Colorado dominates, extends win streak to 5
In every area of the ice at Ball Arena on Thursday night, the home team dominated.
In what was billed as a divisional showdown, the Avalanche made the opposition feel like it didn’t show up.
The Avs reached the midway point of the NHL’s shortened 56-game season after playing what might have been its best game thus far. Colorado peppered the Minnesota Wild with 55 shots and got four goals from its top line to win the opener of the two-game set 5-1.
The Wild (18-9-1) mustered just 20 shots and saw its fivegame winning streak end.
Avs right winger Mikko Rantanen
led the way with four points, including two goals, and center Nathan MacKinnon and left winger Gabe Landeskog each had a goal and two assists.
Third-line winger Joonas Donskoi also scored and goalie Philipp Grubauer recorded his 17th win in 24 appearances.
Colorado, which extended its winning streak to five games, improved to 18-8-2 — a .679 winning percentage that is the third-highest in club history at the midpoint of a season. The 2000-01 Stanley Cup-winning team was at .720 through a regular 82-game season and the 201315 club was at .683.
The Avalanche outshot the Wild 25-6 after the first period and 20-7 in the second when it
took a 3-1 lead into intermission.
Minnesota scored on the power play to cut Colorado’s 2-0 in half at 8:41 of the second period. Donskoi was in the box for slashing and Victor Rask used a perfectly placed wrist shot to beat Grubauer.
Colorado regained the twogoal lead on its ensuing power play when Landeskog lunged at a loose puck in the crease and slammed it into the net. Landeskog was playing in his 659th game, tying Cody McLeod for the fourth-most in Avalanche history. Only Milan Hejduk (1,020), Joe Sakic (870) and Adam Foote (760) have played in more.
The Avs were buzzing from the opening faceoff and MacKinnon and Rantanen scored at 11:10 and 19:02 of the first period. The first one was a tad lucky but the second was pure skill.
MacKinnon deked two defenders while driving in from the high slot before taking a shot, which was partially blocked by Wild defensemen Matt Dumba. The puck, however, was deflected high towards the goal, and goalie Cam Talbot couldn’t find it until it was in his net.
It was the 199th career goal for MacKinnon, who is poised to become the fifth member of the Avalanche’s 200 club.
MacKinnon had the second assist on Rantanen’s goal. He drove into the Wild zone, put on the brakes and found the trailer in defenseman Sam Girard. Girard found Rantanen back-door and made a perfect pass to allow Rantanen to one-touch it in the net.
Footnotes. Young Avs defensemen Cale Makar, 22, and Bo Byram, 19, returned from long injury absences. Makar had missed the previous 10 games and Byram the past nine. … The Avs improved to 16-3-1 when scoring first. … Forward J.T. Compher has been cleared to play but requires more conditioning. Compher is scheduled to return from a six-game absence in Saturday’s afternoon game against the Wild.