Colorado came out strong in the second as the Sabres, who played in Utah on Wednesday, struggled to keep up with the Avs’ speed. Bith just over six minutes remaining in the middle frame, Byram drew a penalty after frustrating MacKinnon, and the Sabres tied it up thanks to a tally from Tage Thompson.
That was the last goal they’d score.
Before the period ended, Brindley got a pass from Josh Manson, came flying up the wing and fired it past Luukonen clean to put the Avs ahead. The score remained 4-3 until the late stages of the third when MacKinnon and Necas paired up for another. Then, an empty netter from Gabe Landeskog sealed the win.
Blackwood finished with 18 saves to improve to 2-0-1 on the season.
Negatives
Landeskog Did What Again?
Let’s start with the negative because it sets up for a great ending.
For the second time in four games and the third time this season, Landeskog scored a goal that was called back. The first two were overturned following a coach’s challenge from the opposition. But this time, Landeskog scored late in the first and got to celebrate for a second before the goal horn was turned off because the official was waving for no goal.
It was goalie interference. Jack Drury was in the crease and impeded with Luukkonen’s ability to move. It was the slightest of contacts, but enough not to be counted. Bednar challenged it, and I was sure he’d lose. But I still like that he tried.
“I knew it was going to be a 50-50, and I challenged it anyway, because we stop outside the crease,” Bednar said. “We’re not making any contact, and there was some body contact on our guy, and I felt like the last little push is what kind of turns us and puts a stick in there.”
As for the captain, it’s becoming a meme at this point. Three goals overturned, three coach’s challenges, and three times the Avs have come up on the losing end of the challenge. To have all of that in 18 games is quite remarkable.
Positives
Necas Passes Up the Hat Trick
With a little bit of maneuverability, Necas probably could’ve gotten the angle he needed to score on the empty net and complete the hat trick. But he chose not to, and instead pass it up to Landeskog for a goal.
Necas was asked about it by the in-arena host after the game and said something along the lines of “I’ll always pass it up for the captain.”
Kudos to him for giving the fans what they want to hear. That’s a good team guy. I thought it was nice of him, but I also loved Bednar after the game jokingly calling out that he probably didn’t have the angle.
Either way, Landeskog got his second of the season and has goals in consecutive games. He’s looking better each game. It’s nice to see him get rewarded.
That’s also the 250th of his career.
