It wasn’t the prettiest of games for the Colorado Avalanche, but it’s still early in the season, and there was still a lot of good to take away from the game. They were outshot heading into the third period, but took advantage of many Sabres mistakes to come out with the 3-1 win and the two points.
The Sabres came out much quicker than the Avalanche to start the period, with better passing, more shots on goal, and played with a much quicker pace. It was Nathan MacKinnon with a spin-o-rama backhand shot to open the scoring on the Avalanche’s first registered shot of the game. Jack Drury takes the first penalty of the game as he is called for tripping, but the Avalanche kills it off. Another penalty comes the Avalanche’s way when a failed line change happens, and they are called for too many men; Ross Colton serves the penalty.
The Avalanche gets its first power play of the game when Rasmus Dahlin is called for interference, but fails to capitalize on the opportunity. Tage Thompson ties the game when he sends a wrister from the blueline that beats a crowd in front of Scott Wedgwood and in, 1-1. Two minutes left in the period, Cale Makar is called for slashing, with the Sabres getting the remainder of the power play heading into the second period.
Nichushkin makes a great read intercepting Rasmus Dahlin’s pass and sets up Makar to take the lead 2-1 four minutes into the period. Makar draws a tripping penalty, but the Avalanche fail to score on the power play. Brent Burns powers through Alex Tuch but ends up tripping him, and is called for tripping. However, Tuch is also called for embellishment. Twenty seconds into the 4-on-4, Necas sets up a great drop pass to MacKinnon, who rifles one five-hole past Alex Lyon to make it 3-1, ending the second period.
MacKinnon once again makes a nifty pass to Necas and shoots it five-hole past Lyon to make it 4-1, but the Sabres challenge the play for offside, and it stands, reverting the goal and keeping it 3-1. Dahlin is called for interference, but the Sabres kill the penalty. A scary moment occurs when Bowen Byram accidentally slashes Brock Nelson’s hand and rushes down the tunnel; thankfully, he rejoins the game later in the period.
Connor Timmins is called for a delay of game, which was initially called a tipped out-of-bounds play. However, after review, it was determined that the call was against Timmins, and the Avalanche was unsuccessful on the power play for the fifth time. Although it won’t matter as the game ends 3-1, the Avalanche wins.
The Avalanche are back in action for their brief two-game road trip on Thursday, Oct. 16, against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Necas & Mackinnon’s 3-Point Effort Not Enough as Stars Beat the Avalanche 5-4
Whenever the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars face off, it’s going to be one hell of a game, and this one doesn’t disappoint. After numerous lead changes and an eventful overtime, the Stars won 5-4 in the shootout.
Insider Doubts Colorado Avalanche Will Hold Onto Martin Nečas
A big issue the Colorado Avalanche face this season is that Martin Necas and his expiring contract this summer set him up to be an unrestricted free agent. The Avalanche have been in this position before, last season, and their experience with trying to re-sign Mikko Rantanen ultimately led to trading him to the Carolina Hurricanes and acquiring Necas in a package deal. While Necas might not command the same extension price that Rantanen received from the Dallas Stars after being traded from the Hurricanes, an insider speculates that he would be “shocked” if the Avalanche agreed to extend Necas.
