Ten Consecutive Wins.
Three Consecutive Shutouts.
The Avalanche cannot be stopped. Mackenzie Blackwood didn’t need to make game-changing saves until the Avalanche were already up by five goals on Wednesday. But Colorado’s No. 1 starter was not going to let the young upstart San Jose Sharks back into this game. He did his part after the offense surged early.
The result? Another Avalanche victory, defeating San Jose 6-0 at Ball Arena. It’s the fourth time in franchise history that they’ve reached a double-digit winning streak, and the first time since the 2021-22 season.
Blackwood stopped 26 against San Jose after a 35-save performance in Nashville on Saturday. Sanwiched in between his two perfect games was a 23-save shutout for Scott Wedgewood in Chicago on Sunday.
“They did a heck of a job limiting chances and bearing bears. It takes a whole lot of stuff in order to be a great team, a little bit of luck, too,” Blackwood said. “It’s not like you can always expect that. Things gotta go right.”
The Avs got goals from all over their lineup. Ross Colton and the second line got the scoring started at 3:39 of the first period. And before the period ended, Nathan MacKinnon wired home a one-timer on the power play to double Colorado’s lead.
Then the second period began, and the scoring onslaught continued. Sam Malinski picked his corner over the shoulder of Yaroslav Askarov. Then Josh Manson added a tally of his own 67 seconds later to end Askarov’s night early.
On the ensuing faceoff, Joel Kiviranta, in his first game back, made it 5-0 just nine seconds into the relief appearance for backup goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. In total, Colorado had five goals at the 25-minute mark while outshooting the Sharks 20-6.
Those last four goals came in a stretch of 5:53.
“I just, I like our team a lot. We’re very close in the locker room. Just a lot of depth,” Malinski told me after scoring his first goal since opening night. “Every game hasn’t been perfect. We’re just sticking with it and committing to the defensive side of the puck too.”
The score remained one sided until the final buzzer, which included Artturi Lehkonen adding a late third-period tally. But the play on the ice was anything but that. San Jose had a stretch where it outshout Colorado 20-12, and had four power plays. But the PK was perfect. Their commitment to securing another shutout and 60-minute effort felt like it was on display the entire time.
Even in the third period, with the game well out of reach for the Sharks, Colorado’s top penalty killers were laying their bodies on the line to keep the puck away.
They ended up getting the last 10 shots on goal in a game they controlled seemingly from the start.
“That’s the high standard of what we want to try and do, and being consistent at it,” head coach Jared Bednar said.
Positive: Depth, Depth, and More Depth
It’s well documented that this is the first time in years that the Avalanche have depth early in the regular season. It’s easy to point at the guys’ production and say the front office built a great team. But you have to take into account just how much the guys in the room are making this all possible. It starts with the coaching staff and trickles down to each piece of the roster.
We didn’t know if Jack Drury would thrive as a 3C when the season began, and he’s been perfectly fine. I still think he’ll be the 4C when the playoffs start, but he’s doing his job. Colton has also had a strong season. He started in the bottom six and worked his way up to the top six without looking out of place.
Victor Olofsson has been a fantastic fit. Even if the offense comes in spurts, his defensive game has been top-notch. If he didn’t fit, it would have presented a third-line winger issue that would’ve otherwise been a rotating door of call-ups.
Kiviranta hasn’t played much this season, but he looks as sharp as usual. Parker Kelly has somehow taken a step, too. And who could forget Gavin Brindley and the instant fit he was? Trading Charlie Coyle to offload Miles Wood was a risk. But between Drury stepping up, Brindley’s quick fit, and Olofsson’s permanent role on the third line, things have been going fine.
And all of this is happening before Logan O’Connor has even made his season debut.
The best part? Martin Necas, Cale Makar, and MacKinnon are still three of the league’s top 10 scorers. Sure, it’s usually Mikko Rantanen in that Necas spot, but all that’s to say: This team is still top-heavy. They still have three guys who are among the league leaders. But now they have depth behind them with more reinforcements on the way.
Also, I can’t remember the last time the Avs won this many games without Valeri Nichushkin. He’s another piece on the way back.
Negative: No Rest For Colorado
I’ll give this to the schedule makers, only because there wasn’t much to criticize from the Avs’ play on Wednesday.
I know this happens every year, and the Avalanche aren’t the only one that have this built into their schedule.
Three games in four days around Thanksgiving is fine. It happens all the time. But to have the first of the three start at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by an early 1:30 p.m. on Friday, is basically a back-to-back. Then on Saturday, they come back home for an even earlier 1 p.m. puck drop.
If the Avs get through this without losing, it’ll match their longest winning streak in franchise history. And it just might be the most impressive part of the entire run.
