AVS BLOW LEAD Avalanche
Flames prevail 32 in overtime
With a chance to break the franchise record for goals to begin a season Saturday night, Avalanche center Nathan Mackinnon needed less time than it takes to tie his skate laces.
In a “Hockey Night in Canada” telecast against the Calgary Flames at the Pepsi Center, Mackinnon, a Canadian, won the opening faceoff and scored at 11 seconds. It was the secondquickest goal to begin a game in club history — Antti Laaksonen scored eight seconds into the first period on Feb. 10, 2006 — and was the beginning of what would become the best first period of the Avs’ young season.
Secondyear center J.T. Compher doubled Colorado’s lead at 2:40, but the Avs struggled from the start of the second period and were in position to win the game only behind the stellar goaltending of Semyon Varlamov.
Calgary, which ultimately won with Johnny Gaudreau’s overtime breakaway goal, outshot the Avs 299 from the second period to the end of regulation.
Mackinnon now has a teamhigh six goals for the Avs. It took Mackinnon 19 games to produce six goals last season, in which he exploded in the second half to finish with 39 and become a Hart Trophy finalist as NHL MVP.
Mackinnon entered Saturday tied with former Avs forward John Mitchell (201516) with goals in his first four games of the season.
Goalie David Rittich made his first start of the season for the Flames, who wrapped up a threegame road trip. Rittich saw action in the third period Thursday, coming in for Mike Smith, who allowed all five goals in a 53 loss at St. Louis.
Rittich settled down after the early Mackinnon and Compher goals and gave his team a chance. But the guy in the other net, Varlamov, was stellar throughout — particularly in the second period, when Calgary produced 17 of the 23 shots in the frame.
The Flames scored at 10:52 of the period when Sam Bennett capitalized on a rebound from the doorstep. Varlamov spearheaded three ensuing successful penalty kills before Elias Lindholm scored at 18:06 with Rittich on the bench for a sixth attacker.
Linemates Mikko Rantanen and Gabe Landeskog assisted on Mackinnon’s goal — a rebound in front of the left post. And defensemen Tyson Barrie and Ian Cole got the helpers on Compher’s goal — a semibreakaway in which he capitalized on a bouncing puck in front of Flames defenseman T.J. Brodie.