The energy was exactly what you would have expected. In Nazem Kadri’s return to the Avalanche, playing in front of the Ball Arena crowd, against a tough opponent in the Minnesota Wild, the fans delivered at the same level as the players on the ice.
Kadri recorded an assist on the opening goal from Nathan MacKinnon, Nic Roy scored his first with the Avs, and Scott Wedgewood made 32 saves in what was an entertaining 3-2 shootout victory for Colorado.
Valeri Nichushkin and MacKinnon scored in the shootout.
The Avs increased their winning streak to five games and opened a nine-point gap on the Dallas Stars and 10 on Minnesota for the top seed in the Central Division.
“I liked our game a lot. I though our checking game was in order,” head coach Jared Bednar said.
More concerning for the Avs, the power play was 0-for-5. They also gave up a shorthanded goal to Nico Sturm that put Minnesota up 2-1 in the third period. On top of that, the Wild tallied a power-play goal to even the score at 1-1. Ultimately, special teams could’ve hurt Colorado, but the squad’s resilience ensured a second point was still possible.
With the Wild up 2-1, the Avs got another chance on the PP to get ahead. They got their looks, and the best chance to capitalize was a Martin Necas one-timer that was blocked by Jonas Brodin. It felt like the Avs would never get a second one past Jesper Wallstedt, who made 34 saves.
But moments after that, Brett Kulak caught a puck, put it down to his stick, and shot it at the goal. Roy redirected it, and the Avs managed to even the score and force overtime.
“I think he’s trying to figure it out, like, systematic stuff, playing safe, safe, being responsible,” Bednar said of Roy. “It’s my job to help drive a little bit more offense out of him, get him skating and being impactful on both sides of the puck.”
The Avs killed off a late Wild PP in regulation to secure the first point. In OT, Colorado had possession for nearly four minutes. MacKinnon, Kadri, and Cale Makar all had good opportunities that were stopped. With 1:03 remaining in the period, MacKinnon was called for interference in the offensive zone, setting up a late Wild PP yet again.
Colorado killed it off succesfully, and went on to win the shootout for the second game in a row.
Good: Kadri Fit Right In
Kadri didn’t know he was going to play on the wing until he got to the rink. He landed in Denver late Saturday night and made his way to the rink right away to prepare for the early puck drop. It was all a blur, a quick turnaround, and he had to focus on preparing himself rather than figuring out what his positioning would be.
The late Gabe Landeskog injury announcement meant the Avs had a hole in the top six. It was an easy decision to move Kadri to the left wing. And he looked like a perfect fit. The chemistry with MacKinnon had not skipped a beat. And he and Necas looked like they fed off of each other pretty quickly.
“I haven’t played wing in years. And when I found out about that, mentally I knew I had to be a little bit sharp today,” Kadri said. “I don’t mind playing it. I think as a centerman, hopping over to the wing is a lot easier than a winger hopping over to center. And playing with those two guys, they make it easy on me. We were able to have some chemistry and make some great plays.”
Bad: Power Play
This one has been a common theme all season, but not for the same reason as usual. The Avs had their looks, they had opportunities to score, and Wallstedt made several saves to keep Colorado from getting even one on the PP. That’s all fine. The process of how the team played on the PP was a step in the right direction.
But the shorthanded goals against have to stop. It’s happened way too many times this year. And most of them looked exactly like this. It’s a player sneaking behind Devon Toews, Brent Burns, or Makar on the rush, and nobody else has the wherewithal to cover for the point man.
Getting goalie’d is one thing, but nearly losing the game because of that shorthanded goal is a much bigger issue that could sink this team when the games matter most.