The Colorado Avalanche returned from Italy — and they picked up where they left off, winning their NHL-best 38th game of the year.
Riding a four-goal second period, the Avs beat the Utah Mammoth 4-2 Wednesday night at Delta Center. Martin Necas, who was lights-out at the Olympics for Czechia, took home first-star honors with a goal and an assist. His power-play tally late in the middle frame, set up by Cale Makar and Valeri Nichushkin, pretty much put the victory on ice.
Scott Wedgewood got the start and turned aside 28 shots.
“I felt like we had some good opportunities in the zone,” Makar said, per NHL.com. “I think we just have to continue to build it … I really liked the patience that we showed tonight with the puck in the zone, especially good support.”
The Avs, sitting pretty as the Stanley Cup favorite at +280 odds, got production up and down the roster. Parker Kelly opened the scoring early in the second — his 13th of the year — with Brent Burns and Josh Manson on the assists. Victor Olofsson made it 2-0 shortly after, with Sam Malinski and Kelly earning helpers.
Dylan Guenther gave Utah a shot, ripping home two goals — a power-play strike then an even-strength finish. But sandwiched in between? Brock Nelson’s 30th of the season, set up by Gabriel Landeskog and Necas.
It’s as close as Utah got after the scoring begun.
“I thought it was all right. I think the guys played hard,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “They were committed to the way we want to play. There were some sloppy plays on both sides that led to some real good scoring chances for and against … Overall, I’ve got to say no passengers, so I have to be pretty happy with it.”
Colorado had to do it without Nathan MacKinnon. Kelly wasn’t fazed.
“Obviously, we miss him and he’s a big part of our team, but we have a lot of guys who can step up and play important minutes,” Kelly said. “I think that’s kind of just a test to next-man-up mentality, and it’s kind of what’s been going on all year.”
Bednar also had praise for newcomer Brett Kulak, who logged quality minutes in his Avs debut after being acquired from Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
“For the most part he looked pretty comfortable in the structure of our game,” Bednar said. “I think he was someplace around 18, 19 minutes in his first game, which is good quality minutes against very skilled forwards, and he did a nice job.”
As for MacKinnon? He was listed as out for maintenance, but plenty of folks are wondering if he picked up an injury during the medal rounds in Milan. Team USA took home the gold on Sunday — in part, due to the struggles of Colorado’s trio at the games.
Where do the Avs stand in the Cup race?
Colorado leads the pack at +280. Behind them: Tampa Bay (+500), Carolina (+650), Vegas (+850) and Edmonton (+1100).
